SB 155 Summary

• Expands entities eligible to hold exploration and mining rights to include legal conservators, limited liability companies, and registered trusts with at least one qualified trustee

• Requires department to send written notice by certified mail when an unqualified person acquires mining rights, giving 90 days to cure the defect or transfer the interest to a qualified person

• Establishes 90-day notice and cure period before department can declare mining claims invalid for deficient annual labor statements, with a 5-year statute of limitations for invalidation

• Allows holders to make cash payments instead of performing annual labor for up to 5 consecutive years, with annual rates of $100 per quarter-quarter section MTRSC claim or $400 per quarter section MTRSC claim

• Defines "labor" to include exploration, development, and production activities such as drilling, road construction, environmental studies, surveys, and reclamation work, with transportation costs limited to 50 percent of total labor value