1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to taxation; property tax abatement; 
  1.3             exempting abatements from levy limits; clarifying that 
  1.4             abatement bonds are not subject to election 
  1.5             requirements; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
  1.6             section 475.58, subdivision 1; Minnesota Statutes 1997 
  1.7             Supplement, section 275.70, subdivision 5. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  1.10  275.70, subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 5.  [SPECIAL LEVIES.] "Special levies" means those 
  1.12  portions of ad valorem taxes levied by a local governmental unit 
  1.13  for the following purposes or in the following manner: 
  1.14     (1) to pay the costs of the principal and interest on 
  1.15  bonded indebtedness or to reimburse for the amount of liquor 
  1.16  store revenues used to pay the principal and interest due on 
  1.17  municipal liquor store bonds in the year preceding the year for 
  1.18  which the levy limit is calculated; 
  1.19     (2) to pay the costs of principal and interest on 
  1.20  certificates of indebtedness issued for any corporate purpose 
  1.21  except for the following: 
  1.22     (i) tax anticipation or aid anticipation certificates of 
  1.23  indebtedness; 
  1.24     (ii) certificates of indebtedness issued under sections 
  1.25  298.28 and 298.282; 
  1.26     (iii) certificates of indebtedness used to fund current 
  2.1   expenses or to pay the costs of extraordinary expenditures that 
  2.2   result from a public emergency; or 
  2.3      (iv) certificates of indebtedness used to fund an 
  2.4   insufficiency in tax receipts or an insufficiency in other 
  2.5   revenue sources; 
  2.6      (3) to provide for the bonded indebtedness portion of 
  2.7   payments made to another political subdivision of the state of 
  2.8   Minnesota; 
  2.9      (4) to fund payments made to the Minnesota state armory 
  2.10  building commission under section 193.145, subdivision 2, to 
  2.11  retire the principal and interest on armory construction bonds; 
  2.12     (5) for unreimbursed expenses related to flooding that 
  2.13  occurred during the first half of calendar year 1997, as allowed 
  2.14  by the commissioner of revenue under section 275.74, paragraph 
  2.15  (b); 
  2.16     (6) for local units of government located in an area 
  2.17  designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency pursuant 
  2.18  to a major disaster declaration issued for Minnesota by 
  2.19  President Clinton after April 1, 1997, and before June 11, 1997, 
  2.20  for the amount of tax dollars lost due to abatements authorized 
  2.21  under section 273.123, subdivision 7, and Laws 1997, chapter 
  2.22  231, article 2, section 64, to the extent that they are related 
  2.23  to the major disaster and to the extent that neither the state 
  2.24  or federal government reimburses the local government for the 
  2.25  amount lost; 
  2.26     (7) property taxes approved by voters which are levied 
  2.27  against the referendum market value as provided under section 
  2.28  275.61; 
  2.29     (8) to fund matching requirements needed to qualify for 
  2.30  federal or state grants or programs to the extent that either 
  2.31  (i) the matching requirement exceeds the matching requirement in 
  2.32  calendar year 1997, or (ii) it is a new matching requirement 
  2.33  that didn't exist prior to 1998; and 
  2.34     (9) to pay the expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred 
  2.35  in preparing for or repairing the effects of natural disaster 
  2.36  including the occurrence or threat of widespread or severe 
  3.1   damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from 
  3.2   natural causes, in accordance with standards formulated by the 
  3.3   emergency services division of the state department of public 
  3.4   safety, as allowed by the commissioner of revenue under section 
  3.5   275.74, paragraph (b); and 
  3.6      (10) to pay an abatement under section 469.1815. 
  3.7      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 475.58, 
  3.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.9      Subdivision 1.  [APPROVAL BY ELECTORS; EXCEPTIONS.] 
  3.10  Obligations authorized by law or charter may be issued by any 
  3.11  municipality upon obtaining the approval of a majority of the 
  3.12  electors voting on the question of issuing the obligations, but 
  3.13  an election shall not be required to authorize obligations 
  3.14  issued: 
  3.15     (1) to pay any unpaid judgment against the municipality; 
  3.16     (2) for refunding obligations; 
  3.17     (3) for an improvement or improvement program, which 
  3.18  obligation is payable wholly or partly from the proceeds of 
  3.19  special assessments levied upon property specially benefited by 
  3.20  the improvement or by an improvement within the improvement 
  3.21  program, or of taxes levied upon the increased value of property 
  3.22  within a district for the development of which the improvement 
  3.23  is undertaken, including obligations which are the general 
  3.24  obligations of the municipality, if the municipality is entitled 
  3.25  to reimbursement in whole or in part from the proceeds of such 
  3.26  special assessments or taxes and not less than 20 percent of the 
  3.27  cost of the improvement or the improvement program is to be 
  3.28  assessed against benefited property or is to be paid from the 
  3.29  proceeds of federal grant funds or a combination thereof, or is 
  3.30  estimated to be received from such taxes within the district; 
  3.31     (4) payable wholly from the income of revenue producing 
  3.32  conveniences; 
  3.33     (5) under the provisions of a home rule charter which 
  3.34  permits the issuance of obligations of the municipality without 
  3.35  election; 
  3.36     (6) under the provisions of a law which permits the 
  4.1   issuance of obligations of a municipality without an election; 
  4.2      (7) to fund pension or retirement fund liabilities pursuant 
  4.3   to section 475.52, subdivision 6; 
  4.4      (8) under a capital improvement plan under section 373.40; 
  4.5   and 
  4.6      (9) to fund facilities as provided in subdivision 3; and 
  4.7      (10) under sections 469.1813 to 469.1815 (property tax 
  4.8   abatement authority bonds). 
  4.9      Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.10     Section 1 is effective for property taxes levied after 
  4.11  December 31, 1997. 
  4.12     Section 2 confirms the original intent of the legislature 
  4.13  in enacting the abatement law and is effective retroactively to 
  4.14  the same time Minnesota Statutes, sections 469.1813 to 469.1815, 
  4.15  became effective.