1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to taxation; creating the Stronger Community Aid program; amending the 
1.3 	dates of the truth in taxation process; appropriating money;amending Minnesota 
1.4 	Statutes 2018, section 275.065, subdivisions 1, 1a, 1c, 3; proposing coding for 
1.5 	new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 477A; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2018, 
1.6 	section 6.91.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 275.065, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.9 		Subdivision 1.Proposed levy. (a) Notwithstanding any law or charter to the contrary, 
1.10 	on or before September ~~30~~ 1, each county, home rule charter or statutory city, town, and 
1.11 	special taxing district, excluding the Metropolitan Council and the Metropolitan Mosquito 
1.12 	Control Commission, shall certify to the county auditor the proposed property tax levy for 
1.13 	taxes payable in the following year. For towns, the final certified levy shall also be considered 
1.14 	the proposed levy.
1.15 	(b) Notwithstanding any law or charter to the contrary, on or before September ~~15~~ 1, 
1.16 	the Metropolitan Council and the Metropolitan Mosquito Control Commission shall adopt 
1.17 	and certify to the county auditor a proposed property tax levy for taxes payable in the 
1.18 	following year.
1.19 	(c) On or before September ~~30~~ 1, each school district that has not mutually agreed with 
1.20 	its home county to extend this date shall certify to the county auditor the proposed property 
1.21 	tax levy for taxes payable in the following year. Each school district that has agreed with 
1.22 	its home county to delay the certification of its proposed property tax levy must certify its 
1.23 	proposed property tax levy for the following year no later than ~~October 7~~ September 8. The 
1.24 	school district shall certify the proposed levy as:
2.1 	(1) a specific dollar amount by school district fund, broken down between voter-approved 
2.2 	and non-voter-approved levies and between referendum market value and tax capacity 
2.3 	levies; or
2.4 	(2) the maximum levy limitation certified by the commissioner of education according 
2.5 	to section 126C.48, subdivision 1.
2.6 	(d) If the board of estimate and taxation or any similar board that establishes maximum 
2.7 	tax levies for taxing jurisdictions within a first class city certifies the maximum property 
2.8 	tax levies for funds under its jurisdiction by charter to the county auditor by the date specified 
2.9 	in paragraph (a), the city shall be deemed to have certified its levies for those taxing 
2.10 	jurisdictions.
2.11 	(e) For purposes of this section, "special taxing district" means a special taxing district 
2.12 	as defined in section 275.066. Intermediate school districts that levy a tax under chapter 
2.13 	124 or 136D, joint powers boards established under sections 123A.44 to 123A.445, and 
2.14 	Common School Districts No. 323, Franconia, and No. 815, Prinsburg, are also special 
2.15 	taxing districts for purposes of this section.
2.16 	(f) At the meeting at which a taxing authority, other than a town, adopts its proposed 
2.17 	tax levy under this subdivision, the taxing authority shall announce the time and place of 
2.18 	any subsequent regularly scheduled meetings at which the budget and levy will be discussed 
2.19 	and at which the public will be allowed to speak. The time and place of those meetings must 
2.20 	be included in the proceedings or summary of proceedings published in the official newspaper 
2.21 	of the taxing authority under section 123B.09, 375.12, or 412.191.

2.22 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for taxes payable in 2020 and thereafter.

2.23 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 275.065, subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
2.24 		Subd. 1a.Overlapping jurisdictions. In the case of a taxing authority lying in two or 
2.25 	more counties, the home county auditor shall certify the proposed levy and the proposed 
2.26 	local tax rate to the other county auditor by ~~October 5~~ September 6, unless the home county 
2.27 	has agreed to delay the certification of its proposed property tax levy, in which case the 
2.28 	home county auditor shall certify the proposed levy and the proposed local tax rate to the 
2.29 	other county auditor by ~~October 10~~ September 11. The home county auditor must estimate 
2.30 	the levy or rate in preparing the notices required in subdivision 3, if the other county has 
2.31 	not certified the appropriate information. If requested by the home county auditor, the other 
2.32 	county auditor must furnish an estimate to the home county auditor.

2.33 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for taxes payable in 2020 and thereafter.

3.1 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 275.065, subdivision 1c, is amended to read:
3.2 		Subd. 1c.Levy; shared, merged, consolidated services. If two or more taxing authorities 
3.3 	are in the process of negotiating an agreement for sharing, merging, or consolidating services 
3.4 	between those taxing authorities at the time the proposed levy is to be certified under 
3.5 	subdivision 1, each taxing authority involved in the negotiation shall certify its total proposed 
3.6 	levy as provided in that subdivision, including a notification to the county auditor of the 
3.7 	specific service involved in the agreement which is not yet finalized. The affected taxing 
3.8 	authorities may amend their proposed levies under subdivision 1 until ~~October 10~~ September 
3.9 	11 for levy amounts relating only to the specific service involved.

3.10 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for taxes payable in 2020 and thereafter.

3.11 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 275.065, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
3.12 		Subd. 3.Notice of proposed property taxes. (a) The county auditor shall prepare and 
3.13 	the county treasurer shall deliver after ~~November 10~~ October 15 and on or before ~~November~~
3.14 	October 24 each year, by first class mail to each taxpayer at the address listed on the county's 
3.15 	current year's assessment roll, a notice of proposed property taxes. Upon written request by 
3.16 	the taxpayer, the treasurer may send the notice in electronic form or by electronic mail 
3.17 	instead of on paper or by ordinary mail.
3.18 	(b) The commissioner of revenue shall prescribe the form of the notice.
3.19 	(c) The notice must inform taxpayers that it contains the amount of property taxes each 
3.20 	taxing authority proposes to collect for taxes payable the following year. In the case of a 
3.21 	town, or in the case of the state general tax, the final tax amount will be its proposed tax. 
3.22 	The notice must clearly state for each city that has a population over 500, county, school 
3.23 	district, regional library authority established under section 134.201, and metropolitan taxing 
3.24 	districts as defined in paragraph (i), the time and place of a meeting for each taxing authority 
3.25 	in which the budget and levy will be discussed and public input allowed, prior to the final 
3.26 	budget and levy determination. The taxing authorities must provide the county auditor with 
3.27 	the information to be included in the notice on or before the time it certifies its proposed 
3.28 	levy under subdivision 1. The public must be allowed to speak at that meeting, which must 
3.29 	occur after ~~November~~ October 24 and must not be held before 6:00 p.m. It must provide a 
3.30 	telephone number for the taxing authority that taxpayers may call if they have questions 
3.31 	related to the notice and an address where comments will be received by mail, except that 
3.32 	no notice required under this section shall be interpreted as requiring the printing of a 
3.33 	personal telephone number or address as the contact information for a taxing authority. If 
3.34 	a taxing authority does not maintain public offices where telephone calls can be received 
4.1 	by the authority, the authority may inform the county of the lack of a public telephone 
4.2 	number and the county shall not list a telephone number for that taxing authority.
4.3 	(d) The notice must state for each parcel:
4.4 	(1) the market value of the property as determined under section 273.11, and used for 
4.5 	computing property taxes payable in the following year and for taxes payable in the current 
4.6 	year as each appears in the records of the county assessor on ~~November~~ October 1 of the 
4.7 	current year; and, in the case of residential property, whether the property is classified as 
4.8 	homestead or nonhomestead. The notice must clearly inform taxpayers of the years to which 
4.9 	the market values apply and that the values are final values;
4.10 	(2) the items listed below, shown separately by county, city or town, and state general 
4.11 	tax, agricultural homestead credit under section 273.1384, school building bond agricultural 
4.12 	credit under section 273.1387, voter approved school levy, other local school levy, and the 
4.13 	sum of the special taxing districts, and as a total of all taxing authorities:
4.14 	(i) the actual tax for taxes payable in the current year; and
4.15 	(ii) the proposed tax amount.
4.16 	If the county levy under clause (2) includes an amount for a lake improvement district 
4.17 	as defined under sections 103B.501 to 103B.581, the amount attributable for that purpose 
4.18 	must be separately stated from the remaining county levy amount.
4.19 	In the case of a town or the state general tax, the final tax shall also be its proposed tax 
4.20 	unless the town changes its levy at a special town meeting under section 365.52. If a school 
4.21 	district has certified under section 126C.17, subdivision 9, that a referendum will be held 
4.22 	in the school district at the November general election, the county auditor must note next 
4.23 	to the school district's proposed amount that a referendum is pending and that, if approved 
4.24 	by the voters, the tax amount may be higher than shown on the notice. In the case of the 
4.25 	city of Minneapolis, the levy for Minneapolis Park and Recreation shall be listed separately 
4.26 	from the remaining amount of the city's levy. In the case of the city of St. Paul, the levy for 
4.27 	the St. Paul Library Agency must be listed separately from the remaining amount of the 
4.28 	city's levy. In the case of Ramsey County, any amount levied under section 134.07 may be 
4.29 	listed separately from the remaining amount of the county's levy. In the case of a parcel 
4.30 	where tax increment or the fiscal disparities areawide tax under chapter 276A or 473F 
4.31 	applies, the proposed tax levy on the captured value or the proposed tax levy on the tax 
4.32 	capacity subject to the areawide tax must each be stated separately and not included in the 
4.33 	sum of the special taxing districts; and
5.1 	(3) the increase or decrease between the total taxes payable in the current year and the 
5.2 	total proposed taxes, expressed as a percentage.
5.3 	For purposes of this section, the amount of the tax on homesteads qualifying under the 
5.4 	senior citizens' property tax deferral program under chapter 290B is the total amount of 
5.5 	property tax before subtraction of the deferred property tax amount.
5.6 	(e) The notice must clearly state that the proposed or final taxes do not include the 
5.7 	following:
5.8 	(1) special assessments;
5.9 	(2) levies approved by the voters after the date the proposed taxes are certified, including 
5.10 	bond referenda and school district levy referenda;
5.11 	(3) a levy limit increase approved by the voters by the first Tuesday after the first Monday 
5.12 	in November of the levy year as provided under section 275.73;
5.13 	(4) amounts necessary to pay cleanup or other costs due to a natural disaster occurring 
5.14 	after the date the proposed taxes are certified;
5.15 	(5) amounts necessary to pay tort judgments against the taxing authority that become 
5.16 	final after the date the proposed taxes are certified; and
5.17 	(6) the contamination tax imposed on properties which received market value reductions 
5.18 	for contamination.
5.19 	(f) Except as provided in subdivision 7, failure of the county auditor to prepare or the 
5.20 	county treasurer to deliver the notice as required in this section does not invalidate the 
5.21 	proposed or final tax levy or the taxes payable pursuant to the tax levy.
5.22 	(g) If the notice the taxpayer receives under this section lists the property as 
5.23 	nonhomestead, and satisfactory documentation is provided to the county assessor by the 
5.24 	applicable deadline, and the property qualifies for the homestead classification in that 
5.25 	assessment year, the assessor shall reclassify the property to homestead for taxes payable 
5.26 	in the following year.
5.27 	(h) In the case of class 4 residential property used as a residence for lease or rental 
5.28 	periods of 30 days or more, the taxpayer must either:
5.29 	(1) mail or deliver a copy of the notice of proposed property taxes to each tenant, renter, 
5.30 	or lessee; or
5.31 	(2) post a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place on the premises of the property.
6.1 	The notice must be mailed or posted by the taxpayer by ~~November~~ October 27 or within 
6.2 	three days of receipt of the notice, whichever is later. A taxpayer may notify the county 
6.3 	treasurer of the address of the taxpayer, agent, caretaker, or manager of the premises to 
6.4 	which the notice must be mailed in order to fulfill the requirements of this paragraph.
6.5 	(i) For purposes of this subdivision and subdivision 6, "metropolitan special taxing 
6.6 	districts" means the following taxing districts in the seven-county metropolitan area that 
6.7 	levy a property tax for any of the specified purposes listed below:
6.8 	(1) Metropolitan Council under section 473.132, 473.167, 473.249, 473.325, 473.446, 
6.9 	473.521, 473.547, or 473.834;
6.10 	(2) Metropolitan Airports Commission under section 473.667, 473.671, or 473.672; and
6.11 	(3) Metropolitan Mosquito Control Commission under section 473.711.
6.12 	For purposes of this section, any levies made by the regional rail authorities in the county 
6.13 	of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington under chapter 398A 
6.14 	shall be included with the appropriate county's levy.
6.15 	(j) The governing body of a county, city, or school district may, with the consent of the 
6.16 	county board, include supplemental information with the statement of proposed property 
6.17 	taxes about the impact of state aid increases or decreases on property tax increases or 
6.18 	decreases and on the level of services provided in the affected jurisdiction. This supplemental 
6.19 	information may include information for the following year, the current year, and for as 
6.20 	many consecutive preceding years as deemed appropriate by the governing body of the 
6.21 	county, city, or school district. It may include only information regarding:
6.22 	(1) the impact of inflation as measured by the implicit price deflator for state and local 
6.23 	government purchases;
6.24 	(2) population growth and decline;
6.25 	(3) state or federal government action; and
6.26 	(4) other financial factors that affect the level of property taxation and local services 
6.27 	that the governing body of the county, city, or school district may deem appropriate to 
6.28 	include.
6.29 	The information may be presented using tables, written narrative, and graphic 
6.30 	representations and may contain instruction toward further sources of information or 
6.31 	opportunity for comment.

6.32 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for taxes payable in 2020 and thereafter.

7.1 	Sec. 5. [477A.0135] STRONGER COMMUNITY AID.
7.2 		Subdivision 1.Purpose. The purpose of this section is to enhance the local performance 
7.3 	measurement program administered by the Office of the State Auditor by implementing a 
7.4 	permanent aid program set to compensate participating local governments for their dedication 
7.5 	to enhancing the public hearing process of determining final local government levies and 
7.6 	for implementing a performance measurement program. Participation in this program is 
7.7 	voluntary. For purposes of this section "local governments" is limited to all counties and 
7.8 	all statutory and home rule charter cities.
7.9 		Subd. 2.Duties of the Office of the State Auditor. (a) To assist participating local 
7.10 	governments, the Office of the State Auditor must provide on its website guidance for 
7.11 	compliance with the requirements of this section, including but not limited to:
7.12 	(1) performance measures for counties;
7.13 	(2) performance measures for cities;
7.14 	(3) sample resolution for counties and cities; and
7.15 	(4) reporting requirements.
7.16 	(b) Under subdivision 7, the state auditor must prescribe the form in which participating 
7.17 	local governments report their compliance with the requirements of this section.
7.18 	(c) Under subdivision 9, the state auditor must certify to the commissioner of revenue 
7.19 	by April 1 of each year the list of participating local governments that are eligible to receive 
7.20 	aid under this section.
7.21 		Subd. 3.Program performance measures. (a) Each year, a local government that elects 
7.22 	to participate in this section must adopt and implement a set of performance measures 
7.23 	prescribed by the Office of the State Auditor.
7.24 	(b) A local government that elects to participate in this section must adopt its performance 
7.25 	measures by June 1 each year.
7.26 		Subd. 4. Citizen budget workshop meetings. (a) A local government that elects to 
7.27 	participate in this section must hold a citizen budget workshop meeting to discuss 
7.28 	performance measures selected for the upcoming year, review and report the results of the 
7.29 	performance measures and compare to previous years, if applicable, discuss the budget 
7.30 	process and budget priorities, and receive public input.
7.31 	(b) The meeting described in this subdivision must be held between June 15 and August 
7.32 	15 of each year, not before 6:00 p.m., with notice to the public provided at least 15 days 
8.1 	before the meeting is held by posting on the local government's official website or direct 
8.2 	mail.
8.3 		Subd. 5. Preliminary budget meeting. At the meeting at which a local government 
8.4 	participating in this section sets its preliminary budget and levy, under section 275.065, 
8.5 	subdivision 1, the participating local government must identify at least one performance 
8.6 	measure area needing improvement and determine a strategy and plan for its improvement.
8.7 		Subd. 6. Final budget meeting; resolution. At the meeting at which a local government 
8.8 	participating in this section sets its final budget and levy, under section 275.07, the 
8.9 	participating local government must approve a resolution declaring that:
8.10 	(1) a participating local government adopted and implemented the appropriate number 
8.11 	of performance measures from each applicable service category prescribed by the state 
8.12 	auditor;
8.13 	(2) a participating local government held a citizen budget workshop meeting, before the 
8.14 	meeting at which it set its preliminary levy, during which it discussed the budget process 
8.15 	and reported the results of the performance measures to the public and allowed for public 
8.16 	input;
8.17 	(3) performance measure results from the previous year, if applicable, were made public 
8.18 	through the local government's official website or direct mail; and
8.19 	(4) a participating local government identified for improvement at least one performance 
8.20 	measure and developed a plan for its improvement.
8.21 		Subd. 7. Certification to the Office of the State Auditor. A participating local 
8.22 	government must certify to the Office of the State Auditor, in a form prescribed by the 
8.23 	auditor, that it has met the requirements of subdivisions 3 to 6 by February 1 of the aid 
8.24 	distribution year.
8.25 		Subd. 8.Aid calculation. (a) Beginning in calendar year 2019 and thereafter, each local 
8.26 	jurisdiction that has satisfied the requirements under this section is eligible for an aid 
8.27 	payment.
8.28 	(b) For eligible counties, the aid is calculated as follows:
8.29 	(1) for a county with a population up to 10,000, the aid is equal to $4 per capita to a 
8.30 	maximum of $20,000;
8.31 	(2) for a county with a population between 10,001 and 30,000, the aid is equal to $2 per 
8.32 	capita to a maximum of $30,000; and
9.1 	(3) for a county with a population of 30,001 or over, the aid is equal to $1 per capita to 
9.2 	a maximum of $150,000.
9.3 	(c) For eligible cities, the aid is calculated as follows:
9.4 	(1) for a city with a population up to 500, the aid is equal to $8 per capita to a maximum 
9.5 	of $2,000;
9.6 	(2) for a city with a population between 501 and 2,500, the aid is equal to $5 per capita 
9.7 	to a maximum of $5,000; and
9.8 	(3) for a city with a population over 2,500, the aid is equal to $2 per capita to a maximum 
9.9 	of $50,000.
9.10 	(d) For purposes of this section, the population data used for the calculation of this aid 
9.11 	is the population of each eligible county and city as of January 1 of the aid distribution year.
9.12 		Subd. 9.Aid certification and payment. (a) By April 1 of the aid distribution year, the 
9.13 	Office of the State Auditor must certify to the commissioner of revenue a list of the local 
9.14 	governments that have certified, pursuant to subdivision 7, that they have met the 
9.15 	requirements of this section and are eligible to receive aid.
9.16 	(b) The commissioner of revenue shall make all necessary calculations and make 
9.17 	payments directly to the affected taxing authorities annually. In addition, the commissioner 
9.18 	shall notify the authorities of their aid amounts and those statewide total figures before 
9.19 	August 1 of the aid distribution year.
9.20 	(c) The commissioner of revenue shall make the payments to qualifying local jurisdictions 
9.21 	on December 26 annually.
9.22 		Subd. 10.Appropriation. An amount sufficient to make the payments required by the 
9.23 	commissioner of revenue under subdivision 9 is annually appropriated from the general 
9.24 	fund to the commissioner of revenue.

9.25 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for aids payable in 2020 and thereafter.

9.26 	Sec. 6. REPEALER.
 9.27 	Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 6.91, is repealed.

9.28 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective upon final enactment.

APPENDIX 

Repealed Minnesota Statutes: 19-3946 

6.91 LOCAL PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING.Subdivision 1.Reports of local performance measures. 
(a) A county or city that elects to participate in the standard measures program must report its results to its citizens annually through publication, direct mailing, posting on the jurisdiction's website, or through a public hearing at which the budget and levy will be discussed and public input allowed. 

(b) Each year, jurisdictions participating in the local performance measurement and improvement program must file a report with the state auditor by July 1, in a form prescribed by the auditor. All reports must include a declaration that the jurisdiction has complied with, or will have complied with by the end of the year, the requirement in paragraph (a). For jurisdictions participating in the standard measures program, the report shall consist of the jurisdiction's results for the standard set of performance measures under section 6.90, subdivision 2, paragraph (a). In 2012, jurisdictions participating in the comprehensive performance measurement program must submit a resolution approved by its local governing body indicating that it either has implemented or is in the process of implementing a local performance measurement system that meets the minimum standards specified by the council under section 6.90, subdivision 2, paragraph (b). In 2013 and thereafter, jurisdictions participating in the comprehensive performance measurement program must submit a statement approved by its local governing body affirming that it has implemented a local performance measurement system that meets the minimum standards specified by the council under section 6.90, subdivision 2, paragraph (b). 

Subd. 2.Benefits of participation. 
(a) A county or city that elects to participate in the standard measures program for 2011 is: (1) eligible for per capita reimbursement of $0.14 per capita, but not to exceed $25,000 for any government entity; and (2) exempt from levy limits under sections 275.70 to 275.74 for taxes payable in 2012, if levy limits are in effect. 

(b) Any county or city that elects to participate in the standard measures program for 2012 is eligible for per capita reimbursement of $0.14 per capita, but not to exceed $25,000 for any government entity. Any jurisdiction participating in the comprehensive performance measurement program is exempt from levy limits under sections 275.70 to 275.74 for taxes payable in 2013 if levy limits are in effect. 

(c) Any county or city that elects to participate in the standard measures program for 2013 or any year thereafter is eligible for per capita reimbursement of $0.14 per capita, but not to exceed $25,000 for any government entity. Any jurisdiction participating in the comprehensive performance measurement program for 2013 or any year thereafter is exempt from levy limits under sections 275.70 to 275.74 for taxes payable in the following year, if levy limits are in effect. 

Subd. 3.Certification of participation. 
(a) The state auditor shall certify to the commissioner of revenue by August 1 of each year the counties and cities that are participating in the standard measures program and the comprehensive performance measurement program. 

(b) The commissioner of revenue shall make per capita aid payments under this section on the second payment date specified in section 477A.015, in the same year that the measurements were reported. 

(c) The commissioner of revenue shall notify each county and city that is entitled to exemption from levy limits by August 10 of each levy year. 

Subd. 4.Appropriation. 
(a) The amount necessary to fund obligations under subdivision 2 is annually appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of revenue. 

(b) The sum of $6,000 in fiscal year 2011 and $2,000 in each fiscal year thereafter is annually appropriated from the general fund to the state auditor to carry out the auditor's responsibilities under sections 6.90 to 6.91.