SF 3358

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to taxation; exempting certain utility 
  1.3             attached machinery from property tax and from tax base 
  1.4             sharing; exempting certain utility facilities from 
  1.5             sales and use tax on construction materials, capital 
  1.6             equipment, and other machinery; allowing political 
  1.7             subdivisions to grant abatements; exempting certain 
  1.8             wind energy conversion systems from property tax; 
  1.9             amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 272.02, by 
  1.10            adding a subdivision; 297A.68, by adding a 
  1.11            subdivision; 297A.71, by adding a subdivision; 
  1.12            469.1813, subdivision 8; Minnesota Statutes 2001 
  1.13            Supplement, sections 276A.01, subdivision 3; 469.1813, 
  1.14            subdivision 6. 
  1.15  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.16     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 272.02, is 
  1.17  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.18     Subd. 50.  [ELECTRIC GENERATION FACILITY; PERSONAL 
  1.19  PROPERTY.] Notwithstanding subdivision 9, clause (a), attached 
  1.20  machinery and other personal property which is part of an 
  1.21  electric generating facility that meets the requirements of this 
  1.22  subdivision is exempt.  At the time of construction, the 
  1.23  facility must be: 
  1.24     (1) sited on an energy park that (i) is located on an 
  1.25  active mining site, or on a former mining or industrial site 
  1.26  where mining or industrial operations have terminated, (ii) is 
  1.27  within a tax relief area as defined in section 273.134, (iii) 
  1.28  has on-site access to existing railroad infrastructure, (iv) has 
  1.29  direct rail access to a Great Lakes port, (v) has sufficient 
  1.30  private water resources on site, and (vi) is designed to host at 
  2.1   least 1,000 megawatts of electrical generation; and 
  2.2      (2) designed to utilize integrated gasification combined 
  2.3   cycle technology, with either natural gas or coal as the primary 
  2.4   fuel. 
  2.5      Construction of the first 1,000 megawatts of the facility 
  2.6   must be commenced after January 1, 2002, and before January 1, 
  2.7   2005.  Construction of up to an additional 1,000 megawatts of 
  2.8   generation must be commenced before January 1, 2010. 
  2.9      [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective for assessment 
  2.10  year 2003 and thereafter. 
  2.11     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section 
  2.12  276A.01, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.13     Subd. 3.  [COMMERCIAL-INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY.] 
  2.14  "Commercial-industrial property" means the following categories 
  2.15  of property, as defined in section 273.13, excluding that 
  2.16  portion of the property (i) that may, by law, constitute the tax 
  2.17  base for a tax increment pledged pursuant to section 469.042 or 
  2.18  469.162 or sections 469.174 to 469.178, certification of which 
  2.19  was requested prior to May 1, 1996, to the extent and while the 
  2.20  tax increment is so pledged; or (ii) that is exempt from 
  2.21  taxation under section 272.02; or (iii) consisting of an 
  2.22  electric generating facility that meets the requirements of 
  2.23  section 272.02, subdivision 50:  
  2.24     (1) that portion of class 5 property consisting of unmined 
  2.25  iron ore and low-grade iron-bearing formations as defined in 
  2.26  section 273.14, tools, implements, and machinery, except the 
  2.27  portion of high voltage transmission lines, the value of which 
  2.28  is deducted from net tax capacity under section 273.425; and 
  2.29     (2) that portion of class 3 and class 5 property which is 
  2.30  either used or zoned for use for any commercial or industrial 
  2.31  purpose, except for such property which is, or, in the case of 
  2.32  property under construction, will when completed be used 
  2.33  exclusively for residential occupancy and the provision of 
  2.34  services to residential occupants thereof.  Property must be 
  2.35  considered as used exclusively for residential occupancy only if 
  2.36  each of not less than 80 percent of its occupied residential 
  3.1   units is, or, in the case of property under construction, will 
  3.2   when completed be occupied under an oral or written agreement 
  3.3   for occupancy over a continuous period of not less than 30 days. 
  3.4      If the classification of property prescribed by section 
  3.5   273.13 is modified by legislative amendment, the references in 
  3.6   this subdivision are to the successor class or classes of 
  3.7   property, or portions thereof, that include the kinds of 
  3.8   property designated in this subdivision.  
  3.9      [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective for taxes 
  3.10  payable in 2004 and subsequent years. 
  3.11     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 297A.68, is 
  3.12  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.13     Subd. 36.  [GASIFICATION FACILITIES.] Sales and use of the 
  3.14  following items are exempt if they are used or consumed in 
  3.15  connection with the construction or operation of a facility that 
  3.16  qualifies under section 272.02, subdivision 50: 
  3.17     (1) machinery or equipment used to receive or store raw 
  3.18  materials; 
  3.19     (2) capital equipment; 
  3.20     (3) motor vehicles used primarily on the site of and in 
  3.21  operation of the facility; and 
  3.22     (4) other machinery and equipment used for nonproduction 
  3.23  purposes, including plan security, fire prevention, first aid, 
  3.24  and hospital stations; pollution control; and plant cleaning, 
  3.25  disposal of scrap and waste, plant communications, space 
  3.26  heating, cooling, lighting, and safety. 
  3.27     The exemption under this subdivision applies regardless of 
  3.28  whether the purchases are made by the owner of the facility or a 
  3.29  contractor.  The definitions in subdivision 5 apply to this 
  3.30  subdivision. 
  3.31     [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective for sales made 
  3.32  after June 30, 2002. 
  3.33     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 297A.71, is 
  3.34  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.35     Subd. 28.  [GASIFICATION FACILITIES.] Sales and use of 
  3.36  building materials and supplies used or consumed in, and 
  4.1   equipment incorporated into the construction, improvement, or 
  4.2   expansion of the facility are exempt if they are used or 
  4.3   consumed in connection with the construction or operation of a 
  4.4   facility that qualifies under section 272.02, subdivision 50.  
  4.5   The exemption applies regardless of whether the purchases are 
  4.6   made by the owner of the facility or a contractor. 
  4.7      [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective for sales made 
  4.8   after June 30, 2002. 
  4.9      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section 
  4.10  469.1813, subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  4.11     Subd. 6.  [DURATION LIMIT.] (a) A political subdivision may 
  4.12  grant an abatement for a period no longer than ten years, except 
  4.13  as provided under paragraph paragraphs (b) and (c).  The 
  4.14  subdivision may specify in the abatement resolution a shorter 
  4.15  duration.  If the resolution does not specify a period of time, 
  4.16  the abatement is for eight years.  If an abatement has been 
  4.17  granted to a parcel of property and the period of the abatement 
  4.18  has expired, the political subdivision that granted the 
  4.19  abatement may not grant another abatement for eight years after 
  4.20  the expiration of the first abatement.  This prohibition does 
  4.21  not apply to improvements added after and not subject to the 
  4.22  first abatement. 
  4.23     (b) A political subdivision proposing to abate taxes for a 
  4.24  parcel may request, in writing, that the other political 
  4.25  subdivisions in which the parcel is located grant an abatement 
  4.26  for the property.  If one of the other political subdivisions 
  4.27  declines, in writing, to grant an abatement or if 90 days pass 
  4.28  after receipt of the request to grant an abatement without a 
  4.29  written response from one of the political subdivisions, the 
  4.30  duration limit for an abatement for the parcel by the requesting 
  4.31  political subdivision and any other participating political 
  4.32  subdivision is increased to 15 years.  If the political 
  4.33  subdivision which declined to grant an abatement later grants an 
  4.34  abatement for the parcel, the 15-year duration limit is reduced 
  4.35  by one year for each year that the declining political 
  4.36  subdivision grants an abatement for the parcel during the period 
  5.1   of the abatement granted by the requesting political 
  5.2   subdivision.  The duration limit may not be reduced below the 
  5.3   limit under paragraph (a).  
  5.4      (c) A political subdivision may grant an abatement for a 
  5.5   period no longer than 20 years on a facility that qualifies 
  5.6   under section 272.02, subdivision 50. 
  5.7      [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective for taxes 
  5.8   payable in 2004 and thereafter. 
  5.9      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 469.1813, 
  5.10  subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
  5.11     Subd. 8.  [LIMITATION ON ABATEMENTS.] Except as provided in 
  5.12  this subdivision, in any year, the total amount of property 
  5.13  taxes abated by a political subdivision under this section may 
  5.14  not exceed (1) five percent of the current levy, or (2) 
  5.15  $100,000, whichever is greater.  The limitation under this 
  5.16  subdivision does not apply to abatements made by a political 
  5.17  subdivision to a facility that qualifies under section 272.02, 
  5.18  subdivision 50. 
  5.19     [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective for taxes 
  5.20  payable in 2004 and thereafter. 
  5.21     Sec. 7.  [WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM; PROPERTY 
  5.22  EXEMPTION.] 
  5.23     Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 272.02, 
  5.24  subdivision 22, the property of a wind energy conversion system 
  5.25  up to 1,000 megawatts that is associated with the electric 
  5.26  generating facility described in Minnesota Statutes, section 
  5.27  272.02, subdivision 50, shall be exempt from property taxation 
  5.28  as provided in this section.  The developer of the wind energy 
  5.29  conversion system must have filed a schedule with the public 
  5.30  utilities commission by January 1, 2004, of the ten-year plan 
  5.31  implementing the 1,000 megawatts of wind generating capacity.  
  5.32  The exemption includes the property consisting of the 
  5.33  foundations and support pads, structures, turbines, blades, 
  5.34  transformers, and any other equipment.  The land on which the 
  5.35  wind energy conversion system is located is not exempt from 
  5.36  property taxation.  The exemption under this section is for five 
  6.1   years and begins in the first assessment year after construction 
  6.2   commences. 
  6.3      [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
  6.4   following final enactment.