HF 782

as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 03/23/2015 03:53pm

A bill for an act
relating to local governments; providing for reverse referendum approval of
certain issuance of debt; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 416.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

[416.17] VOTER APPROVAL REQUIRED; LEASES OF PUBLIC
BUILDINGS.

Subdivision 1.

Reverse referendum; certain leases.

(a) Before executing a
qualified lease, a municipality must publish notice of its intention to execute the lease
and the date and time of a hearing to obtain public comment on the matter. The notice
must be published in the official newspaper of the municipality or in a newspaper of
general circulation in the municipality and must include a statement of the amount of the
obligations to be issued by the authority and the maximum amount of annual rent to be
paid by the municipality under the qualified lease. The notice must be published at least
14, but not more than 28, days before the date of the hearing.

(b) A municipality may enter a lease subject to paragraph (a) only upon obtaining
the approval of a majority of the voters voting on the question of issuing the obligations, if
a petition requesting a vote on the issuance is signed by voters equal to five percent of
the votes cast in the municipality in the last general election and is filed with the county
auditor within 30 days after the public hearing.

Subd. 2.

Definitions.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
the meanings given them.

(b) "Authority" includes any of the following governmental units, the boundaries of
which include all or part of the geographic area of the municipality:

(1) a housing and redevelopment authority, as defined in section 469.002;

(2) a port authority, as defined in section 469.048;

(3) an economic development authority, as defined in section 469.090; or

(4) an entity established or exercising powers under a special law with powers
similar to those of an entity described in clauses (1) to (3).

(c) "Municipality" means a statutory or home rule charter city, a county, or a
town described in section 368.01, but does not include a city of the first class, however
organized, as defined in section 410.01.

(d) "Qualified lease" means a lease for use of public land, all or part of a public
building, or other public facilities consisting of real property for a term of three or more
years as a lessee if the property to be leased to the municipality was acquired or improved
with the proceeds of obligations, as defined in section 475.51, subdivision 3, issued by an
authority.