Minnesota Session Laws - 1984, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1984 

                        CHAPTER 548-S.F.No. 1511 
           An act relating to public finance; modifying the tax 
          exemption for property held by political subdivisions; 
          providing a tax exemption for certain real and 
          personal property; authorizing the levy of special 
          assessments or service charges for fire protection and 
          pedestrian skyway systems; amending Minnesota Statutes 
          1982, sections 272.02, subdivision 5; 429.021, 
          subdivision 1; 429.031, subdivision 3; 429.091, 
          subdivision 2; and 429.101, subdivision 1; and 
          Minnesota Statutes 1983 Supplement, sections 272.02, 
          subdivision 1; and 297A.25, subdivision 1; and Laws 
          1979, chapter 189, section 2. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1983 Supplement, section 
272.02, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  Except as provided in other subdivisions of 
this section or in section 272.025 or section 273.13, 
subdivisions 17, 17b, 17c or 17d, all property described in this 
section to the extent herein limited shall be exempt from 
taxation: 
    (1) All public burying grounds; 
    (2) All public schoolhouses; 
     (3) All public hospitals; 
     (4) All academies, colleges, and universities, and all 
seminaries of learning; 
     (5) All churches, church property, and houses of worship; 
     (6) Institutions of purely public charity except property 
assessed pursuant to section 273.13, subdivisions 17, 17b, 17c 
or 17d; 
      (7) All public property exclusively used for any public 
purpose; 
     (8) (a) Class 2 property of every household of the value of 
$100, maintained in the principal place of residence of the 
owner thereof.  The county auditor shall deduct the exemption 
from the total valuation of the property as equalized by the 
commissioner of revenue assessed to the household, and extend 
the levy of taxes upon the remainder only.  The term "household" 
as used in this section is defined to be a domestic 
establishment maintained either (1) by two or more persons 
living together within the same house or place of abode, 
subsisting in common and constituting a domestic or family 
relationship, or (2) by one person. 
      (b) During the period of his active service and for six 
months after his discharge therefrom, no member of the armed 
forces of the United States shall lose status of a householder 
under paragraph (a) which he had immediately prior to becoming a 
member of the armed forces. 
      In case there is an assessment against more than one member 
of a household the $100 exemption shall be divided among the 
members assessed in the proportion that the assessed value of 
the Class 2 property of each bears to the total assessed value 
of the Class 2 property of all the members assessed.  The Class 
2 property of each household claimed to be exempt shall be 
limited to property in one taxing district, except in cases 
where a single domestic establishment is maintained in two or 
more adjoining districts. 
     Bonds, certificates of indebtedness, or other obligations 
issued by the state of Minnesota, or by any county or city of 
the state, or any town, or any common or independent school 
district of the state, or any governmental board of the state 
are exempt from ad valorem property taxation; provided, that 
this subdivision shall not exempt the obligations or their 
interest from any excise or other tax levied on income, gross 
earnings, estates, inheritance, bequests, gifts, transfers, 
sales, or other transactions, other than an ad valorem property 
tax. 
     (9) Farm machinery manufactured prior to 1930, which is 
used only for display purposes as a collectors item; 
     (10) The taxpayer shall be exempted with respect to all 
agricultural products, inventories, stocks of merchandise of all 
sorts, all materials, parts and supplies, furniture and 
equipment, manufacturers material, manufactured articles 
including the inventories of manufacturers, wholesalers, 
retailers and contractors; and the furnishings of a room or 
apartment in a hotel, rooming house, tourist court, motel or 
trailer camp, tools and machinery which by law are considered as 
personal property, and the property described in section 272.03, 
subdivision 1, clause (c), except personal property which is 
part of an electric generating, transmission, or distribution 
system or a pipeline system transporting or distributing water, 
gas, or petroleum products or mains and pipes used in the 
distribution of steam or hot or chilled water for heating or 
cooling buildings and structures.  Railroad docks and wharves 
which are part of the operating property of a railroad company 
as defined in section 270.80 are not exempt. 
      (11) Containers of a kind customarily in the possession of 
the consumer during the consumption of commodities, the sale of 
which are subject to tax under the provisions of the excise tax 
imposed by chapter 297A; 
     (12) All livestock, poultry, all horses, mules and other 
animals used exclusively for agricultural purposes; 
     (13) All agricultural tools, implements and machinery used 
by the owners in any agricultural pursuit. 
     (14) Real and personal property used primarily for the 
abatement and control of air, water, or land pollution to the 
extent that it is so used, other than real property used 
primarily as a solid waste disposal site. 
     Any taxpayer requesting exemption of all or a portion of 
any equipment or device, or part thereof, operated primarily for 
the control or abatement of air or water pollution shall file an 
application with the commissioner of revenue.  The equipment or 
device shall meet standards, regulations or criteria prescribed 
by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and must be installed 
or operated in accordance with a permit or order issued by that 
agency.  The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency shall upon 
request of the commissioner furnish information or advice to the 
commissioner.  If the commissioner determines that property 
qualifies for exemption, he shall issue an order exempting the 
property from taxation.  The equipment or device shall continue 
to be exempt from taxation as long as the permit issued by the 
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency remains in effect. 
     (15) Wetlands.  For purposes of this subdivision, 
"wetlands" means land which is mostly under water, produces 
little if any income, and has no use except for wildlife or 
water conservation purposes.  "Wetlands" shall be land preserved 
in its natural condition, drainage of which would be legal, 
feasible, and economically practical for the production of 
livestock, dairy animals, poultry, fruit, vegetables, forage and 
grains, except wild rice.  "Wetlands" shall include adjacent 
land which is not suitable for agricultural purposes due to the 
presence of the wetlands.  "Wetlands" shall not include woody 
swamps containing shrubs or trees, wet meadows, meandered water, 
streams, rivers, and floodplains or river bottoms.  Exemption of 
wetlands from taxation pursuant to this section shall not grant 
the public any additional or greater right of access to the 
wetlands or diminish any right of ownership to the wetlands. 
     (16) Native prairie.  The commissioner of the department of 
natural resources shall determine lands in the state which are 
native prairie and shall notify the county assessor of each 
county in which the lands are located.  Pasture land used for 
livestock grazing purposes shall not be considered native 
prairie for the purposes of this clause and section 273.116.  
Upon receipt of an application for the exemption and credit 
provided in this clause and section 273.116 for lands for which 
the assessor has no determination from the commissioner of 
natural resources, the assessor shall refer the application to 
the commissioner of natural resources who shall determine within 
30 days whether the land is native prairie and notify the county 
assessor of his decision.  Exemption of native prairie pursuant 
to this clause shall not grant the public any additional or 
greater right of access to the native prairie or diminish any 
right of ownership to it. 
     (17) Property used in a continuous program to provide 
emergency shelter for victims of domestic abuse, provided the 
organization that owns and sponsors the shelter is exempt from 
federal income taxation pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended through December 31, 
1982, notwithstanding the fact that the sponsoring organization 
receives funding under section 8 of the United States Housing 
Act of 1937, as amended. 
      (18) If approved by the governing body of the municipality 
in which the property is located, property not exceeding one 
acre which is owned and operated by any senior citizen group or 
association of groups that in general limits membership to 
persons age 55 or older and is organized and operated 
exclusively for pleasure, recreation, and other nonprofit 
purposes, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the 
benefit of any private shareholders; provided the property is 
used primarily as a clubhouse, meeting facility or recreational 
facility by the group or association and the property is not 
used for residential purposes on either a temporary or permanent 
basis. 
     (19) To the extent provided by section 295.44, real and 
personal property used or to be used primarily for the 
production of hydroelectric or hydromechanical power on a site 
owned by the state or a local governmental unit which is 
developed and operated pursuant to the provisions of section 
105.482, subdivisions 1, 8 and 9. 
     (20) If approved by the governing body of the municipality 
in which the property is located, a direct satellite 
broadcasting facility or fixed satellite regional or national 
program service facility, construction of which is commenced 
after June 30, 1983, for a period not to exceed five years.  
When the facility no longer qualifies for exemption, it shall be 
placed on the assessment rolls as provided in subdivision 4.  As 
used in this clause, a "direct satellite broadcasting facility" 
is a facility operated by a corporation licensed by the federal 
communications commission to provide direct satellite 
broadcasting services using direct broadcast satellites 
operating in the 12-ghz. band and a "fixed satellite regional or 
national program service facility" is a facility operated by a 
corporation licensed by the federal communications commission to 
provide fixed satellite-transmitted regularly scheduled 
broadcasting services using satellites operating in the 6-ghz. 
band.  Before approving a tax exemption pursuant to this 
paragraph, the governing body of the municipality shall provide 
an opportunity to the members of the county board of 
commissioners of the county in which the facility is proposed to 
be located and the members of the school board of the school 
district in which the facility is proposed to be located to meet 
with the governing body.  The governing body shall present to 
the members of those boards its estimate of the fiscal impact of 
the proposed property tax exemption.  The tax exemption shall 
not be approved by the governing body until the county board of 
commissioners has presented its written comment on the proposal 
to the governing body, or 30 days has passed from the date of 
the transmittal by the governing body to the board of the 
information on the fiscal impact, whichever occurs first.  
      (21) If approved by the governing body of the municipality 
in which the property is located, a facility construction of 
which is commercial after June 30, 1983, at which a licensed 
Minnesota manufacturer produces distilled spirituous liquors, 
liqueurs, cordials, or liquors designated as specialties 
regardless of alcoholic content, but not including ethyl 
alcohol, distilled with a majority of the ingredients grown or 
produced in Minnesota, for a period not to exceed five years. 
When the facility no longer qualifies for exemption, it shall be 
placed on the assessment rolls as provided in subdivision 4. 
Before approving a tax exemption pursuant to this paragraph, the 
governing body of the municipality shall provide an opportunity 
to the members of the county board of commissioners of the 
county in which the facility is proposed to be located and the 
members of the school board of the school district in which the 
facility is proposed to be located to meet with the governing 
body.  The governing body shall present to the members of those 
boards its estimate of the fiscal impact of the proposed 
property tax exemption.  The tax exemption shall not be approved 
by the governing body until the county board of commissioners 
has presented its written comment on the proposal to the 
governing body, or 30 days has passed from the date of the 
transmittal by the governing body to the board of the 
information on the fiscal impact, whichever occurs first.  
    (22) Real and personal property owned and operated by a 
private, nonprofit corporation exempt from federal income 
taxation pursuant to United States Code, title 26, section 
501(c)(3), primarily used in the generation and distribution of 
hot water for heating buildings and structures.  
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 272.02, 
subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 5.  The holding of property by a political 
subdivision of the state for later resale for economic 
development purposes shall be considered a public purpose in 
accordance with subdivision 1, clause (7) for a period not to 
exceed three eight years.  The holding of property by a 
political subdivision of the state for later resale (1) which is 
purchased or held for housing purposes, or (2) which meets the 
conditions described in section 273.73, subdivision 10, shall be 
considered a public purpose in accordance with subdivision 1, 
clause (7).  The governing body of the political subdivision 
which acquires property which is subject to this subdivision 
shall after the purchase of the property certify to the city or 
county assessor whether the property is held for economic 
development purposes or housing purposes, or whether it meets 
the conditions of section 273.73, subdivision 10.  If the 
property is acquired for economic development purposes and 
buildings or other improvements are constructed after 
acquisition of the property, and if more than one-half of the 
floor space of the buildings or improvements which is available 
for lease to or use by a private individual, corporation, or 
other entity is leased to or otherwise used by a private 
individual, corporation, or other entity the provisions of this 
subdivision shall not apply to the property.  This subdivision 
shall not operate to create an exemption from sections 272.01, 
subdivision 2; 272.68; 273.19; or 462.575, subdivision 3;  or 
other provision of law providing for the taxation of or for 
payments in lieu of taxes for publicly held property which is 
leased, loaned, or otherwise made available and used by a 
private person.  This section is effective for taxes levied in 
1979 and thereafter, and payable in 1980 and thereafter.  
     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1983 Supplement, section 
297A.25, subdivision 1, is amended to read:  
    Subdivision 1.  The following are specifically exempted 
from the taxes imposed by sections 297A.01 to 297A.44: 
    (a) The gross receipts from the sale of food products 
including but not limited to cereal and cereal products, butter, 
cheese, milk and milk products, oleomargarine, meat and meat 
products, fish and fish products, eggs and egg products, 
vegetables and vegetable products, fruit and fruit products, 
spices and salt, sugar and sugar products, coffee and coffee 
substitutes, tea, cocoa and cocoa products, and food products 
which are not taxable pursuant to section 297A.01, subdivision 
3, clause (c) and which are sold by a retailer, organized as a 
nonprofit corporation or association, within a place located on 
property owned by the state or an agency or instrumentality of 
the state, the entrance to which is subject to an admission 
charge.  This exemption does not include the following:  
    (i) candy and candy products; 
    (ii) carbonated beverages, beverages commonly referred to 
as soft drinks containing less than 15 percent fruit juice, or 
bottled water other than noncarbonated and noneffervescent 
bottled water sold in individual containers of one-half gallon 
or more in size; 
    (b) The gross receipts from the sale of prescribed drugs 
and medicine intended for use, internal or external, in the 
cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of illness or disease 
in human beings and products consumed by humans for the 
preservation of health, including prescription glasses, 
therapeutic and prosthetic devices, but not including cosmetics 
or toilet articles notwithstanding the presence of medicinal 
ingredients therein; 
      (c) The gross receipts from the sale of and the storage, 
use or other consumption in Minnesota of tangible personal 
property, tickets, or admissions, electricity, gas, or local 
exchange telephone service, which under the Constitution or laws 
of the United States or under the Constitution of Minnesota, the 
state of Minnesota is prohibited from taxing; 
      (d) The gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal 
property (i) which, without intermediate use, is shipped or 
transported outside Minnesota by the purchaser and thereafter 
used in a trade or business or is stored, processed, fabricated 
or manufactured into, attached to or incorporated into other 
tangible personal property transported or shipped outside 
Minnesota and thereafter used in a trade or business outside 
Minnesota, and which is not thereafter returned to a point 
within Minnesota, except in the course of interstate commerce 
(storage shall not constitute intermediate use); provided that 
the property is not subject to tax in that state or country to 
which it is transported for storage or use, or, if subject to 
tax in that other state, that state allows a similar exemption 
for property purchased therein and transported to Minnesota for 
use in this state; except that sales of tangible personal 
property that is shipped or transported for use outside 
Minnesota shall be taxed at the rate of the use tax imposed by 
the state to which the property is shipped or transported, 
unless that state has no use tax, in which case the sale shall 
be taxed at the rate generally imposed by this state; and 
provided further that sales of tangible personal property to be 
used in other states or countries as part of a maintenance 
contract shall be specifically exempt; or (ii) which the seller 
delivers to a common carrier for delivery outside Minnesota, 
places in the United States mail or parcel post directed to the 
purchaser outside Minnesota, or delivers to the purchaser 
outside Minnesota by means of the seller's own delivery 
vehicles, and which is not thereafter returned to a point within 
Minnesota, except in the course of interstate commerce; 
     (e) The gross receipts from the sale of packing materials 
used to pack and ship household goods, the ultimate destination 
of which is outside the state of Minnesota and which are not 
thereafter returned to a point within Minnesota, except in the 
course of interstate commerce; 
     (f) The gross receipts from the sale of and storage, use or 
consumption of petroleum products upon which a tax has been 
imposed under the provisions of chapter 296, whether or not any 
part of said tax may be subsequently refunded; 
     (g) The gross receipts from the sale of clothing and 
wearing apparel except the following: 
     (i) all articles commonly or commercially known as jewelry, 
whether real or imitation; pearls, precious and semi-precious 
stones, and imitations thereof; articles made of, or ornamented, 
mounted or fitted with precious metals or imitations thereof; 
watches; clocks; cases and movements for watches and clocks; 
gold, gold-plated, silver, or sterling flatware or hollow ware 
and silver-plated hollow ware; opera glasses; lorgnettes; marine 
glasses; field glasses and binoculars. 
      (ii) articles made of fur on the hide or pelt, and articles 
of which such fur is the component material or chief value, but 
only if such value is more than three times the value of the 
next most valuable component material. 
      (iii) perfume, essences, extracts, toilet waters, 
cosmetics, petroleum jellies, hair oils, pomades, hair 
dressings, hair restoratives, hair dyes, aromatic cachous and 
toilet powders.  The tax imposed by this act shall not apply to 
lotion, oil, powder, or other article intended to be used or 
applied only in the case of babies. 
      (iv) trunks, valises, traveling bags, suitcases, satchels, 
overnight bags, hat boxes for use by travelers, beach bags, 
bathing suit bags, brief cases made of leather or imitation 
leather, salesmen's sample and display cases, purses, handbags, 
pocketbooks, wallets, billfolds, card, pass, and key cases and 
toilet cases. 
      (h) The gross receipts from the sale of and the storage, 
use, or consumption of all materials, including chemicals, 
fuels, petroleum products, lubricants, packaging materials, 
including returnable containers used in packaging food and 
beverage products, feeds, seeds, fertilizers, electricity, gas 
and steam, used or consumed in agricultural or industrial 
production of personal property intended to be sold ultimately 
at retail, whether or not the item so used becomes an ingredient 
or constituent part of the property produced.  Such production 
shall include, but is not limited to, research, development, 
design or production of any tangible personal property, 
manufacturing, processing (other than by restaurants and 
consumers) of agricultural products whether vegetable or animal, 
commercial fishing, refining, smelting, reducing, brewing, 
distilling, printing, mining, quarrying, lumbering, generating 
electricity and the production of road building materials.  Such 
production shall not include painting, cleaning, repairing or 
similar processing of property except as part of the original 
manufacturing process.  Machinery, equipment, implements, tools, 
accessories, appliances, contrivances, furniture and fixtures, 
used in such production and fuel, electricity, gas or steam used 
for space heating or lighting, are not included within this 
exemption; however, accessory tools, equipment and other short 
lived items, which are separate detachable units used in 
producing a direct effect upon the product, where such items 
have an ordinary useful life of less than 12 months, are 
included within the exemption provided herein; 
      (i) The gross receipts from the sale of and storage, use or 
other consumption in Minnesota of tangible personal property 
(except as provided in section 297A.14) which is used or 
consumed in producing any publication regularly issued at 
average intervals not exceeding three months, and any such 
publication.  For purposes of this subsection, "publication" as 
used herein shall include, without limiting the foregoing, a 
legal newspaper as defined by Minnesota Statutes 1965, section 
331.02, and any supplements or enclosures with or part of said 
newspaper; and the gross receipts of any advertising contained 
therein or therewith shall be exempt.  For this purpose, 
advertising in any such publication shall be deemed to be a 
service and not tangible personal property, and persons or their 
agents who publish or sell such newspapers shall be deemed to be 
engaging in a service with respect to gross receipts realized 
from such newsgathering or publishing activities by them, 
including the sale of advertising.  The term "publication" shall 
not include magazines and periodicals sold over the counter.  
Machinery, equipment, implements, tools, accessories, 
appliances, contrivances, furniture and fixtures used in such 
publication and fuel, electricity, gas or steam used for space 
heating or lighting, are not exempt; 
     (j) The gross receipts from all sales, including sales in 
which title is retained by a seller or a vendor or is assigned 
to a third party under an installment sale or lease purchase 
agreement under section 465.71, of tangible personal property 
to, and all storage, use or consumption of such property by, the 
United States and its agencies and instrumentalities or a state 
and its agencies, instrumentalities and political subdivisions. 
Sales exempted by this clause include sales pursuant to section 
297A.01, subdivision 3, clauses (d) and (f).  This exemption 
shall not apply to building, construction or reconstruction 
materials purchased by a contractor or a subcontractor as a part 
of a lump-sum contract or similar type of contract with a 
guaranteed maximum price covering both labor and materials for 
use in the construction, alteration or repair of a building or 
facility.  This exemption does not apply to construction 
materials purchased by tax exempt entities or their contractors 
to be used in constructing buildings or facilities which will 
not be used principally by the tax exempt entities; 
     (k) The gross receipts from the isolated or occasional sale 
of tangible personal property in Minnesota not made in the 
normal course of business of selling that kind of property, and 
the storage, use, or consumption of property acquired as a 
result of such a sale.  For purposes of this clause, sales by a 
nonprofit organization shall be deemed to be "isolated or 
occasional" if they occur at sale events that have a duration of 
three or fewer consecutive days.  The granting of the privilege 
of admission to places of amusement and the privilege of use of 
amusement devices by a nonprofit organization at an isolated or 
occasional event conducted on property owned or leased for a 
continuous period of more than 30 days by the nonprofit 
organization are also exempt.  The exemption provided for 
isolated sales of tangible personal property and of the granting 
of admissions or the privilege of use of amusement devices by 
nonprofit organizations pursuant to this clause shall be 
available only if the sum of the days on which the organization 
and any subsidiary nonprofit organization sponsored by it that 
does not have a separate sales tax exemption permit conduct 
sales of tangible personal property, plus the days with respect 
to which the organization charges for the use of amusement 
devices or admission to places of amusement, does not exceed 
eight days in a calendar year.  For purposes of this clause, a 
"nonprofit organization" means any corporation, society, 
association, foundation, or institution organized and operated 
exclusively for charitable, religious, or educational purposes, 
no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of a 
private individual; 
     (l) The gross receipts from sales of rolling stock and the 
storage, use or other consumption of such property by railroads, 
freight line companies, sleeping car companies and express 
companies taxed on the gross earnings basis in lieu of ad 
valorem taxes.  For purposes of this clause "rolling stock" is 
defined as the portable or moving apparatus and machinery of any 
such company which moves on the road, and includes, but is not 
limited to, engines, cars, tenders, coaches, sleeping cars and 
parts necessary for the repair and maintenance of such rolling 
stock. 
     (m) The gross receipts from sales of airflight equipment 
and the storage, use or other consumption of such property by 
airline companies taxed under the provisions of sections 270.071 
to 270.079.  For purposes of this clause, "airflight equipment" 
includes airplanes and parts necessary for the repair and 
maintenance of such airflight equipment, and flight simulators. 
     (n) The gross receipts from the sale of telephone central 
office telephone equipment used in furnishing intrastate and 
interstate telephone service to the public. 
      (o) The gross receipts from the sale of and the storage, 
use or other consumption by persons taxed under the in lieu 
provisions of chapter 298, of mill liners, grinding rods and 
grinding balls which are substantially consumed in the 
production of taconite, the material of which primarily is added 
to and becomes a part of the material being processed. 
     (p) The gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal 
property to, and the storage, use or other consumption of such 
property by, any corporation, society, association, foundation, 
or institution organized and operated exclusively for 
charitable, religious or educational purposes if the property 
purchased is to be used in the performance of charitable, 
religious or educational functions, or any senior citizen group 
or association of groups that in general limits membership to 
persons age 55 or older and is organized and operated 
exclusively for pleasure, recreation and other nonprofit 
purposes, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the 
benefit of any private shareholders.  Sales exempted by this 
clause include sales pursuant to section 297A.01, subdivision 3, 
clauses (d) and (f).  This exemption shall not apply to 
building, construction or reconstruction materials purchased by 
a contractor or a subcontractor as a part of a lump-sum contract 
or similar type of contract with a guaranteed maximum price 
covering both labor and materials for use in the construction, 
alteration or repair of a building or facility.  This exemption 
does not apply to construction materials purchased by tax exempt 
entities or their contractors to be used in constructing 
buildings or facilities which will not be used principally by 
the tax exempt entities; 
     (q) The gross receipts from the sale of caskets and burial 
vaults; 
     (r) The gross receipts from the sale of an automobile or 
other conveyance if the purchaser is assisted by a grant from 
the United States in accordance with 38 United States Code, 
section 1901, as amended. 
      (s) The gross receipts from the sale to the licensed 
aircraft dealer of an aircraft for which a commercial use permit 
has been issued pursuant to section 360.654, if the aircraft is 
resold while the permit is in effect. 
      (t) The gross receipts from the sale of building materials 
to be used in the construction or remodeling of a residence when 
the construction or remodeling is financed in whole or in part 
by the United States in accordance with 38 United States Code, 
sections 801 to 805, as amended.  This exemption shall not be 
effective at time of sale of the materials to contractors, 
subcontractors, builders or owners, but shall be applicable only 
upon a claim for refund to the commissioner of revenue filed by 
recipients of the benefits provided in title 38 United States 
Code, chapter 21, as amended.  The commissioner shall provide by 
regulation for the refund of taxes paid on sales exempt in 
accordance with this paragraph. 
      (u) The gross receipts from the sale of textbooks which are 
prescribed for use in conjunction with a course of study in a 
public or private school, college, university and business or 
trade school to students who are regularly enrolled at such 
institutions.  For purposes of this clause a "public school" is 
defined as one that furnishes course of study, enrollment and 
staff that meets standards of the state board of education and a 
private school is one which under the standards of the state 
board of education, provides an education substantially 
equivalent to that furnished at a public school.  Business and 
trade schools shall mean such schools licensed pursuant to 
section 141.25. 
    (v) The gross receipts from the sale of and the storage of 
material designed to advertise and promote the sale of 
merchandise or services, which material is purchased and stored 
for the purpose of subsequently shipping or otherwise 
transferring outside the state by the purchaser for use 
thereafter solely outside the state of Minnesota. 
    (w) The gross receipt from the sale of residential heating 
fuels in the following manner: 
    (i) all fuel oil, coal, wood, steam, hot water, propane 
gas, and L.P.  gas sold to residential customers for residential 
use; 
    (ii) natural gas sold for residential use to customers who 
are metered and billed as residential users and who use natural 
gas for their primary source of residential heat, for the 
billing months of November, December, January, February, March 
and April; 
    (iii) electricity sold for residential use to customers who 
are metered and billed as residential users and who use 
electricity for their primary source of residential heat, for 
the billing months of November, December, January, February, 
March and April. 
    (x) The gross receipts from the sale or use of tickets or 
admissions to the premises of or events sponsored by an 
association, corporation or other group of persons which 
provides an opportunity for citizens of the state to participate 
in the creation, performance or appreciation of the arts and 
which qualifies as a tax-exempt organization within the meaning 
of Minnesota Statutes 1980, section 290.05, subdivision 1, 
clause (i). 
    (y) The gross receipts from either the sales to or the 
storage, use or consumption of tangible personal property by an 
organization of military service veterans or an auxiliary unit 
of an organization of military service veterans, provided that: 
    (i) the organization or auxiliary unit is organized within 
the state of Minnesota and is exempt from federal taxation 
pursuant to section 501(c), clause (19), of the Internal Revenue 
Code as amended through December 31, 1982; and 
    (ii) the tangible personal property which is sold to or 
stored, used or consumed by the organization or auxiliary unit 
is for charitable, civic, educational, or nonprofit uses and not 
for social, recreational, pleasure or profit uses. 
    (z) The gross receipts from the sale of sanitary napkins, 
tampons, or similar items used for feminine hygiene. 
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 429.021, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  [IMPROVEMENTS AUTHORIZED.] The council of a 
municipality shall have power to make the following improvements:
    (1) To acquire, open, and widen any street, and to improve 
the same by constructing, reconstructing, and maintaining 
sidewalks, pavement, gutters, curbs, and vehicle parking strips 
of any material, or by grading, graveling, oiling, or otherwise 
improving the same, including the beautification thereof and 
including storm sewers or other street drainage and connections 
from sewer, water or similar mains to curb lines. 
    (2) To acquire, develop, construct, reconstruct, extend and 
maintain storm and sanitary sewers and systems, including 
outlets, holding areas and ponds, treatment plants, pumps, lift 
stations, service connections, and other appurtenances of a 
sewer system, within and without the corporate limits. 
    (3) To construct, reconstruct, extend and maintain steam 
heating mains. 
    (4) To install, replace, extend and maintain street lights 
and street lighting systems and special lighting systems. 
    (5) To acquire, improve, construct, reconstruct, extend and 
maintain water works systems, including mains, valves, hydrants, 
service connections, wells, pumps, reservoirs, tanks, treatment 
plants, and other appurtenances of a water works system, within 
and without the corporate limits. 
     (6) To acquire, improve and equip parks, open space areas, 
playgrounds and recreational facilities within or without the 
corporate limits. 
    (7) To plant trees on streets and provide for their 
trimming, care and removal. 
    (8) To abate nuisances and to drain swamps, marshes and 
ponds on public or private property and to fill the same. 
    (9) To construct, reconstruct, extend, and maintain dikes 
and other flood control works. 
    (10) To construct, reconstruct, extend and maintain 
retaining walls and area walls. 
    (11) To acquire, construct, reconstruct, improve, alter, 
extend, operate, maintain and promote a pedestrian skyway system.
Such improvement may be made upon a petition pursuant to section 
429.031, subdivision 3.  
    (12) To acquire, construct, reconstruct, extend, operate, 
maintain and promote underground pedestrian concourses. 
    (13) To acquire, construct, improve, alter, extend, 
operate, maintain and promote public malls, plazas or courtyards.
    (14) To construct, reconstruct, extend, and maintain 
district heating systems.  
    (15) To construct, reconstruct, alter, extend, operate, 
maintain and promote fire protection systems in existing 
buildings, but only upon a petition pursuant to section 429.031, 
subdivision 3.  
    Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 429.031, 
subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 3.  [PETITION BY ALL OWNERS.] Whenever all owners of 
real property abutting upon any street named as the location of 
any improvement shall petition the council to construct the 
improvement and to assess the entire cost against their 
property, the council may, without a public hearing, adopt a 
resolution determining such fact and ordering the improvement.  
The validity of the resolution shall not be questioned by any 
taxpayer or property owner or the municipality unless an action 
for that purpose is commenced within 30 days after adoption of 
the resolution as provided in section 429.036. Nothing herein 
prevents any property owner from questioning the amount or 
validity of the special assessment against his property pursuant 
to section 429.081.  In the case of a petition for the 
installation of a fire protection or a pedestrian skyway system, 
the petition must contain or be accompanied by an undertaking 
satisfactory to the city by the petitioner that the petitioner 
will grant the municipality the necessary property interest in 
the building to permit the city to enter upon the property and 
the building to construct, maintain, and operate the fire 
protection or pedestrial skyway system.  In the case of a 
petition for the installation of a fire protection or pedestrian 
skyway system which will be privately owned, the petition shall 
also contain the plans and specifications for the improvement, 
the estimated cost of the improvement and a statement indicating 
whether the city or the owner will contract for the construction 
of the improvement.  If the owner is contracting for the 
construction of the improvement, the city shall not approve the 
petition until it has reviewed and approved the plans, 
specifications, and cost estimates contained in the petition. 
The construction cost financed under section 429.091 shall not 
exceed the amount of the cost estimate contained in the petition.
In the case of a petition for the installation of a fire 
protection or a pedestrian skyway system, the petitioner may 
request abandonment of the improvement at any time after it has 
been ordered pursuant to subdivision 1 and before contracts have 
been awarded for the construction of the improvement under 
section 429.041, subdivision 2.  If such a request is received, 
the city council shall abandon the proceedings but in such case 
the petitioner shall reimburse the city for any and all expenses 
incurred by the city in connection with the improvement.  
    Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 429.091, 
subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 2.  [TYPES OF OBLIGATIONS PERMITTED.] The council may 
by resolution adopted prior to the sale of obligations pledge 
the full faith, credit, and taxing power of the municipality for 
the payment of the principal and interest.  Such obligations 
shall be called improvement bonds and the council shall pay the 
principal and interest out of any fund of the municipality when 
the amount credited to the specified fund is insufficient for 
the purpose and shall each year levy a sufficient amount to take 
care of accumulated or anticipated deficiencies, which levy 
shall not be subject to any statutory or charter tax 
limitation.  Obligations for the payment of which the full faith 
and credit of the municipality is not pledged shall be called 
improvement warrants or, in the case of bonds for fire 
protection or pedestrian skyway systems, revenue bonds and shall 
contain a promise to pay solely out of the proper special fund 
or funds pledged to their payment.  It shall be the duty of the 
municipal treasurer to pay maturing principal and interest on 
warrants or revenue bonds out of funds on hand in the proper 
special fund funds and not otherwise.  
    Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 429.101, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  [ORDINANCES.] In addition to any other 
method authorized by law or charter, the governing body of any 
municipality may provide for the collection of unpaid special 
charges for all or any part of the cost of 
    (a) snow, ice, or rubbish removal from sidewalks, 
    (b) weed elimination from streets or private property, 
    (c) removal or elimination of public health or safety 
hazards from private property, excluding any structure included 
under the provisions of sections 463.15 to 463.26, 
    (d) installation or repair of water service lines, street 
sprinkling or other dust treatment of streets, 
    (e) the trimming and care of trees and the removal of 
unsound trees from any street, 
    (f) the treatment and removal of insect infested or 
diseased trees on private property, the repair of sidewalks and 
alleys, or 
    (g) the operation of a street lighting system, or 
    (h) the operation and maintenance of a fire protection or a 
pedestrian skyway system, 
as a special assessment against the property benefited.  The 
council may by ordinance adopt regulations consistent with this 
section to make this authority effective, including, at the 
option of the council, provisions for placing primary 
responsibility upon the property owner or occupant to do the 
work himself (except in the case of street sprinkling or other 
dust treatment, alley repair, tree trimming, care, and removal 
or the operation of a street lighting system) upon notice before 
the work is undertaken, and for collection from the property 
owner or other person served of the charges when due before 
unpaid charges are made a special assessment. 
    Sec. 8.  Laws 1979, chapter 189, section 2, is amended to 
read: 
    Sec. 2.  For the purposes of this act, "residential 
customer" means a customer classified by the public utility as a 
residential heating or residential non-heating customer of the 
public utility within the city of St. Paul and "gross operating 
revenue" means all sums received by the public utility from the 
sale of gas, hot water heating or electricity, excluding any 
amounts received which result from a surcharge on the public 
utility's rate schedule for the purpose of collecting the 
franchise fee. 
    Sec. 9.  [EXEMPTION.] 
    Notwithstanding the provisions of Minnesota Statutes, 
section 473.556, subdivision 6, or any other law, real property 
conveyed to the port authority of the city of Bloomington by the 
metropolitan sports facilities commission shall be exempt from 
taxation as provided in Minnesota Statutes, sections 473.556, 
subdivision 4; and 459.192, subdivision 2.  
    Sec. 10. [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
    Section 1 is effective for taxes levied in 1983 and 
thereafter and payable in 1984 and thereafter.  Section 2 is 
effective for taxes levied in 1979 and thereafter and for taxes 
payable in 1980 and thereafter.  Section 9 is effective upon 
compliance by the governing body of the city of Bloomington with 
Minnesota Statutes, section 645.021, subdivision 3. 
    Approved April 25, 1984