HF 1797

as introduced - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to levies; imposing limits on city property 
  1.3             tax levies; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 
  1.4             275.16; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes, chapter 275. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 275.16, is 
  1.8   amended to read: 
  1.9      275.16 [COUNTY AUDITOR TO FIX AMOUNT OF LEVY.] 
  1.10     If any such municipality shall return to the county auditor 
  1.11  a levy greater than permitted by chapters 124, 124A, 124B, 136C, 
  1.12  and 136D, and sections 275.124 to 275.16, and sections 2 to 6, 
  1.13  such county auditor shall extend only such amount of taxes as 
  1.14  the limitations herein prescribed will permit; provided, if such 
  1.15  levy shall include any levy for the payment of bonded 
  1.16  indebtedness or judgments, such levies for bonded indebtedness 
  1.17  or judgments shall be extended in full, and the remainder of the 
  1.18  levies shall be reduced so that the total thereof, including 
  1.19  levies for bonds and judgments, shall not exceed such amount as 
  1.20  the limitations herein prescribed will permit.  
  1.21     Sec. 2.  [275.70] [LEVY LIMITATIONS; DEFINITIONS.] 
  1.22     Subdivision 1.  [APPLICATION.] For the purposes of sections 
  1.23  2 to 6, the following terms shall have these meanings, unless 
  1.24  otherwise provided. 
  1.25     Subd. 2.  [CITY.] "City" means a statutory or home rule 
  2.1   charter city with a population of 1,000 or more, as established 
  2.2   by the most recent federal census, an estimate by the 
  2.3   metropolitan council, or an estimate by the state demographer, 
  2.4   whichever is most recent as to stated date of the count for the 
  2.5   calendar year preceding the year in which the levy is assessed. 
  2.6      Subd. 3.  [NEW CONSTRUCTION VALUE.] "New construction value"
  2.7   means the estimated market value attributed to new structures 
  2.8   and additions to or remodeling of existing structures, except 
  2.9   for structures that are exempt from property taxes, for the 
  2.10  assessment year prior to the year in which the tax is levied. 
  2.11     Subd. 4.  [TOTAL MARKET VALUE.] "Total market value" means 
  2.12  the taxable market value of all taxable property in the city for 
  2.13  the assessment year prior to the year in which the tax is levied.
  2.14     Subd. 5.  [SPECIAL LEVIES.] "Special levies" means those 
  2.15  portions of ad valorem taxes levied by cities for the following 
  2.16  purposes or in the following manner: 
  2.17     (1) to pay the costs of the principal and interest on 
  2.18  bonded indebtedness or to reimburse for the amount of liquor 
  2.19  store revenues used to pay the principal and interest due on 
  2.20  municipal liquor store bonds in the year preceding the year for 
  2.21  which the levy limit is calculated; 
  2.22     (2) to pay the costs of principal and interest on 
  2.23  certificates of indebtedness issued for any corporate purpose 
  2.24  except for the following: 
  2.25     (i) tax anticipation or aid anticipation certificates of 
  2.26  indebtedness; 
  2.27     (ii) certificates of indebtedness issued pursuant to 
  2.28  sections 298.28 and 298.282; 
  2.29     (iii) certificates of indebtedness used to fund current 
  2.30  expenses or to pay the costs of extraordinary expenditures that 
  2.31  result from a public emergency; or 
  2.32     (iv) certificates of indebtedness used to fund an 
  2.33  insufficiency in tax receipts or an insufficiency in other 
  2.34  revenue sources; 
  2.35     (3) to provide for the bonded indebtedness portion of 
  2.36  payments made to another political subdivision of the state of 
  3.1   Minnesota; and 
  3.2      (4) property taxes approved by voters which are levied 
  3.3   against the referendum market value as provided under section 
  3.4   275.61. 
  3.5      Sec. 3.  [275.71] [LEVY LIMITS.] 
  3.6      Subdivision 1.  [LIMIT ON CITY LEVIES.] Notwithstanding any 
  3.7   other provision of law or municipal charter to the contrary 
  3.8   which authorizes ad valorem taxes in excess of the limits 
  3.9   established by sections 2 to 6, the provision of this section 
  3.10  shall apply to cities for all purposes other than those for 
  3.11  which special levies and special assessments are made. 
  3.12     Subd. 2.  [LEVY LIMIT BASE.] (a) The property tax levy 
  3.13  limit base for taxes levied in 1997 shall be equal to the amount 
  3.14  a city levied in 1996, less any amount that the city levied for 
  3.15  debt, as reported to the commissioner of revenue under section 
  3.16  275.62, subdivision 1, clause (1), and less any tax levied in 
  3.17  1996 against referendum market value as provided under section 
  3.18  275.61.  If a governmental unit was not required to report under 
  3.19  section 275.62 for taxes levied in 1997, the commissioner shall 
  3.20  request information on levies used for debt from the local 
  3.21  governmental unit and adjust its levy limit base accordingly.  
  3.22     (b) The property tax levy limit base for a city for taxes 
  3.23  levied in 1998 and subsequent years is limited to its property 
  3.24  tax levy limit for the previous levy year, subject to any 
  3.25  adjustments under section 4. 
  3.26     Subd. 3.  [PROPERTY TAX LEVY LIMIT.] For taxes levied in 
  3.27  1997 and subsequent years, the property tax levy limit for a 
  3.28  city is equal to (1) its levy limit base, multiplied by (2) one 
  3.29  plus the ratio of the city's new construction value to its total 
  3.30  market value. 
  3.31     Subd. 4.  [LEVIES IN EXCESS OF LEVY LIMITS.] If the levy 
  3.32  made by a city exceeds the levy limit provided in sections 2 to 
  3.33  6, except when such excess levy is due to the rounding of the 
  3.34  rate percent in accordance with section 275.28, the county 
  3.35  auditor shall only extend the amount of taxes permitted under 
  3.36  sections 2 to 6, as provided under section 275.16. 
  4.1      Sec. 4.  [275.72] [LEVY LIMIT ADJUSTMENTS FOR CONSOLIDATION 
  4.2   AND ANNEXATION.] 
  4.3      Subdivision 1.  [CONSOLIDATION OF TWO OR MORE CITIES.] If 
  4.4   all of the area included in two or more cities is consolidated, 
  4.5   merged, or otherwise combined to constitute a single city, the 
  4.6   levy limit base for the resulting city in the first levy year in 
  4.7   which the consolidation is effective shall be equal to (1) the 
  4.8   highest city tax rate in any of the merging cities in the 
  4.9   previous year multiplied by the net tax capacity of all the 
  4.10  merging cities in the previous year, minus (2) the sum of all 
  4.11  levies in the merging cities in the previous year that qualify 
  4.12  as special levies under section 2, subdivision 5. 
  4.13     Subd. 2.  [ANNEXATION BY A CITY.] If a city increases its 
  4.14  tax base through annexation of an area which is not the area of 
  4.15  an entire city, the total taxable market value of the annexed 
  4.16  area shall be treated as new construction value in calculating 
  4.17  the levy limit of the city in the first levy year in which the 
  4.18  annexation is effective. 
  4.19     Subd. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE FOR LEVY LIMITS 
  4.20  PURPOSES.] Annexations and mergers of cities that are effective 
  4.21  by June 30 of the levy year are included in the calculation of 
  4.22  the city levy limit for that levy year.  Annexations and mergers 
  4.23  that are effective after June 30 of a levy year are not included 
  4.24  in the calculation of a city's levy limit until the subsequent 
  4.25  levy year. 
  4.26     Sec. 5.  [275.73] [ELECTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL LEVIES ASSESSED 
  4.27  ON MARKET VALUES.] 
  4.28     Subdivision 1.  [ADDITIONAL LEVY 
  4.29  AUTHORIZATION.] Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 2 to 
  4.30  4, but subject to other law or charter provisions establishing 
  4.31  other limitations on the amount of property taxes a city may 
  4.32  levy, a city may levy a special levy as defined in section 2, 
  4.33  subdivision 5, clause (4), in any amount which is approved by 
  4.34  the majority of voters of the city voting on the question at a 
  4.35  general election.  Any levy authorized under this section shall 
  4.36  be levied against the referendum market value of the taxable 
  5.1   property in the city, as provided under section 275.61. 
  5.2      Subd. 2.  [LEVY EFFECTIVE DATE.] An additional levy 
  5.3   approved pursuant to subdivision 1 at a general election held 
  5.4   after September 30 in any levy year shall not be levied in that 
  5.5   same levy year but may be levied in subsequent levy years. 
  5.6      Sec. 6.  [275.74] [STATE REGULATION OF LEVIES.] 
  5.7      The commissioner of revenue shall make all necessary 
  5.8   calculations for determining levy limits for cities and notify 
  5.9   the affected cities of their levy limits directly by August 1 of 
  5.10  each levy year.  In addition the commissioner of revenue shall 
  5.11  notify all county auditors of the levy limits imposed on cities 
  5.12  located within their boundaries so that they may fix the levies 
  5.13  as required in section 275.16.  The cities and counties shall 
  5.14  provide the commissioner of revenue with all information that 
  5.15  the commissioner deems necessary to make the calculations 
  5.16  provided for in sections 2 to 6. 
  5.17     Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.18     Sections 1 to 6 are effective for property taxes levied in 
  5.19  1997 and subsequent years.