HF 531

12/13/24   REVISOR  MS/MI  25-00917
This Document can be made available
in alternative formats upon request  State of Minnesota
  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
  H. F. No.  531
02/13/2025     Authored by Bliss
  The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Elections Finance and Government Operations
1.1A bill for an act
1.2relating to local government; establishing procedures for county to alter preexisting
1.3boundary line; requiring counties to restore and perpetuate United States public
1.4land survey monuments; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 381.12,
1.5subdivision 1; 508.671, by adding a subdivision; 559.23.
1.6BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.7Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 381.12, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.8Subdivision 1. Surveyor, employment. When the county board determines that the
1.9monuments established by the United States in the public lands survey to mark public land
1.10survey corners have been destroyed or are becoming obscure, it may must employ a land
1.11surveyor licensed under chapter 326 to perpetuate said corners with durable magnetic
1.12monuments. The land surveyor shall make full and accurate notes and records from which
1.13the entire survey can be retraced, and, no later than one year after perpetuating the corners,
1.14shall file the records of such the survey and a certificate of location of government corner
1.15for each corner, prepared in compliance with subdivision 3. The land surveyor shall file the
1.16records and certificate in the office of the county surveyor if an office is maintained in a
1.17building maintained by the county for county purposes on a full-time basis, and if not, the
1.18land surveyor shall record them in the office of the county recorder. The monuments are
1.19prima facie evidence of the original United States public land survey corners.
1.20EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Section 1.  1
12/13/24   REVISOR  MS/MI  25-00917
2.1    Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 508.671, is amended by adding a subdivision to
2.2  read:
2.3      Subd. 4. Preestablished boundary lines. A county that seeks to alter a preestablished
2.4  boundary line when there is no pending action under subdivisions 1 and 2 must file a petition
2.5  with the court administrator to alter the boundary line. The county must file, record, and
2.6  provide notice of the petition in the same manner required under subdivision 1. Following
2.7  the final determination of the court, the court and the county must issue, file, and record a
2.8  copy of the final order in the same manner required under subdivisions 2 and 3. The county
2.9  is responsible for expenses related to surveying lands and expenses related to filing and
2.10 recording the petition and final order.
2.11     EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION. This section is effective August 1, 2025, and
2.12 applies to actions pending on or commenced on or after that date.
2.13   Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 559.23, is amended to read:
2.14     559.23 ACTION TO DETERMINE BOUNDARY LINES.
2.15     (a) An action may be brought by any person owning land or any interest therein against
2.16 the owner, or persons interested in adjoining land, to have the boundary lines established;
2.17 and when the boundary lines of two or more tracts depend upon any common point, line,
2.18 or landmark, an action may be brought by the owner or any person interested in any of such
2.19 tracts, against the owners or persons interested in the other tracts, to have all the boundary
2.20 lines established. If a boundary line is in common with registered land, the determination
2.21 of the boundary must be made pursuant to section 508.671. The court shall determine any
2.22 adverse claims in respect to any portion of the land involved which it may be necessary to
2.23 determine for a complete settlement of the boundary lines, and shall make such order
2.24 respecting costs and disbursements as it shall deem just. The decree of the court shall be
2.25 filed with the court administrator, and a certified copy thereof shall be recorded in the office
2.26 of the county recorder; provided that such decree shall not be accepted for such recording
2.27 or filing until it shall be presented to the county auditor who shall enter the same in the
2.28 transfer record and note upon the instrument over the auditor's official signature the words
2.29 "ENTERED IN THE TRANSFER RECORD."
2.30     (b) A county that seeks to alter a preestablished boundary line when there is no pending
2.31 action under paragraph (a), must file a petition to alter the boundary line pursuant to section
2.32 508.671, subdivision 4.
Sec. 3.  2
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3.1     EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION. This section is effective August 1, 2025, and
3.2 applies to actions pending on or commenced on or after that date.
3.3   Sec. 4. ASSESSMENT AND PRESERVATION OF MONUMENTS REQUIRED.
3.4     On or before December 31, 2027, a county must conduct a comprehensive assessment
3.5 of monuments established by the United States in the public land survey that exist within
3.6 the boundaries of the county. On or before December 31, 2028, a county must preserve and
3.7 restore all monuments that are destroyed or obscured in accordance with the requirements
3.8 and procedures of Minnesota Statutes, section 381.12, subdivision 2, in excess of $........
3.9     EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
      Sec. 4.  3