HF 878

2nd Unofficial Engrossment - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to public administration; modifying 
  1.3             agricultural property tax relief provisions; 
  1.4             appropriating money; amending Laws 1999, chapter 112, 
  1.5             section 1, subdivisions 1, 3, 4, and 9. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Laws 1999, chapter 112, section 1, subdivision 
  1.8   1, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) The definitions in this 
  1.10  subdivision apply to this section. 
  1.11     (b) "Acre" means an acre of effective agricultural use land 
  1.12  within the state of Minnesota as reported to the farm service 
  1.13  agency on form 156EZ for the purposes of this subdivision and 
  1.14  subdivisions 2 and 9. 
  1.15     (c) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of revenue. 
  1.16     (d) "Effective agricultural use land" means the land 
  1.17  suitable for growing an agricultural crop and excludes land 
  1.18  enrolled in the conservation reserve program established by 
  1.19  Minnesota Statutes, section 103F.515, or the water bank program 
  1.20  established by Minnesota Statutes, section 103F.601. 
  1.21     (e) "Farm" or "farm operation" means an agricultural 
  1.22  production operation with a unique farm number as reported on 
  1.23  form 156EZ to the farm service agency, which includes at least 
  1.24  40 acres of effective agricultural use land.  "Farm" also 
  1.25  includes an agricultural production operation, which contains 
  2.1   less than 40 acres of effective agriculture use if the farm 
  2.2   operator operates another farm qualifying under this paragraph.  
  2.3      (f) "Farm operator" means a person who is identified as the 
  2.4   operator of a farm on form 156EZ filed with the farm service 
  2.5   agency. 
  2.6      (g) "Farm service agency" means the United States Farm 
  2.7   Service Agency. 
  2.8      (h) "Farmer" or "farmer at risk" means a person who 
  2.9   produces an agricultural crop or livestock and is reported to 
  2.10  the farm service agency as bearing a percentage of the risk for 
  2.11  the farm operation. 
  2.12     (i) "Livestock" means cattle, hogs, poultry, and sheep. 
  2.13     (j) "Livestock production facility" means a farm that has 
  2.14  produced at least $10,000 in sales of unprocessed livestock or 
  2.15  unprocessed dairy products as reported on schedule F or form 
  2.16  1065 or form 1120 or 1120S of the farmer's federal income tax 
  2.17  return for either taxable years beginning in calendar year 1997 
  2.18  or 1998. 
  2.19     (k) "Person" includes individuals, fiduciaries, estates, 
  2.20  trusts, partnerships, joint ventures, and corporations. 
  2.21     Sec. 2.  Laws 1999, chapter 112, section 1, subdivision 3, 
  2.22  is amended to read: 
  2.23     Subd. 3.  [LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS.] A farmer person who owns 
  2.24  or resides on property homesteaded under section 273.124, 
  2.25  subdivision 1, paragraph (c), and operates a livestock 
  2.26  production facility on 160 acres or less may elect the 
  2.27  agricultural property tax refund under subdivisions 4 to 8 in 
  2.28  lieu of the per acre payment under subdivision 2.  To qualify, 
  2.29  the farmer person must apply for the refund as provided in 
  2.30  subdivisions 4 to 8.  The 40 acre minimum farm size under 
  2.31  subdivision 1 does not apply to eligibility under subdivisions 4 
  2.32  to 8. 
  2.33     Sec. 3.  Laws 1999, chapter 112, section 1, subdivision 4, 
  2.34  is amended to read: 
  2.35     Subd. 4.  [REFUND.] The refund equals the full amount of 
  2.36  the property tax payment due and payable on May 15, 1999, on a 
  3.1   livestock production facility that is class 1b agricultural 
  3.2   homestead property or class 2a agricultural homestead property 
  3.3   as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 273.13, excluding that 
  3.4   portion of the tax attributable to the house, garage, and 
  3.5   surrounding acre of land.  If a portion of the property was 
  3.6   leased for the agricultural production year, the refund amount 
  3.7   shall be prorated so that only the portion of the property which 
  3.8   was not leased for the agricultural production year qualifies 
  3.9   for the refund reduced by $4 for each acre that was leased for 
  3.10  the agricultural production year. 
  3.11     Sec. 4.  Laws 1999, chapter 112, section 1, subdivision 9, 
  3.12  is amended to read: 
  3.13     Subd. 9.  [ALTERNATE QUALIFICATION.] (a) If an agricultural 
  3.14  production operation does not meet the definition of a farm 
  3.15  under subdivision 1 solely because (1) the farm operator had not 
  3.16  filed a form 156EZ with the farm service agency, (2) there was 
  3.17  an error in the farm service agency's records, or (3) an 
  3.18  operator operates more than one farm and the acres of effective 
  3.19  agricultural use land of each a farm is less than 40 acres, but 
  3.20  the combined acres of effective agricultural use land of all 
  3.21  land operated by that operator is at least 40 acres, the 
  3.22  commissioner may allow the farm operator to apply for payment 
  3.23  under subdivision 2 after providing such information as the 
  3.24  commissioner may require to determine the number of acres that 
  3.25  would be comparable to the effective agricultural use land 
  3.26  listed on form 156EZ. 
  3.27     (b) If the number of acres of effective agricultural use 
  3.28  land for crop year 1998 for a farm is greater than indicated in 
  3.29  the farm service agency's records, the commissioner may allow a 
  3.30  farm operator to apply for payment on the greater acreage after 
  3.31  providing such information as the commissioner may require. 
  3.32     (c) If a person who produced an agricultural crop or 
  3.33  livestock in 1998 and bore a portion of the risk for the farm 
  3.34  operation does not meet the definition of a farmer under 
  3.35  subdivision 1 solely because that information was not reported 
  3.36  to the farm service agency, or because there was an error in the 
  4.1   farm service agency's records, the commissioner may allow the 
  4.2   farmer to be included on an application for payment under 
  4.3   subdivision 2 after the farmer provides such information as the 
  4.4   commissioner may require to determine the farmer was at risk for 
  4.5   that farm. 
  4.6      Sec. 5.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.7      There is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  4.8   commissioner of revenue to meet the cost of administering Laws 
  4.9   1999, chapter 112, $110,000 for fiscal year 1999 and $528,000 
  4.10  for fiscal year 2000.  
  4.11     Sec. 6.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.12     $350,000 is appropriated to the commissioner of children, 
  4.13  families, and learning for fiscal year 2000 for a planning grant 
  4.14  for an urban agricultural high school for curriculum, design, 
  4.15  coordination with the state's graduation standards, demographic 
  4.16  research, development of partnerships, site acquisition, market 
  4.17  assessment of student interest, collaboration with the local 
  4.18  municipality and school district on any proposed site prior to 
  4.19  acquisition, and facility predesign purposes.