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HF 1325

as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 03/02/2015 01:21pm

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.

Bill Text Versions

Engrossments
Introduction Posted on 03/02/2015

Current Version - as introduced

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A bill for an act
relating to state lands; modifying certain tax-forfeited land sale requirements;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, sections 85.012, subdivision 1; 282.01,
subdivision 3; 282.011, subdivision 1; 282.018, subdivision 1; 282.02; 459.06,
subdivision 3.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 85.012, subdivision 1, is amended to read:


Subdivision 1.

State parks established and confirmed as state parks together with
the counties in which they are situated are listed in this section and shall be named as
indicated in this section.

The lands described in the session laws establishing or changing the boundaries of
each state park are included in the state parks so established or changed. The commissioner
of natural resources is authorized to acquire by gift or purchase the lands as described.
deleted text begin Any land which now is or hereafter becomes tax-forfeited land and is located within the
described park boundaries is hereby withdrawn from sale and is transferred from the
custody, control, and supervision of the county board of the county to the commissioner
of natural resources, free from any trust in favor of the interested taxing districts. The
commissioner shall execute a certificate of acceptance of the lands on behalf of the state
for such purposes and transmit the same to the county auditor of the county for record
as provided by law in the case of tax-forfeited land transferred to the commissioner by
resolution of the county board for conservation purposes.
deleted text end Any lands within the described
boundaries which may be owned by the United States and managed by any of its agents
may be acquired by land exchange, direct transfer, or purchase as federal laws may
prescribe. The lands acquired pursuant to any session laws establishing or changing the
boundaries of a state park shall be administered in the manner provided for state parks and
shall be perpetually dedicated for such use.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 282.01, subdivision 3, is amended to read:


Subd. 3.

Nonconservation lands; appraisal and sale.

(a) All parcels of land
classified as nonconservation, except those which may be reserved, shall be sold as
provided, if it is determined, by the county board of the county in which the parcels lie,
that it is advisable to do so, having in mind their accessibility, their proximity to existing
public improvements, and the effect of their sale and occupancy on the public burdens.
Any parcels of land proposed to be sold shall be first appraised by the county board of
the county in which the parcels lie. The parcels may be reappraised whenever the county
board deems it necessary to carry out the intent of sections 282.01 to 282.13.

(b) In an appraisalnew text begin ,new text end the value of the land and any standing timber on it deleted text begin shalldeleted text end new text begin maynew text end
be separately determined. No parcel of land containing any standing timber may be sold
until the appraised value of the timber on it and the sale of the land have been approved
by the deleted text begin commissioner of natural resourcesdeleted text end new text begin county boardnew text end . deleted text begin The commissioner shall base
review of a proposed sale on the policy and considerations specified in subdivision 1. The
decision of the commissioner shall be in writing and shall state the reasons for it. The
commissioner's decision is exempt from the rulemaking provisions of chapter 14 and
section 14.386 does not apply. The county may appeal the decision of the commissioner
in accordance with chapter 14.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (c) In any county in which a state forest or any part of it is located, the county
auditor shall submit to the commissioner at least 60 days before the first publication of the
list of lands to be offered for sale a list of all lands included on the list which are situated
outside of any incorporated municipality. If, at any time before the opening of the sale,
the commissioner notifies the county auditor in writing that there is standing timber on
any parcel of land, the parcel shall not be sold unless the requirements of this section
respecting the separate appraisal of the timber and the approval of the appraisal by the
commissioner have been complied with. The commissioner may waive the requirement
of the 60-day notice as to any parcel of land which has been examined and the timber
value approved as required by this section.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (d)deleted text end new text begin (c)new text end If any public improvement is made by a municipality after any parcel of
land has been forfeited to the state for the nonpayment of taxes, and the improvement
is assessed in whole or in part against the property benefited by it, the clerk of the
municipality shall certify to the county auditor, immediately upon the determination of the
assessments for the improvement, the total amount that would have been assessed against
the parcel of land if it had been subject to assessment; or if the public improvement is
made, petitioned for, ordered in or assessed, whether the improvement is completed in
whole or in part, at any time between the appraisal and the sale of the parcel of land, the
cost of the improvement shall be included as a separate item and added to the appraised
value of the parcel of land at the time it is sold. No sale of a parcel of land shall discharge
or free the parcel of land from lien for the special benefit conferred upon it by reason of
the public improvement until the cost of it, including penalties, if any, is paid. The county
board shall determinenew text begin through an appraisalnew text end the amount, if any, by which the value of the
parcel was enhanced by the improvement and include the amount as a separate item in
fixing the appraised value for the purpose of sale.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 282.011, subdivision 1, is amended to read:


Subdivision 1.

Classification, sale, procedures and conditions.

Any lands which
have become the absolute property of the state through forfeiture for nonpayment of
taxes and which have been classified by the county board as conservation lands under the
provisions of section 282.01, or have been classified as nonagricultural lands under the
provisions of section 282.14, or any such lands which shall hereafter be so classified, may
be designated by the county board of the county in which such lands lie, by resolution duly
adopted, as appropriate and primarily suitable for either specific conservation purposes
or for auxiliary forest lands. Any resolution so adopted, together with a list of the lands
involved shall be forwarded to the deleted text begin commissioner of natural resources who shall promptly
approve or disapprove the whole or any part thereof. The commissioner shall thereupon
make a certificate showing the lands approved, transmit the same to the
deleted text end county auditor
who shall record the same. Lands so designated deleted text begin and so approveddeleted text end shall thereupon be
appraised and the whole, or any part thereof, may be offered for sale and sold in the same
manner as provided for the sale of lands classified as nonconservation lands under section
282.01, or as agricultural lands under section 282.14, as the case may be, according to the
status of such lands upon forfeiture. The right to a deed of conveyance to such property
accorded the purchaser at any such sale deleted text begin shalldeleted text end new text begin maynew text end be conditioned upon the lands being
placed in an auxiliary forest or used for designated conservation purposes as designated by
the resolution of the county board.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 282.018, subdivision 1, is amended to read:


Subdivision 1.

Land on or adjacent to public waters.

(a) All land which is
the property of the state as a result of forfeiture to the state for nonpayment of taxes,
regardless of whether the land is held in trust for taxing districts, and which borders on
or is adjacent to meandered lakes and other public waters and watercoursesdeleted text begin , and the live
timber growing or being thereon, is hereby withdrawn from sale except
deleted text end new text begin may be soldnew text end as
hereinafter providednew text begin , if the authority having jurisdiction over the land determines that it is
in the public interest to do so
new text end . The authority having jurisdiction over the timber on any
such lands may sell the timber as otherwise provided by law for cutting and removal under
such conditions as the authority may prescribe in accordance with approved, sustained
yield forestry practices. The authority having jurisdiction over the timber deleted text begin shalldeleted text end new text begin maynew text end
reserve such timber and impose such conditions as the authority deems necessary for the
protection of watersheds, wildlife habitat, shorelines, and scenic features. Within the area
in Cook, Lake, and St. Louis counties described in the Act of Congress approved July 10,
1930 (46 Stat. 1020), the timber on tax-forfeited lands shall be subject to like restrictions
as are now imposed by that act on federal lands.

(b) Of all tax-forfeited land bordering on or adjacent to meandered lakes and other
public waters and watercourses deleted text begin and so withdrawn from saledeleted text end , a strip two rods in width,
the ordinary high-water mark being the waterside boundary thereof, and the land side
boundary thereof being a line drawn parallel to the ordinary high-water mark and two rods
distant landward therefrom, deleted text begin hereby isdeleted text end new text begin may benew text end reserved for public travel thereon, and
whatever the conformation of the shore line or conditions require, the authority having
jurisdiction over such lands deleted text begin shalldeleted text end new text begin maynew text end reserve a wider strip for such purposes.

deleted text begin (c) Any tract or parcel of land which has 150 feet or less of waterfront may be sold
by the authority having jurisdiction over the land, in the manner otherwise provided by
law for the sale of such lands, if the authority determines that it is in the public interest
to do so. If the authority having jurisdiction over the land is not the commissioner of
natural resources, the land may not be offered for sale without the prior approval of the
commissioner of natural resources.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (d) Where the authority having jurisdiction over lands withdrawn from sale under
this section is not the commissioner of natural resources, the authority may submit
proposals for disposition of the lands to the commissioner. The commissioner of natural
resources shall evaluate the lands and their public benefits and make recommendations on
the proposed dispositions to the committees of the legislature with jurisdiction over natural
resources. The commissioner shall include any recommendations of the commissioner for
disposition of lands withdrawn from sale under this section over which the commissioner
has jurisdiction. The commissioner's recommendations may include a public sale, sale to a
private party, acquisition by the Department of Natural Resources for public purposes, or a
cooperative management agreement with, or transfer to, another unit of government.
deleted text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 282.02, is amended to read:


282.02 LIST OF LANDS FOR SALE; NOTICE.

new text begin (a) new text end Immediately after classification and appraisal of the land, deleted text begin and after approval
by the commissioner of natural resources when required pursuant to section 282.01,
subdivision 3
,
deleted text end the county board shall provide and file with the county auditor a list of
parcels of land to be offered for sale. This list shall contain a description of the parcels of
land and the appraised value thereof. The auditor shall publish a notice of the intended
public sale of such parcels of land and a copy of the resolution of the county board fixing
the terms of the sale, if other than for cash only, by publication once a week for two weeks
in the official newspaper of the county, the last publication to be not less than ten days
previous to the commencement of the sale.

new text begin (b) new text end The notice shall include the parcel's description and appraised value. The notice
shall also indicate the amount of any special assessments which may be the subject of a
reassessment or new assessment or which may result in the imposition of a fee or charge
pursuant to sections 429.071, subdivision 4, 435.23, and 444.076. The county auditor shall
also mail notice to the owners of land adjoining the parcel to be sold. For purposes of this
section, "owner" means the taxpayer as listed in the records of the county auditor.

new text begin (c) new text end If the county board of St. Louis or Koochiching Counties determines that the sale
shall take place in a county facility other than the courthouse, the notice shall specify the
facility and its location.

new text begin (d) A county board may require one or more of the parcels of land listed for sale to
be subject to taxation by prohibiting an individual or entity with tax-exempt status from
purchasing the property. The notice of intended sale for a parcel with this prohibition must
state that the prohibition applies to the parcel.
new text end

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 459.06, subdivision 3, is amended to read:


Subd. 3.

Withdrawal of tax-forfeited lands.

Any tax-forfeited land which has
been included in a memorial forest established in any county under the provisions of
subdivision 2, and which is found more suitable for other purposes may by resolution of
the county board be withdrawn from the forest for disposal as tax-forfeited land deleted text begin if the
commissioner of natural resources approves the sale of such land
deleted text end .