1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to public utilities; providing for a utility 
  1.3             personal property tax identification plan; providing 
  1.4             for an analysis of certain utility personal property 
  1.5             taxes; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes, chapter 216B. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [216B.169] [UTILITY PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX 
  1.9   IDENTIFICATION PLAN.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For the purposes of this 
  1.11  section, the following terms shall have the meanings given.  
  1.12     (a) "Utility" means a public utility. 
  1.13     (b) "Personal property" means all personal property located 
  1.14  in Minnesota which is owned by a utility. 
  1.15     (c) "Personal property tax" means the amount of ad valorem 
  1.16  taxes levied upon the utility's personal property. 
  1.17     (d) "Utility personal property tax identification plan" 
  1.18  means a plan to separately identify on a customer's bill the 
  1.19  amount of the utility's actual personal property tax obligation 
  1.20  which has been allocated to that customer by the commission 
  1.21  pursuant to the commission's authority and obligation to 
  1.22  establish just and reasonable rates. 
  1.23     Subd. 2.  [PETITION; ADOPTION.] (a) A utility may petition 
  1.24  and file with the commission for its approval a utility personal 
  1.25  property tax identification plan pursuant to this section. 
  1.26     (b) A petition may be filed and approved within a 
  2.1   miscellaneous tariff filing pursuant to section 216B.16.  
  2.2   Subject to subdivision 3, the commission may approve, reject, or 
  2.3   modify the plan in a manner which meets the requirements of this 
  2.4   section.  An approved plan is effective unless: 
  2.5      (1) the plan is withdrawn by the utility within 30 days of 
  2.6   a final appealable order approving the plan; or 
  2.7      (2) the commission, after notice and hearing, rescinds or 
  2.8   amends its order approving the plan. 
  2.9      Approval of a plan by the commission under this section 
  2.10  shall not affect the authority or ability of the commission to 
  2.11  use the environmental costs values established under section 
  2.12  216B.2422, subdivision 3, as provided in that subdivision. 
  2.13     Subd. 3.  [PLAN CONTENTS.] The commission shall approve a 
  2.14  utility personal property tax identification plan upon finding 
  2.15  that the plan: 
  2.16     (1) provides a mechanism to ensure that only the portion of 
  2.17  the utility's actual personal property tax obligation that is 
  2.18  currently allocated to and recoverable from an individual 
  2.19  customer is separately identified on each bill of that customer; 
  2.20     (2) provides for continued commission authority over the 
  2.21  periodic allocation of the utility's personal property tax to 
  2.22  customer classes, and to energy, capacity, and customer charges, 
  2.23  to prevent anticompetitive, unreasonable, or uneconomical 
  2.24  effects on customers; and 
  2.25     (3) provides a mechanism for the commission to exercise the 
  2.26  continued authority described in clause (2), to periodically 
  2.27  review, and reallocate if necessary, the amount of utility 
  2.28  personal property tax recoverable from individual customers, 
  2.29  customer classes, and energy, capacity, and customer charges.  
  2.30  This review shall occur at least annually. 
  2.31     Sec. 2.  [REVIEW BY PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION.] 
  2.32     The public utilities commission shall convene an advisory 
  2.33  committee to discuss and review the implementation and impact of 
  2.34  utility personal property tax identification plans, and shall 
  2.35  report to the legislature by January 1, 1998, if the advisory 
  2.36  committee recommends any legislative amendments to Minnesota 
  3.1   Statutes, section 216B.169. 
  3.2      Sec. 3.  [UTILITY TAXATION; LEGISLATIVE ELECTRIC ENERGY 
  3.3   TASK FORCE.] 
  3.4      The legislative electric energy task force shall, by 
  3.5   January 15, 1998, conduct an analysis of issues relating to the 
  3.6   imposition of personal property tax on electric and gas 
  3.7   utilities in the state and shall issue its findings and 
  3.8   recommendations to the legislature by that date regarding: 
  3.9      (1) the negative effects the personal property tax has on 
  3.10  the ability of Minnesota electric and gas utilities to compete 
  3.11  in a less regulated energy industry; 
  3.12     (2) the negative impacts that eliminating the personal 
  3.13  property tax on utilities would have on local government units 
  3.14  that depend on the revenues from that tax; and 
  3.15     (3) alternatives the legislature can consider to address 
  3.16  the issues that arise under clause (1) while minimizing the 
  3.17  impacts described in clause (2). 
  3.18     The task force shall establish an interim subcommittee on 
  3.19  utility taxation to address these issues, and the subcommittee 
  3.20  shall work closely with officials from affected local government 
  3.21  units in formulating recommendations to present to the full task 
  3.22  force. 
  3.23     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.24     Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day following final 
  3.25  enactment.