HF 1007

as introduced - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 03/09/2011 10:18am

A bill for an act
relating to taxation; property; reducing PERA aids and payments in lieu
of property taxes; amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 97A.061,
subdivisions 1, 3; 127A.50, subdivision 3; 273.1385, by adding a subdivision;
477A.11, subdivision 1; 477A.12, subdivision 1; 477A.14, subdivision 1;
477A.17; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 477A.145.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 97A.061, subdivision 1, is amended to
read:

Subdivision 1.

Applicability; amount.

(a) The commissioner shall annually make a
payment to each county having public hunting areas and game refuges. Money to make
the payments is annually appropriated for that purpose from the general fund. Except as
provided in paragraph (b), this section does not apply to state trust fund land and other
state land not purchased for game refuge or public hunting purposes. Except as provided
in paragraph (b), the payment shall be the greatest of:

(1) deleted text begin 35 deleted text end new text begin 29.75 new text end percent of the gross receipts from all special use permits and leases of
land acquired for public hunting and game refuges;

(2) deleted text begin 50 deleted text end new text begin 42.5 new text end cents per acre on land purchased actually used for public hunting or
game refuges; or

(3) deleted text begin three-fourths of one deleted text end new text begin .6375 new text end new text begin new text end percent of the appraised value of purchased land
actually used for public hunting and game refuges.

(b) The payment shall be 50 percent of the dollar amount deleted text begin adjusted for inflation deleted text end as
determined under section 477A.12, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (1), multiplied
by the number of acres of land in the county that are owned by another state agency for
military purposes and designated as a game refuge under section 97A.085.

(c) The payment must be reduced by the amount paid under subdivision 3 for
croplands managed for wild geese.

(d) The appraised value is the purchase price for five years after acquisition.
The appraised value shall be determined by the county assessor every five years after
acquisition.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for aids payable in calendar year
2011 and thereafter.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 97A.061, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Goose management croplands.

(a) The commissioner shall make a
payment on July 1 of each year to each county where the state owns more than 1,000 acres
of crop land, for wild goose management purposes. The payment shall be equal to new text begin 85
percent of new text end the taxes assessed on comparable, privately owned, adjacent land. Money to
make the payments is annually appropriated for that purpose from the general fund. The
county treasurer shall allocate and distribute the payment as provided in subdivision 2.

(b) The land used for goose management under this subdivision is exempt from
taxation as provided in sections 272.01 and 273.19.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for aids payable in calendar year
2011 and thereafter.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 127A.50, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Limits on adjustments and potential reductions.

new text begin (a) new text end Increases to any
school districts under subdivision 1, clause (2), and decreases under subdivision 1, clauses
(1) and (3), are limited to the fiscal year 1999 amounts. The commissioner of education
may permanently reduce the adjustments to school districts under subdivision 1, clauses
(1) and (2), in the same manner as prescribed for nonschool jurisdictions under section
273.1385, subdivision 2. The commissioner may, from time to time, require that the
most recent fiscal year payroll information be certified by the executive director of the
Teachers Retirement Association. For any school district where the newly certified
Teachers Retirement Association payroll is significantly lower than the fiscal 1997
amount as determined by the commissioner, the commissioner shall recalculate the lower
reduction under subdivision 1, clause (3), and shall permanently reduce the adjustment
amount in subsequent years.

new text begin (b) For fiscal year 2012 and thereafter, the aid paid under subdivision 1, clause (2),
after any adjustment under paragraph (a) is reduced by 50 percent.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 273.1385, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 3a. new text end

new text begin Aid reduction. new text end

new text begin Beginning with fiscal year 2012 and thereafter, the
amount of aid paid to any jurisdiction under subdivisions 1 to 3 is reduced by 50 percent.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 477A.11, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Terms.

For the purpose of sections 477A.11 to deleted text begin 477A.145 deleted text end new text begin 477A.14 new text end ,
the terms defined in this section have the meanings given them.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for aids payable in calendar year
2011 and thereafter.
new text end

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 477A.12, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Types of land; payments.

(a) As an offset for expenses incurred
by counties and towns in support of natural resources lands, the following amounts are
annually appropriated to the commissioner of natural resources from the general fund for
transfer to the commissioner of revenue. The commissioner of revenue shall pay the
transferred funds to counties as required by sections 477A.11 to deleted text begin 477A.145 deleted text end new text begin 477A.14 new text end .
The amounts are:

(1) for acquired natural resources land, deleted text begin $3, as adjusted for inflation under section
477A.145, deleted text end new text begin $4.363 new text end multiplied by the total number of acres of acquired natural resources
land or, at the county's option deleted text begin three-fourths of one deleted text end new text begin 0.6375 new text end percent of the appraised value of
all acquired natural resources land in the county, whichever is greater;

(2) deleted text begin 75 cents, as adjusted for inflation under section 477A.145, deleted text end new text begin $1.091 new text end multiplied by
the number of acres of county-administered other natural resources land;

(3) deleted text begin 75 cents, as adjusted for inflation under section 477A.145, deleted text end new text begin $1.091 new text end multiplied by
the total number of acres of land utilization project land; and

(4) deleted text begin 37.5 cents, as adjusted for inflation under section 477A.145, deleted text end new text begin 54.5 cents new text end multiplied
by the number of acres of commissioner-administered other natural resources land located
in each county as of July 1 of each year prior to the payment year.

(b) The amount determined under paragraph (a), clause (1), is payable for land
that is acquired from a private owner and owned by the Department of Transportation
for the purpose of replacing wetland losses caused by transportation projects, but only
if the county contains more than 500 acres of such land at the time the certification is
made under subdivision 2.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for aids payable in calendar year
2011 and thereafter.
new text end

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 477A.14, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

General distribution.

Except as provided in subdivision 2 or in
section 97A.061, subdivision 5, 40 percent of the total payment to the county shall be
deposited in the county general revenue fund to be used to provide property tax levy
reduction. The remainder shall be distributed by the county in the following priority:

(a) deleted text begin 37.5 cents, as adjusted for inflation under section 477A.145, deleted text end new text begin 54.5 cents new text end for
each acre of county-administered other natural resources land shall be deposited in a
resource development fund to be created within the county treasury for use in resource
development, forest management, game and fish habitat improvement, and recreational
development and maintenance of county-administered other natural resources land. Any
county receiving less than $5,000 annually for the resource development fund may elect to
deposit that amount in the county general revenue fund;

(b) From the funds remaining, within 30 days of receipt of the payment to the
county, the county treasurer shall pay each organized township deleted text begin 30 cents, as adjusted for
inflation under section 477A.145, deleted text end new text begin 43.6 cents new text end for each acre of acquired natural resources
land and each acre of land described in section 477A.12, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), and
deleted text begin 7.5 cents, as adjusted for inflation under section 477A.145, deleted text end new text begin 10.9 cents new text end for each acre of
other natural resources land and each acre of land utilization project land located within its
boundaries. Payments for natural resources lands not located in an organized township
shall be deposited in the county general revenue fund. Payments to counties and townships
pursuant to this paragraph shall be used to provide property tax levy reduction, except
that of the payments for natural resources lands not located in an organized township, the
county may allocate the amount determined to be necessary for maintenance of roads in
unorganized townships. Provided that, if the total payment to the county pursuant to
section 477A.12 is not sufficient to fully fund the distribution provided for in this clause,
the amount available shall be distributed to each township and the county general revenue
fund on a pro rata basis; and

(c) Any remaining funds shall be deposited in the county general revenue fund.
Provided that, if the distribution to the county general revenue fund exceeds $35,000, the
excess shall be used to provide property tax levy reduction.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for aids payable in calendar year
2011 and thereafter.
new text end

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 477A.17, is amended to read:

477A.17 LAKE VERMILION STATE PARK AND SOUDAN
UNDERGROUND MINE STATE PARK; ANNUAL PAYMENTS.

(a) Beginning in fiscal year 2012, in lieu of the payment amount provided under
section 477A.12, subdivision 1, clause (1), the county shall receive an annual payment for
land acquired for Lake Vermilion State Park, established in section 85.012, subdivision
38a, and land within the boundary of Soudan Underground Mine State Park, established
in section 85.012, subdivision 53a, equal to deleted text begin 1.5 deleted text end new text begin 1.275 new text end percent of the appraised value of
the land.

(b) For the purposes of this section, the appraised value of the land acquired for
Lake Vermilion State Park for the first five years after acquisition shall be the purchase
price of the land, plus the value of any portion of the land that is acquired by donation.
The appraised value must be redetermined by the county assessor every five years after
the land is acquired.

(c) The annual payments under this section shall be distributed to the taxing
jurisdictions containing the property as follows: one-third to the school districts; one-third
to the town; and one-third to the county. The payment to school districts is not a county
apportionment under section 127A.34 and is not subject to aid recapture. Each of those
taxing jurisdictions may use the payments for their general purposes.

(d) Except as provided in this section, the payments shall be made as provided
in sections 477A.11 to 477A.13.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for aids payable in calendar year
2011 and thereafter.
new text end

Sec. 9. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end

new text begin Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 477A.145, new text end new text begin is repealed.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for aids payable in calendar year
2011 and thereafter.
new text end