SF 1803

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to transportation; designating appraisals by
road authorities for transportation projects as
private data on individuals; requiring appraisals by
road authorities to be provided to landowners;
providing for review of appraisals by Department of
Transportation; providing for direct billing of road
authority for appraisal costs; authorizing
reimbursement for legal fees of landowners in certain
circumstances; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004,
section 117.036, subdivision 2, by adding a
subdivision; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 117.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 117.036,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Appraisal.

(a) Before commencing an eminent
domain proceeding under this chapter, the acquiring authority
must obtain at least one appraisal for the property proposed to
be acquired. In making the appraisal, the appraiser must confer
with one or more of the owners of the property, if reasonably
possible. At least 20 days before presenting a petition under
section 117.055, the acquiring authority must provide the owner
with a copy of the appraisal and inform the owner of the owner's
right to obtain an appraisal under this section.

(b) The owner may obtain an appraisal by a qualified
appraiser of the property proposed to be acquired. The owner is
entitled to reimbursement for the reasonable costs of the
appraisal from the acquiring authority up to a maximum of $1,500
within 30 days after the owner submits to the acquiring
authority the information necessary for reimbursement, provided
that the owner does so within 60 days after the owner receives
the appraisal from the authority under paragraph (a). new text begin As an
alternative to reimbursement, the qualified appraiser making the
appraisal for the owner may submit a bill directly to the
acquiring authority, if the appraiser includes with the bill a
copy of the appraisal for which payment is sought. The bill may
not be for an amount greater than the maximum reimbursement
under this paragraph.
new text end

new text begin (c) Appraisals made by or for an acquiring authority under
this section are private data on individuals as defined in
section 13.02, subdivision 12. All such appraisals on the
owner's property must be made available to the owner in a timely
manner at the owner's request.
new text end

new text begin (d) When an appraisal under this section is made by an
appraiser employed by the Department of Transportation, any
appraisal review that is done on behalf of the department must
be performed by a qualified review appraiser who is not an
employee of the department.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 117.036, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Information to be prepared. new text end

new text begin The commissioner of
transportation shall prepare, in consultation with the attorney
general and one or more professional associations of real estate
appraisers, a publication of not more than two pages that
describes the eminent domain process for transportation
projects, including the reasons for condemnation, the procedures
followed by condemnors, how property owners and citizens may
influence the condemnation process, and the rights of property
owners and citizens affected by condemnation. The commissioner
shall make this publication available to all persons on whose
property the commissioner has made an appraisal or to whom the
commissioner has made an offer to purchase. The commissioner
may make the publication available to other acquiring
authorities and may charge a price to recover the commissioner's
costs.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [117.233] RECOVERY OF LEGAL COSTS.
new text end

new text begin An owner whose property is acquired by eminent domain is
entitled to reimbursement by the acquiring authority for
reasonable legal fees related to the acquisition, up to a
maximum of $2,000, if:
new text end

new text begin (1) the acquisition is subject to section 117.036; and
new text end

new text begin (2) the final award of damages to the owner for the
property exceeds the acquiring authority's highest offer by at
least 20 percent.
new text end