1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to counties; imposing certain conditions on 
  1.3             state acquisition of lands in counties having 50 
  1.4             percent or more of acreage in public or nonprofit 
  1.5             ownership. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [CONDITIONS ON LAND ACQUISITION.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL RULE.] If the state acquires land 
  1.9   in a county that has 50 percent or more of its acreage in public 
  1.10  ownership, the commissioner, at the request of the county, shall 
  1.11  recommend to the land exchange board under Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.12  section 94.341, a sale or exchange of other property owned by 
  1.13  the state to the county in which the land was acquired that 
  1.14  meets the requirements for a qualified transfer under 
  1.15  subdivision 3.  The land exchange board shall review the 
  1.16  recommendation, obtain and consider the affected county's 
  1.17  response, and approve, reject, or amend the recommendation.  The 
  1.18  land exchange board shall consider the state's policy to be that 
  1.19  the percentage of publicly owned land should not be increased in 
  1.20  counties where more than 50 percent of the land is publicly 
  1.21  owned.  
  1.22     Subd. 2.  [APPLICATION; EXEMPTIONS.] (a) This section 
  1.23  applies to purchases, gifts, and eminent domain acquisitions of 
  1.24  property by the state. 
  1.25     (b) The section does not apply if: 
  2.1      (1) the property was not subject to ad valorem property 
  2.2   taxation at any time within the three calendar years before the 
  2.3   purchase; 
  2.4      (2) the acquisition was made through tax forfeiture; 
  2.5      (3) the acquisition resulted from a foreclosure or sale 
  2.6   under a tax lien or another security interest of the state 
  2.7   obtained by legal process other than a voluntary transfer by the 
  2.8   landowner or eminent domain; or 
  2.9      (4) the acquisition was made by the department of 
  2.10  transportation for road or highway construction. 
  2.11     Subd. 3.  [QUALIFIED TRANSFER.] (a) A qualified transfer 
  2.12  means a transfer to the county by the state of other real 
  2.13  property that meets all of the following: 
  2.14     (1) the property transferred has a value for ad valorem 
  2.15  property tax purposes at least equal to the property to be 
  2.16  acquired by the state; 
  2.17     (2) the property transferred was exempt from ad valorem 
  2.18  taxation for the three calendar years before the transfer; 
  2.19     (3) the property is located in the same county as the 
  2.20  property to be acquired by the state; and 
  2.21     (4) there is a reasonable prospect that the transferred 
  2.22  property will be subject to ad valorem taxation after the 
  2.23  transfer. 
  2.24     (b) After approval of the qualified transfer by the land 
  2.25  exchange board and transfer of the property to the county, the 
  2.26  county must then proceed to offer the property for sale to 
  2.27  potential property taxpayers.  If a parcel offered for sale 
  2.28  under this section is not sold within two years of the transfer 
  2.29  from the state, the county may derive income from the 
  2.30  transferred property in the same way as otherwise provided by 
  2.31  law for counties to derive income from tax-forfeited property 
  2.32  but shall continue to attempt to sell the property to a taxable 
  2.33  entity.  The county must remit to the state all net proceeds 
  2.34  from a sale of the land or from net income derived from holding 
  2.35  the property. 
  2.36     Subd. 4.  [COUNTY MAY WAIVE.] The governing body of the 
  3.1   county in which the property is located may waive, by 
  3.2   resolution, the application of this section. 
  3.3      Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.4      Section 1 is effective for interests to be acquired by the 
  3.5   state in a qualifying county after July 31, 1999.