1.1.................... moves to amend H. F. No. .... as follows:
1.2Page .., after line .., insert:

1.3    "Sec. .... Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 298.227, is amended to read:
1.4298.227 TACONITE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND.
1.5    (a) An amount equal to that distributed pursuant to each taconite producer's taxable
1.6production and qualifying sales under section 298.28, subdivision 9a, shall be held by
1.7the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board in a separate taconite economic
1.8development fund for each taconite and direct reduced ore producer. Money from the
1.9fund for each producer shall be released by the commissioner after review by a joint
1.10committee consisting of an equal number of representatives of the salaried employees and
1.11the nonsalaried production and maintenance employees of that producer. The District 11
1.12director of the United States Steelworkers of America, on advice of each local employee
1.13president, shall select the employee members. In nonorganized operations, the employee
1.14committee shall be elected by the nonsalaried production and maintenance employees.
1.15The review must be completed no later than six months after the producer presents a
1.16proposal for expenditure of the funds to the committee. The funds held pursuant to this
1.17section may be released only for workforce development and associated public facility
1.18improvement, or for acquisition of plant and stationary mining equipment and facilities
1.19for the producer or for research and development in Minnesota on new mining, or
1.20taconite, iron, or steel production technology, but only if the producer provides a matching
1.21expenditure to be used for the same purpose of at least 50 percent of the distribution
1.22based on 14.7 cents per ton beginning with distributions in 2002. Effective for proposals
1.23for expenditures of money from the fund beginning May 26, 2007, the commissioner
1.24may not release the funds before the next scheduled meeting of the board. If the board
1.25rejects a proposed expenditure, the funds must be deposited in the Taconite Environmental
1.26Protection Fund under sections 298.222 to 298.225. If a producer uses money which has
1.27been released from the fund prior to May 26, 2007 to procure haulage trucks, mobile
2.1equipment, or mining shovels, and the producer removes the piece of equipment from the
2.2taconite tax relief area defined in section 273.134 within ten years from the date of receipt
2.3of the money from the fund, a portion of the money granted from the fund must be repaid
2.4to the taconite economic development fund. The portion of the money to be repaid is 100
2.5percent of the grant if the equipment is removed from the taconite tax relief area within 12
2.6months after receipt of the money from the fund, declining by ten percent for each of the
2.7subsequent nine years during which the equipment remains within the taconite tax relief
2.8area. If a taconite production facility is sold after operations at the facility had ceased, any
2.9money remaining in the fund for the former producer may be released to the purchaser of
2.10the facility on the terms otherwise applicable to the former producer under this section. If
2.11a producer fails to provide matching funds for a proposed expenditure within six months
2.12after the commissioner approves release of the funds, the funds are available for release to
2.13another producer in proportion to the distribution provided and under the conditions of
2.14this section. Any portion of the fund which is not released by the commissioner within
2.15one year of its deposit in the fund shall be divided between the taconite environmental
2.16protection fund created in section 298.223 and the Douglas J. Johnson economic protection
2.17trust fund created in section 298.292 for placement in their respective special accounts.
2.18Two-thirds of the unreleased funds shall be distributed to the taconite environmental
2.19protection fund and one-third to the Douglas J. Johnson economic protection trust fund.
2.20    (b) Notwithstanding the requirements of paragraph (a), setting the amount of
2.21distributions and the review process, an amount equal to ten cents per taxable ton of
2.22production in 2007, for distribution in 2008 only, that would otherwise be distributed
2.23under paragraph (a), may be used for a loan for the cost of construction of providing for
2.24a biomass energy facility. This amount must be deducted from the distribution under
2.25paragraph (a) for which a matching expenditure by the producer is not required. The
2.26granting of the loan is subject to approval by the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation
2.27Board; interest must be payable on the loan at the rate prescribed in section 298.2213,
2.28subdivision 3. Repayments of the loan and interest must be deposited in the northeast
2.29Minnesota economic development fund established in section 298.2213. If a loan is not
2.30made under this paragraph by July 1, 2009 2010, the amount that had been made available
2.31for the loan under this paragraph must be transferred to the northeast Minnesota economic
2.32development fund. Money distributed in 2008 to the fund established under this section
2.33that exceeds ten cents per ton is available to qualifying producers under paragraph (a)
2.34on a pro rata basis.
3.1    If 2008 H.F. No. 1812 is enacted and includes a provision that amends this section
3.2in a manner that is different from the amendment in this section, the amendment in this
3.3section supersedes the amendment in 2008 H.F. No. 1812, notwithstanding section 645.26.
3.4EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment."
3.5Renumber the sections in sequence and correct the internal references
3.6Amend the title accordingly