HF 1024

1st Engrossment - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to tax-exempt bond allocations; providing for 
  1.3             certain eligibility, scoring system, income and 
  1.4             purchase price limits, and reservation of authority; 
  1.5             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 474A.02, 
  1.6             subdivision 23a; 474A.045; 474A.061, subdivisions 2a, 
  1.7             2b, and 4; and 474A.091, subdivision 5. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 474A.02, 
  1.10  subdivision 23a, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 23a.  [QUALIFIED BONDS.] "Qualified bonds" means the 
  1.12  specific type or types of obligations that are subject to the 
  1.13  annual volume cap.  Qualified bonds include the following types 
  1.14  of obligations as defined in federal tax law: 
  1.15     (a) "public facility bonds" means "exempt facility bonds" 
  1.16  as defined in federal tax law, except for residential rental 
  1.17  project bonds, which are those obligations issued to finance 
  1.18  airports, docks and wharves, mass commuting facilities, 
  1.19  facilities for the furnishing of water, sewage facilities, solid 
  1.20  waste disposal facilities, facilities for the local furnishing 
  1.21  of electric energy or gas, local district heating or cooling 
  1.22  facilities, and qualified hazardous waste facilities.  New bonds 
  1.23  and other obligations are ineligible to receive state 
  1.24  allocations or entitlement authority for public facility 
  1.25  projects under this section if they have been issued:  
  1.26     (1) for the purpose of refinancing, refunding, or otherwise 
  2.1   defeasing existing debt; and 
  2.2      (2) more than one calendar year prior to the date of 
  2.3   application; 
  2.4      (b) "residential rental project bonds" which are those 
  2.5   obligations issued to finance qualified residential rental 
  2.6   projects; 
  2.7      (c) "mortgage bonds"; 
  2.8      (d) "small issue bonds" issued to finance manufacturing 
  2.9   projects and the acquisition or improvement of agricultural real 
  2.10  or personal property under sections 41C.01 to 41C.13; 
  2.11     (e) "student loan bonds"; 
  2.12     (f) "redevelopment bonds"; 
  2.13     (g) "governmental bonds" with a nonqualified amount in 
  2.14  excess of $15,000,000 as set forth in section 141(b)5 of federal 
  2.15  tax law; and 
  2.16     (h) "enterprise zone facility bonds" issued to finance 
  2.17  facilities located within empowerment zones or enterprise 
  2.18  communities, as authorized under Public Law Number 103-66, 
  2.19  section 13301. 
  2.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 474A.045, is 
  2.21  amended to read: 
  2.22     474A.045 [SCORING SYSTEM FOR MANUFACTURING PROJECTS.] 
  2.23     The following criteria must be used in determining the 
  2.24  allocation of small issue bonds for manufacturing projects.  The 
  2.25  issuer must prepare and submit to the commissioner a public 
  2.26  purpose scoring worksheet that presents the data and methods 
  2.27  used in determining the total score under this section.  The 
  2.28  total score is the sum of the following: 
  2.29     (1) the number of net direct new jobs in the state 
  2.30  generated by the proposed project for the next two years per 
  2.31  $100,000 of proposed allocation multiplied by 15; 
  2.32     (2) the number of direct existing jobs retained in the 
  2.33  state multiplied by .625 due to the proposed project per 
  2.34  $100,000 of proposed allocation multiplied by 15; 
  2.35     (3) the quotient of the total increase in net payroll 
  2.36  generated in the state by the proposed project divided by the 
  3.1   proposed bond allocation, multiplied by 100 the average hourly 
  3.2   wage paid to employees by the proposed project, exclusive of 
  3.3   benefits mandated by law, based on the following scale: 
  3.4   Wages paid per hour              $8    $10    $12    $15 
  3.5   Non-Metro area points awarded    10     15     20     20 
  3.6   Seven-County Metro Area 
  3.7   points awarded                    0     10     15     20 
  3.8      For purposes of this section, the seven-county metropolitan 
  3.9   area includes Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, 
  3.10  and Washington; 
  3.11     (4) the quotient of the estimated total net increase in 
  3.12  property taxes generated in the state by the project in the 
  3.13  first full year of operation divided by the proposed bond 
  3.14  allocation, multiplied by 500; and 
  3.15     (5) the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate in the 
  3.16  community where the proposed project is located measured as a 
  3.17  percent of the state's unemployment rate, multiplied by ten. 
  3.18     The community seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate used 
  3.19  in determining the points under clause (5) must be the most 
  3.20  recent rate for the city or county in which the proposed project 
  3.21  is located unless an accurate rate may be estimated for a 
  3.22  smaller geographic area or census tract.  The commissioner of 
  3.23  economic security must approve the rate used when an 
  3.24  unemployment rate other than that for a county is used, as 
  3.25  provided by the commissioner of economic security. 
  3.26     If the manufacturing project will retain jobs and the total 
  3.27  score includes points calculated under clause (2), the issuer 
  3.28  must certify to the commissioner that the proceeds of the small 
  3.29  issue bonds are required to retain those jobs.  The commissioner 
  3.30  shall submit the information relating to the retaining of jobs 
  3.31  to the commissioner of trade and economic development.  The 
  3.32  commissioner of trade and economic development must verify that 
  3.33  the proceeds of the small issue bonds are required to retain the 
  3.34  jobs referred to in the certification prior to the awarding of 
  3.35  any points under this section. 
  3.36     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 474A.061, 
  4.1   subdivision 2a, is amended to read: 
  4.2      Subd. 2a.  [HOUSING POOL ALLOCATION.] (a) On the first 
  4.3   business day that falls on a Monday of the calendar year and the 
  4.4   first Monday in February, the commissioner shall allocate 
  4.5   available bonding authority in the housing pool to applications 
  4.6   received by the Monday of the previous week for residential 
  4.7   rental projects that are not restricted to persons who are 55 
  4.8   years of age or older and that meet the eligibility criteria 
  4.9   under section 474A.047, except that allocations may be made to 
  4.10  projects that are restricted to persons who are 55 years of age 
  4.11  or older, if the project preserves existing federally subsidized 
  4.12  housing.  Projects that preserve existing federally subsidized 
  4.13  housing shall be allocated available bonding authority in the 
  4.14  housing pool for residential rental projects prior to the 
  4.15  allocation of available bonding authority to other eligible 
  4.16  residential rental projects.  If an issuer that receives an 
  4.17  allocation under this paragraph does not issue obligations equal 
  4.18  to all or a portion of the allocation received within 120 days 
  4.19  of the allocation or returns the allocation to the commissioner, 
  4.20  the amount of the allocation is canceled and returned for 
  4.21  reallocation through the housing pool. 
  4.22     (b) After February 1, and through February 15, the 
  4.23  Minnesota housing finance agency may accept applications from 
  4.24  cities for single-family housing programs which meet program 
  4.25  requirements as follows:  
  4.26     (1) the housing program must meet a locally identified 
  4.27  housing need and be economically viable; 
  4.28     (2) the adjusted income of home buyers may not exceed the 
  4.29  greater of the agency's income limits or 80 percent of the 
  4.30  greater of statewide or area median income as published by the 
  4.31  Department of Housing and Urban Development, adjusted for 
  4.32  household size; 
  4.33     (3) house price limits may not exceed: the federal price 
  4.34  limits established for mortgage revenue bond programs; 
  4.35     (i) the greater of agency house price limits or the federal 
  4.36  price limits for housing up to a maximum of $95,000; 
  5.1      (ii) for a new construction affordability initiative, the 
  5.2   greater of 115 percent of agency house price limits or 90 
  5.3   percent of the median purchase price in the city for which the 
  5.4   bonds are to be sold up to a maximum of $95,000; 
  5.5      (iii) for new construction housing affordability 
  5.6   initiatives located in the metropolitan area, as defined by 
  5.7   section 473.121, subdivision 2, the lesser of the federal price 
  5.8   limits or the amount determined by the metropolitan council as 
  5.9   the maximum affordable house price under the Metropolitan 
  5.10  Livable Communities Act.  New construction housing affordability 
  5.11  initiatives in the metropolitan area must meet one or more of 
  5.12  the following criteria:  
  5.13     (A) the initiative provides financial resources unrelated 
  5.14  to the costs of completion of the mortgage revenue bond sale to 
  5.15  reduce the cost of the housing or to improve the terms of the 
  5.16  mortgage loans provided through the bond sale.  A financial 
  5.17  contribution must be equal to or exceeding ten percent of the 
  5.18  purchase price of each newly constructed home to be financed; 
  5.19     (B) the initiative provides that the local unit of 
  5.20  government in the jurisdiction in which the housing is to be 
  5.21  constructed takes affirmative steps to change local regulations 
  5.22  in order to improve housing affordability.  The steps must 
  5.23  demonstrably reduce the cost of the housing by at least ten 
  5.24  percent.  The financial contribution and the affirmative steps 
  5.25  to change regulation may be combined to meet the ten percent 
  5.26  requirement; or 
  5.27     (C) the initiative supports the efforts of housing groups 
  5.28  that support self-help or owner-built housing initiatives in 
  5.29  which at least 15 percent of the labor or materials or both 
  5.30  needed to complete the new housing is acquired or donated 
  5.31  through the efforts of such groups; or 
  5.32     (iv) for a community revitalization initiative for existing 
  5.33  housing in the metropolitan area, as defined by section 473.121, 
  5.34  subdivision 2, the federal price limits for existing housing, 
  5.35  provided the community revitalization initiative meets the 
  5.36  following criteria:  
  6.1      (A) the community revitalization initiative is targeted to 
  6.2   a specific geographic area within the community which is less 
  6.3   than the entire community; 
  6.4      (B) the community revitalization initiative is located in a 
  6.5   community in which the most recently available data establishes 
  6.6   that the median purchase price for an existing home in the 
  6.7   community exceeds the agency house price limits; and 
  6.8      (C) the community revitalization initiative provides 
  6.9   financial resources unrelated to the costs of completion of the 
  6.10  mortgage revenue bond sale to reduce the cost of the housing or 
  6.11  to improve the terms of the mortgage loans provided through the 
  6.12  bond sale.  A financial contribution must be equal to or 
  6.13  exceeding ten percent of the purchase price of each existing 
  6.14  home to be financed.  
  6.15     Data establishing the median purchase price in the city 
  6.16  must be included in the application by a city requesting house 
  6.17  price limits higher than the housing finance agency's house 
  6.18  price limits on the home purchase price amount, mortgage amount, 
  6.19  income, household size, and race of the households served in the 
  6.20  previous year's single-family housing program, if any, must be 
  6.21  included in each application; and 
  6.22     (4) an application deposit equal to one percent of the 
  6.23  requested allocation must be submitted before the agency 
  6.24  forwards the list specifying the amounts allocated to the 
  6.25  commissioner under paragraph (c).  The agency shall submit the 
  6.26  city's application and application deposit to the commissioner 
  6.27  when requesting an allocation from the housing pool. 
  6.28     Applications by a consortium shall include the name of each 
  6.29  member of the consortium and the amount of allocation requested 
  6.30  by each member. 
  6.31     The Minnesota housing finance agency may accept 
  6.32  applications from June 15 through June 30 from cities for 
  6.33  single-family housing programs which meet program requirements 
  6.34  specified under clauses (1) to (4) if bonding authority is 
  6.35  available in the housing pool.  Applications will be accepted 
  6.36  from June 15 to June 30 only from cities that received an 
  7.1   allotment in the same calendar year and used at least 75 percent 
  7.2   of their allotment by June 1.  Allocations will be made loan by 
  7.3   loan, on a first come, first served basis among applicant 
  7.4   cities.  The agency must allot available bonding authority.  For 
  7.5   purposes of paragraphs (a) to (g), "city" means a county or a 
  7.6   consortium of local government units that agree through a joint 
  7.7   powers agreement to apply together for single-family housing 
  7.8   programs, and has the meaning given it in section 462C.02, 
  7.9   subdivision 6.  "Agency" means the Minnesota housing finance 
  7.10  agency.  
  7.11     (c) The total amount of allocation for mortgage bonds for 
  7.12  one city is limited to the lesser of:  (i) the amount requested, 
  7.13  or (ii) the product of the total amount available for mortgage 
  7.14  bonds from the housing pool, multiplied by the ratio of each 
  7.15  applicant's population as determined by the most recent estimate 
  7.16  of the city's population released by the state demographer's 
  7.17  office to the total of all the applicants' population, except 
  7.18  that each applicant shall be allocated a minimum of $100,000 
  7.19  regardless of the amount requested or the amount determined 
  7.20  under the formula in clause (ii).  If a city applying for an 
  7.21  allocation is located within a county that has also applied for 
  7.22  an allocation, the city's population will be deducted from the 
  7.23  county's population in calculating the amount of allocations 
  7.24  under this paragraph. 
  7.25     Upon determining the amount of each applicant's allocation, 
  7.26  the agency shall forward a list specifying the amounts allotted 
  7.27  to each application and application deposit checks to the 
  7.28  commissioner. 
  7.29     (d) The agency may issue bonds on behalf of participating 
  7.30  cities.  The agency shall request an allocation from the 
  7.31  commissioner for all applicants who choose to have the agency 
  7.32  issue bonds on their behalf and the commissioner shall allocate 
  7.33  the requested amount to the agency.  The agency may request an 
  7.34  allocation at any time after the first Monday in February and 
  7.35  through the last Monday in July, but may request an allocation 
  7.36  no later than the last Monday in July.  The commissioner shall 
  8.1   return any application deposit to a city that paid an 
  8.2   application deposit under paragraph (b), clause (4), but was not 
  8.3   part of the list forwarded to the commissioner under paragraph 
  8.4   (c). 
  8.5      (e) A city may choose to issue bonds on its own behalf or 
  8.6   through a joint powers agreement or may use bonding authority 
  8.7   for mortgage credit certificates and may request an allocation 
  8.8   from the commissioner.  If the total amount requested by all 
  8.9   applicants exceeds the amount available in the pool, the city 
  8.10  may not receive a greater allocation than the amount it would 
  8.11  have received under the list forwarded by the Minnesota housing 
  8.12  finance agency to the commissioner.  No city may request or 
  8.13  receive an allocation from the commissioner until the list under 
  8.14  paragraph (c) has been forwarded to the commissioner.  A city 
  8.15  must request an allocation from the commissioner no later than 
  8.16  14 days before the unified pool is created pursuant to section 
  8.17  474A.091, subdivision 1.  On and after the first Monday in 
  8.18  February and through the last Monday in July, no city may 
  8.19  receive an allocation from the housing pool which has not first 
  8.20  applied to the Minnesota housing finance agency.  The 
  8.21  commissioner shall allocate the requested amount to the city or 
  8.22  cities subject to the limitations under this paragraph.  
  8.23     If a city issues mortgage bonds from an allocation received 
  8.24  under this paragraph, the issuer must provide for the recycling 
  8.25  of funds into new loans.  If the issuer is not able to provide 
  8.26  for recycling, the issuer must notify the commissioner in 
  8.27  writing of the reason that recycling was not possible and the 
  8.28  reason the issuer elected not to have the Minnesota housing 
  8.29  finance agency issue the bonds.  "Recycling" means the use of 
  8.30  money generated from the repayment and prepayment of loans for 
  8.31  further eligible loans or for the redemption of bonds and the 
  8.32  issuance of current refunding bonds. 
  8.33     (f) No entitlement city or county or city in an entitlement 
  8.34  county may apply for or be allocated authority to issue bonds or 
  8.35  use mortgage credit certificates from the housing pool. 
  8.36     (g) A city that does not use at least 50 percent of their 
  9.1   its allotment by the date applications are due for the first 
  9.2   allocation that is made from the housing pool for single-family 
  9.3   housing programs in the immediately succeeding calendar year may 
  9.4   not apply to the housing pool for a single-family mortgage bond 
  9.5   or mortgage credit certificate program allocation that exceeds 
  9.6   the amount of its allotment for the preceding year that was used 
  9.7   by the city in the immediately preceding year or receive an 
  9.8   allotment from the housing pool in the succeeding two 
  9.9   calendar years year that exceeds the amount of its allotment for 
  9.10  the preceding year that was used in the preceding year.  The 
  9.11  minimum allotment is $100,000, regardless of the amount used in 
  9.12  the preceding calendar year.  Each local government unit in a 
  9.13  consortium must meet the requirements of this paragraph. 
  9.14     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 474A.061, 
  9.15  subdivision 2b, is amended to read: 
  9.16     Subd. 2b.  [SMALL ISSUE POOL ALLOCATION.] On the first 
  9.17  Monday in January that is a business day through the last Monday 
  9.18  in July, the commissioner shall allocate available bonding 
  9.19  authority from the small issue pool on Monday of each week to 
  9.20  applications received on or before the Monday of the preceding 
  9.21  week.  From the first Monday in January that is a business day 
  9.22  through the last Monday in July, the commissioner shall reserve 
  9.23  $5,000,000 of the available bonding authority from the small 
  9.24  issue pool for applications for agricultural development bond 
  9.25  loan projects of the Minnesota rural finance authority.  The 
  9.26  commissioner shall reserve $10,000,000 until the day after the 
  9.27  last Monday in February, $10,000,000 until the day after the 
  9.28  last Monday in April, and $10,000,000 until the day after the 
  9.29  last Monday in June in the small issue pool for manufacturing 
  9.30  projects.  The amount of allocation provided to an issuer for a 
  9.31  specific manufacturing project will be based on the number of 
  9.32  points received for the proposed project under the scoring 
  9.33  system under section 474A.045.  Proposed projects that receive 
  9.34  50 points or more are eligible for all of the proposed 
  9.35  allocation.  Proposed projects that receive less than 50 points 
  9.36  are eligible to receive a proportionally reduced share of the 
 10.1   proposed authority, based upon the number of points received. 
 10.2      If there are two or more applications for manufacturing 
 10.3   projects from the small issue pool and there is insufficient 
 10.4   bonding authority to provide allocations for all projects in any 
 10.5   one week, the available bonding authority shall be awarded based 
 10.6   on the number of points awarded a project under section 
 10.7   474A.045, with those projects receiving the greatest number of 
 10.8   points receiving allocation first.  If two or more applications 
 10.9   receive an equal number of points, available bonding authority 
 10.10  shall be awarded by lot unless otherwise agreed to by the 
 10.11  respective issuers. 
 10.12     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 474A.061, 
 10.13  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
 10.14     Subd. 4.  [RETURN OF ALLOCATION; DEPOSIT REFUND.] (a) If an 
 10.15  issuer that receives an allocation under this section determines 
 10.16  that it will not issue obligations equal to all or a portion of 
 10.17  the allocation received under this section within 120 days of 
 10.18  allocation or within the time period permitted by federal tax 
 10.19  law, whichever is less, the issuer must notify the department.  
 10.20  If the issuer notifies the department or the 120-day period 
 10.21  since allocation has expired prior to the last Monday in July, 
 10.22  the amount of allocation is canceled and returned for 
 10.23  reallocation through the pool from which it was originally 
 10.24  allocated.  If the issuer notifies the department or the 120-day 
 10.25  period since allocation has expired on or after the last Monday 
 10.26  in July, the amount of allocation is canceled and returned for 
 10.27  reallocation through the unified pool.  If the issuer notifies 
 10.28  the department after the last Monday in November, the amount of 
 10.29  allocation is canceled and returned for reallocation to the 
 10.30  Minnesota housing finance agency.  To encourage a competitive 
 10.31  application process, the commissioner shall reserve, for new 
 10.32  applications, the amount of allocation that is canceled and 
 10.33  returned for reallocation under this section for a minimum of 
 10.34  seven calendar days. 
 10.35     (b) An issuer that returns for reallocation all or a 
 10.36  portion of an allocation received under this section within 120 
 11.1   days of allocation shall receive within 30 days a refund equal 
 11.2   to:  
 11.3      (1) one-half of the application deposit for the amount of 
 11.4   bonding authority returned within 30 days of receiving 
 11.5   allocation; 
 11.6      (2) one-fourth of the application deposit for the amount of 
 11.7   bonding authority returned between 31 and 60 days of receiving 
 11.8   allocation; and 
 11.9      (3) one-eighth of the application deposit for the amount of 
 11.10  bonding authority returned between 61 and 120 days of receiving 
 11.11  allocation. 
 11.12     (c) No refund shall be available for allocations returned 
 11.13  120 or more days after receiving the allocation or beyond the 
 11.14  last Monday in November.  This subdivision does not apply to the 
 11.15  Minnesota housing finance agency or the Minnesota rural finance 
 11.16  authority. 
 11.17     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 474A.091, 
 11.18  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 11.19     Subd. 5.  [RETURN OF ALLOCATION; DEPOSIT REFUND.] (a) If an 
 11.20  issuer that receives an allocation under this section determines 
 11.21  that it will not issue obligations equal to all or a portion of 
 11.22  the allocation received under this section within 120 days of 
 11.23  the allocation or within the time period permitted by federal 
 11.24  tax law, whichever is less, the issuer must notify the 
 11.25  department.  If the issuer notifies the department or the 
 11.26  120-day period since allocation has expired prior to the last 
 11.27  Monday in November, the amount of allocation is canceled and 
 11.28  returned for reallocation through the unified pool.  If the 
 11.29  issuer notifies the department on or after the last Monday in 
 11.30  November, the amount of allocation is canceled and returned for 
 11.31  reallocation to the Minnesota housing finance agency.  To 
 11.32  encourage a competitive application process, the commissioner 
 11.33  shall reserve, for new applications, the amount of allocation 
 11.34  that is canceled and returned for reallocation under this 
 11.35  section for a minimum of seven calendar days. 
 11.36     (b) An issuer that returns for reallocation all or a 
 12.1   portion of an allocation received under this section within 120 
 12.2   days of the allocation shall receive within 30 days a refund 
 12.3   equal to:  
 12.4      (1) one-half of the application deposit for the amount of 
 12.5   bonding authority returned within 30 days of receiving the 
 12.6   allocation; 
 12.7      (2) one-fourth of the application deposit for the amount of 
 12.8   bonding authority returned between 31 and 60 days of receiving 
 12.9   the allocation; and 
 12.10     (3) one-eighth of the application deposit for the amount of 
 12.11  bonding authority returned between 61 and 120 days of receiving 
 12.12  the allocation. 
 12.13     (c) No refund of the application deposit shall be available 
 12.14  for allocations returned on or after the last Monday in November.
 12.15  This subdivision does not apply to the Minnesota housing finance 
 12.16  agency, or the Minnesota rural finance authority. 
 12.17     Sec. 7.  [WAIVER OF PENALTY PERIOD.] 
 12.18     Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 474A.061, 
 12.19  subdivision 2a, paragraph (g), a city may apply to the housing 
 12.20  pool for a single-family mortgage bond or mortgage credit 
 12.21  certificate allocation or receive an allotment from the housing 
 12.22  pool in 2000, if the city received an allotment of bonding 
 12.23  authority from the housing pool in 1998 and used 50 percent or 
 12.24  less of its allotment by January 31, 1999.  This section applies 
 12.25  to each local government unit in a consortium which received an 
 12.26  allotment from the housing pool in 1998. 
 12.27     Sec. 8.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 12.28     Section 3 is effective the day after final enactment and 
 12.29  applies to loans made after the effective date.