1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to conservation; providing a pilot 
  1.3             conservation credit program in Houston county; 
  1.4             providing a property tax credit to program 
  1.5             participants; appropriating money.  
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [CONSERVATION CREDIT; HOUSTON COUNTY.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [CREATION.] A pilot program shall be 
  1.9   established in Houston county to offer willing landowners 
  1.10  residing on at least 40 acres of land a property tax credit for 
  1.11  practicing good conservation techniques on their land. 
  1.12     Subd. 2.  [CONSERVATION STANDARDS.] The Houston county soil 
  1.13  and water conservation district must establish conservation 
  1.14  standards by September 1, 1995, in order for eligible landowners 
  1.15  to participate in the conservation credit program.  The 
  1.16  standards may not repeat existing standards in Houston county, 
  1.17  but must reflect new conservation practices that landowners may 
  1.18  utilize. 
  1.19     Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBLE LANDOWNER.] An eligible landowner in 
  1.20  Houston county that wishes to apply the practices under 
  1.21  subdivision 2 and receive the property tax credit under 
  1.22  subdivision 4 must notify the soil and water conservation 
  1.23  district office.  After the district office has deemed that the 
  1.24  eligible landowner is practicing the conservation standards 
  1.25  established under subdivision 2, the district shall notify the 
  2.1   county auditor that the landowner is eligible to receive the 
  2.2   credit under subdivision 4.  This notification must be made by 
  2.3   December 1 for taxes payable in the following year. 
  2.4      Subd. 4.  [CREDIT.] The county auditor shall annually 
  2.5   reduce the tax liability of each eligible landowner in Houston 
  2.6   county who is certified under subdivision 3 by an amount equal 
  2.7   to 1-1/2 percent of the average level of estimated market value 
  2.8   of an acre of tillable land as determined by the county assessor 
  2.9   in the township, city, or unorganized territory in which the 
  2.10  qualifying land is located, multiplied by the number of acres of 
  2.11  land where eligible conservation practices under subdivision 2 
  2.12  are utilized by the landowner.  Any excess of credit over tax 
  2.13  liability shall not be paid to the property owner but shall be 
  2.14  applied to the tax liability of any other parcel of land owned 
  2.15  by the eligible landowner that is contiguous to the parcel 
  2.16  containing the eligible land or if the owner does not own any 
  2.17  contiguous parcel to which the credit can be applied, the credit 
  2.18  shall be applied to the owner's tax liability for any parcel 
  2.19  owned that is located in the same township or city or not 
  2.20  farther than two townships or cities or combination thereof from 
  2.21  the eligible land. 
  2.22     Subd. 5.  [CERTIFICATION OF CREDIT.] The total amounts of 
  2.23  credits granted under subdivision 4 shall be submitted by the 
  2.24  county auditor to the commissioner of revenue along with the 
  2.25  abstracts of tax lists required to be filed with the 
  2.26  commissioner under the provisions of Minnesota Statutes, section 
  2.27  275.29.  The commissioner of revenue shall review such 
  2.28  certifications to determine their accuracy.  The commissioner 
  2.29  may make any changes in the certification deemed necessary or 
  2.30  return a certification to the county auditor for corrections. 
  2.31     Subd. 6.  [PAYMENT REIMBURSEMENT.] The commissioner of 
  2.32  revenue shall reimburse each taxing district in the county for 
  2.33  the taxes lost as a result of the credit granted in subdivision 
  2.34  4.  The payments must be made at the time provided in Minnesota 
  2.35  Statutes, section 473H.10, subdivision 3, for payment to the 
  2.36  taxing jurisdictions in the same proportion that the ad valorem 
  3.1   tax is distributed. 
  3.2      Subd. 7.  [APPROPRIATION.] There is appropriated from the 
  3.3   general fund in the state treasury to the commissioner of 
  3.4   revenue the amount necessary to make the payments provided in 
  3.5   subdivision 6. 
  3.6      Subd. 8.  [LANDOWNER AGREEMENT.] In order to receive the 
  3.7   conservation credit provided in this section, an owner of 
  3.8   eligible land must agree to practice the conservation standards 
  3.9   developed under subdivision 2 during the year for which the 
  3.10  credit is received.  To initially qualify for the credit, the 
  3.11  agreement shall be made by a date set by the county board.  
  3.12  After initial qualification, an owner of eligible land shall not 
  3.13  be required to reapply to receive the credit for subsequent 
  3.14  years.  The agreement shall remain in effect until the 
  3.15  conservation standards are no longer adhered to.  The credit 
  3.16  shall not be available (1) for any year prior to which a timely 
  3.17  agreement has been made, or (2) for any year in which the owner 
  3.18  ceases to maintain the eligible land according to prescribed 
  3.19  conservation practices.  The local assessor shall certify that 
  3.20  each landowner receiving the credit has so agreed. 
  3.21     Subd. 9.  [PROPERTY TAX STATEMENTS.] The amount of the 
  3.22  conservation credit computed under subdivision 4 shall be 
  3.23  reflected on each eligible taxpayer's property tax statement. 
  3.24     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.25     This act is effective July 1, 1995, for property taxes 
  3.26  payable only in 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999.