Minnesota Legislature
HF 2249
as introduced - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026) Posted on 03/12/2025 11:39am
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A bill for an act
relating to transportation; modifying the electric-assisted bicycle rebate program;
requiring a report; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 289A.51, subdivision
4.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 289A.51, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4.
Commissioner to issue rebate certificates.
(a) To qualify for a rebate under
this section, an eligible individual must apply to the commissioner for a rebate certificate
in the manner specified by the commissioner prior to purchasing an electric-assisted bicycle.
As part of the application, the eligible individual must include proof of the individual's
adjusted gross income for the taxable year specified in subdivision 3, paragraph (c). The
commissioner must issue a rebate certificate to an eligible individual stating the issuance
date, the applicable percentage, and the maximum rebate for which the taxpayer is eligible.
For a married taxpayer filing a joint return, each spouse may apply to the commissioner
separately, and the commissioner must issue each spouse a separate rebate certificate.
(b) The commissioner of revenue may determine the date on which to open applications
for a rebate certificate, and applications must not be submitted before the date determined
by the commissioner. Beginning July 1, deleted text begin 2024deleted text end new text begin 2025new text end , and July 1 of each subsequent calendar
year for which there is an allocation of rebate certificates, the commissioner must allocate
rebate certificates on a deleted text begin first-come, first-serveddeleted text end new text begin lotterynew text end basis. The commissioner must reserve
40 percent of the certificates for a married taxpayer filing a joint return with an adjusted
gross income of less than $78,000 or any other filer with an adjusted gross income of less
than $41,000. Any portion of the reserved amount under this paragraph that is not allocated
by September 30 is available for allocation to other rebate certificate applications beginning
on October 1.
(c) The commissioner must not issue rebate certificates totaling more than $2,000,000
in each of calendar years 2024 and 2025, except any amount authorized but not allocated
in any calendar year does not cancel and is added to the allocation for the next calendar
year. When calculating the amount of remaining allocations, the commissioner must assume
that each allocated but unclaimed certificate reduces the available allocations by $1,500.
(d) A rebate certificate that is not assigned to a retailer expires two months after the date
the certificate was issued and may not be assigned to a retailer after expiration. The amount
of any expired rebate certificates is added to the available allocation under paragraph (c).
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
This section is effective the day following final enactment and
applies to rebates issued on or after that date.
new text end
Sec. 2. new text begin REPORT; ELECTRIC-ASSISTED BICYCLE REBATE PROGRAM.
new text end
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(a) By January 15, 2026, the commissioner of revenue must submit a report to the chairs
and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over taxes
and transportation. The report must comply with the requirements of Minnesota Statutes,
sections 3.195 and 3.197. At a minimum, the report must include:
new text end
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(1) a comprehensive report on the operation of the electric-assisted bicycle rebate program
under Minnesota Statutes, section 289A.51, including the application system that resulted
in postponement and delay of the application process;
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(2) a comprehensive analysis of the technical challenges resulting from a high volume
of applicants;
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(3) a timeline of events that led to system failures in the application process;
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(4) identification of technical or procedural challenges in the application and first-come,
first-served allocation of rebate certificates;
new text end
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(5) costs incurred by the Department of Revenue as a result of the electric-assisted
bicycle rebate program, including expenditures on system fixes or additional staff resources;
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(6) recommendations for addressing the specific failure in the application system and
preventing similar issues in future rebate certificate rollouts;
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(7) an evaluation of any third-party vendor or contractor used in developing and managing
the application system, including any accountability measures applied; and
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(8) the department's anticipated programming to institute a lottery system for allocating
electric-assisted bicycle rebate certificates.
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(b) The commissioner must not use funds from the amount allocated for electric-assisted
bicycle rebate certificates in preparation of the report.
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(c) This section expires on December 31, 2026, or upon submission of the report,
whichever is sooner.
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