Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 1995, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 255-S.F.No. 1019
An act relating to metropolitan government;
establishing the metropolitan livable communities fund
and providing for fund distribution; reducing the levy
authority of the metropolitan mosquito control
commission; providing for certain revenue sharing;
regulating employee layoffs by the metropolitan
mosquito control district; authorizing an economic
vitality and housing initiative; amending Minnesota
Statutes 1994, sections 116J.552, subdivision 2;
116J.555, subdivision 2; 116J.556; 473.167,
subdivisions 2, 3, and by adding a subdivision;
473.711, subdivision 2; and 473F.08, subdivisions 3a,
5, 7a, and by adding a subdivision; proposing coding
for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 473;
repealing Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 504.33;
504.34; and 504.35.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
ARTICLE 1
METROPOLITAN LIVABLE COMMUNITIES ACT
Section 1. [473.25] [LIVABLE COMMUNITIES CRITERIA AND
GUIDELINES.]
(a) The council shall establish criteria for uses of the
fund provided in section 473.251 that are consistent with and
promote the purposes of this article and the policies of the
metropolitan development guide adopted by the council including,
but not limited to:
(1) helping to change long-term market incentives that
adversely impact creation and preservation of living-wage jobs
in the fully developed area;
(2) creating incentives for developing communities to
include a full range of housing opportunities;
(3) creating incentives to preserve and rehabilitate
affordable housing in the fully developed area; and
(4) creating incentives for all communities to implement
compact and efficient development.
(b) The council shall establish guidelines for the livable
community demonstration account for projects that the council
would consider funding with either grants or loans. The
guidelines must provide that the projects will:
(1) interrelate development or redevelopment and transit;
(2) interrelate affordable housing and employment growth
areas;
(3) intensify land use that leads to more compact
development or redevelopment;
(4) involve development or redevelopment that mixes incomes
of residents in housing, including introducing or reintroducing
higher value housing in lower income areas to achieve a mix of
housing opportunities; or
(5) encourage public infrastructure investments which
connect urban neighborhoods and suburban communities, attract
private sector redevelopment investment in commercial and
residential properties adjacent to the public improvement, and
provide project area residents with expanded opportunities for
private sector employment.
(c) The council shall establish guidelines governing who
may apply for a grant or loan from the fund, providing priority
for proposals using innovative partnerships between government,
private for-profit, and nonprofit sectors.
(d) The council shall prepare an annual plan for
distribution of the fund based on the criteria for project and
applicant selection.
(e) The council shall prepare and submit to the
legislature, as provided in section 3.195, an annual report on
the metropolitan livable communities fund. The report must
include information on the amount of money in the fund, the
amount distributed, to whom the funds were distributed and for
what purposes, and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the
projects funded in meeting the policies and goals of the
council. The report may make recommendations to the legislature
on changes to this act.
Sec. 2. [473.251] [METROPOLITAN LIVABLE COMMUNITIES FUND.]
The metropolitan livable communities fund is created and
consists of the following accounts:
(1) the tax base revitalization account;
(2) the livable communities demonstration account; and
(3) the local housing incentives account.
Sec. 3. [473.252] [TAX BASE REVITALIZATION ACCOUNT.]
Subdivision 1. [DEFINITION.] For the purposes of this
section, "municipality" means a statutory or home rule charter
city or town participating in the local housing incentives
program under section 473.254, or a county in the metropolitan
area.
Subd. 2. [SOURCES OF FUNDS.] The council shall credit to
the tax base revitalization account within the fund the amount,
if any, provided for under section 473.167, subdivision 3a,
paragraph (b), and the amount, if any, distributed to the
council under section 473F.08, subdivision 3b.
Subd. 3. [DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.] (a) The council must use
the funds in the account to make grants to municipalities for
the cleanup of polluted land in the metropolitan area. A grant
to a metropolitan county must be used for a project in a
participating municipality. The council shall prescribe and
provide the grant application form to municipalities. The
council must consider the probability of funding from other
sources when making grants under this section.
(b)(1) The legislature expects that applications for grants
will exceed the available funds and the council will be able to
provide grants to only some of the applicant municipalities. If
applications for grants for qualified sites exceed the available
funds, the council shall make grants that provide the highest
return in public benefits for the public costs incurred, that
encourage commercial and industrial development that will lead
to the preservation or growth of living-wage jobs and that
enhance the tax base of the recipient municipality.
(2) In making grants, the council shall establish regular
application deadlines in which grants will be awarded from the
available money in the account. If the council provides for
application cycles of less than six-month intervals, the council
must reserve at least 40 percent of the receipts of the account
for a year for application deadlines that occur in the second
half of the year. If the applications for grants exceed the
available funds for an application cycle, no more than one-half
of the funds may be granted to projects in a statutory or home
rule charter city and no more than three-quarters of the funds
may be granted to projects located in cities of the first class.
(c) A municipality may use the grant to provide a portion
of the local match requirement for project costs that qualify
for a grant under sections 116J.551 to 116J.557.
Sec. 4. [473.253] [LIVABLE COMMUNITIES DEMONSTRATION
ACCOUNT.]
Subdivision 1. [SOURCES OF FUNDS.] The council shall
credit to the livable communities demonstration account the
revenues provided in this subdivision. This tax shall be levied
and collected in the manner provided by section 473.13. The
levy shall not exceed the following amount for the years
specified:
(a)(1) for taxes payable in 1996, 50 percent of (i) the
metropolitan mosquito control commission's property tax levy for
taxes payable in 1995 multiplied by (ii) an index for market
valuation changes equal to the total market valuation of all
taxable property located within the metropolitan area for the
current taxes payable year divided by the total market valuation
of all taxable property located in the metropolitan area for the
previous taxes payable year; and
(2) for taxes payable in 1997 and subsequent years, the
product of (i) the property tax levy limit under this
subdivision for the previous year multiplied by (ii) an index
for market valuation changes equal to the total market valuation
of all taxable property located within the metropolitan area for
the current taxes payable year divided by the total market
valuation of all taxable property located in the metropolitan
area for the previous taxes payable year.
For the purposes of this subdivision, "total market
valuation" means the total market valuation of all taxable
property within the metropolitan area without valuation
adjustments for fiscal disparities under chapter 473F, tax
increment financing under sections 469.174 to 469.179, and high
voltage transmission lines under section 273.425.
(b) The metropolitan council, for the purposes of the fund,
is considered a unique taxing jurisdiction for purposes of
receiving aid pursuant to section 273.1398. For aid to be
received in 1996, the fund's homestead and agricultural credit
base shall equal 50 percent of the metropolitan mosquito control
commission's certified homestead and agricultural credit aid for
1995, determined under section 273.1398, subdivision 2, less any
permanent aid reduction under section 477A.0132. For aid to be
received under section 273.1398 in 1997 and subsequent years,
the fund's homestead and agricultural credit base shall be
determined in accordance with section 273.1398, subdivision 1.
Subd. 2. [DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.] The council shall use
the funds in the livable communities demonstration account to
make grants or loans to municipalities participating in the
local housing incentives program under section 473.254 or to
metropolitan area counties to fund the initiatives specified in
section 473.25, paragraph (b), in participating municipalities.
Sec. 5. [473.254] [LOCAL HOUSING INCENTIVES ACCOUNT.]
Subdivision 1. [PARTICIPATION.] (a) By November 15 of each
year, a municipality may elect to participate in the local
housing incentive account program. If a municipality does not
elect to participate for the year, it is not subject to this
section. For purposes of this section, municipality means a
municipality electing to participate in the local housing
incentive account program, unless the context indicates
otherwise.
(b) A municipality that elects to participate may receive
grants or loans from the tax base revitalization account,
livable communities demonstration account, or the local housing
incentive account. A municipality that does not participate is
not eligible to receive a grant under sections 116J.551 to
116J.557. The council, when making discretionary funding
decisions, shall give consideration to a municipality's
participation in the local housing incentives program.
Subd. 2. [AFFORDABLE AND LIFE-CYCLE HOUSING GOALS.] The
council shall negotiate with each municipality to establish
affordable and life-cycle housing goals for that municipality
that are consistent with and promote the policies of the
metropolitan council as provided in the adopted metropolitan
development guide. The council shall adopt, by resolution after
a public hearing, the negotiated affordable and life-cycle
housing goals for each municipality by January 15, 1996. By
June 30, 1996, each municipality shall identify to the council
the actions it plans to take to meet the established housing
goals.
Subd. 3. [AFFORDABLE AND LIFE-CYCLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES
AMOUNT.] (1) By July 1, 1996, each county assessor shall certify
each municipality's average residential homestead limited market
value for the 1994 assessment year, including the value of the
farm house, garage, and one acre only in the case of farm
homesteads, multiplied by a factor of two, as the municipality's
"market value base amount." For 1997 and thereafter, the
"market value base amount" shall be equal to the product of (i)
the market value base amount for the previous year multiplied by
(ii) the annual average United States Consumer Price Index for
all urban consumers, United States average, as determined by the
United States Department of Labor, for the previous year divided
by that annual average for the year before the previous year.
(2) By July 1, 1996, and each succeeding year the county
assessor shall determine which homesteads have market values in
excess of the municipality's market value base amount and the
county auditor shall certify the aggregate net tax capacity
corresponding to the amount by which those homesteads' market
values exceed the municipality's market value base amount as the
"net tax capacity excess amount" for the assessment year
corresponding to the current taxes payable year. By July 1,
1996, the county auditor shall also certify the net tax capacity
excess amount for taxes payable in 1995.
(3) By July 1, 1996, and each succeeding year, the county
auditor shall also certify each municipality's local tax rate
for the current taxes payable year.
(4) By July 1, 1996, and each succeeding year, the county
auditor shall certify for each municipality the amount equal to
four percent of the municipality's current year total
residential homestead tax capacity multiplied by the local tax
rate.
(5) By August 1, 1996, and each succeeding year, the
metropolitan council shall notify each municipality of its
"affordable and life-cycle housing opportunities amount" for the
following calendar year equal to the lesser of the amount
certified under clause (4) or the amount, if any, by which the
net tax capacity excess amount for the current year exceeds the
amount for taxes payable in 1995, multiplied by the
municipality's local tax rate certified in clause (3).
Subd. 4. [AFFORDABLE AND LIFE-CYCLE HOUSING REQUIREMENT.]
(a) A municipality that is determined by the council to have met
its affordable and life-cycle housing goals in the previous
calendar year may retain the amount calculated under subdivision
3 to maintain existing affordable and life-cycle housing.
(b) In 1998, and thereafter, a municipality that is
determined by the council not to have met the affordable and
life-cycle housing goals in the previous calendar year, as
negotiated and agreed to with the council, and not to have spent
85 percent of its affordable and life-cycle housing
opportunities amount to create affordable and life-cycle housing
opportunities in the previous calendar year must do one of the
following with the affordable and life-cycle housing
opportunities amount for the previous year as determined under
subdivision 3:
(1) distribute it to the local housing incentives account;
or
(2) distribute it to the housing and redevelopment
authority of the city or county in which the municipality is
located to create affordable and life-cycle housing
opportunities in the municipality.
A municipality may enter into agreements with adjacent
municipalities to cooperatively provide affordable and
life-cycle housing. The housing may be provided in any of the
cooperating municipalities, but must meet the combined housing
goals of each participating municipality.
Subd. 5. [SOURCES OF FUNDS.] (a) The council shall credit
to the local housing incentives account any revenues derived
from municipalities under subdivision 4, paragraph (b), clause
(1).
(b) The council shall credit $1,000,000 of the proceeds of
solid waste bonds issued by the council under Minnesota
Statutes, section 473.831, before its repeal, to the local
housing incentives account in the metropolitan livable
communities fund. In 1998 and each year thereafter, the council
shall credit $1,000,000 of the revenues generated by the levy
authorized in section 473.249 to the local housing incentives
account.
(c) In 1997, and each year thereafter, the council shall
transfer $500,000 from the livable communities demonstration
account to the local housing incentives account.
Subd. 6. [DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.] The funds in the account
must be distributed annually by the council to municipalities
that:
(1) have not met their affordable and life-cycle housing
goals as determined by the council; and
(2) are actively funding projects designed to help meet the
goals.
The funds distributed by the council must be matched on a
dollar-for-dollar basis by the municipality receiving the
funds. When distributing funds in the account, the council must
give priority to those municipalities that (1) have contribution
net tax capacities that exceed their distribution net tax
capacities by more than $200 per household, (2) demonstrate the
proposed project will link employment opportunities with
affordable and life-cycle housing, and (3) provide matching
funds from a source other than the required amount under
subdivision 3. For the purposes of this subdivision,
"municipality" means a statutory or home rule charter city or
town in the metropolitan area.
Subd. 7. [REPORTING REQUIREMENT.] Beginning January 15,
1998, and annually thereafter, each municipality must report to
the council the following:
(1) the tax revenues defined in subdivision 3 that were
levied in the prior year;
(2) the portion of the revenues that were spent on meeting
the municipality's affordable and life-cycle housing goals; and
(3) information on how the expenditures directly support
the municipality's efforts to meet its affordable and life-cycle
housing goals.
The council shall verify each municipality's compliance
with this subdivision.
Subd. 8. [LATER ELECTION TO PARTICIPATE.] If a
municipality did not participate for one or more years and
elects later to participate, the municipality must establish
that it has spent or agrees to spend on affordable and
life-cycle housing, or agrees to distribute to the local housing
incentives account, an amount equivalent to what it would have
spent on affordable and life-cycle housing had goals been
established under this section for the period in which it was
not participating. The council will determine which investments
count toward the required cumulative investment amount by
comparing the municipality to participating municipalities
similar in terms of stage of development and demographics. If
it determines it to be in the best interests of the region, the
council may waive a reasonable portion of the cumulative
investment amount.
Subd. 9. [REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE.] By February 1 of
each year, the council must report to the legislature the
municipalities that have elected to participate and not to
participate under subdivision 1. This report must be filed as
provided in section 3.195.
Subd. 10. [COMPREHENSIVE REPORT CARD ON AFFORDABLE AND
LIFE CYCLE HOUSING.] The metropolitan council shall present to
the legislature and release to the public by November 15, 1996,
and each year thereafter a comprehensive report card on
affordable and life cycle housing in each municipality in the
metropolitan area. The report card must include information on
government, nonprofit, and marketplace efforts.
Sec. 6. [PROGRAM EVALUATION.]
The metropolitan council shall submit a report to the
legislature by January 15, 2003, evaluating the metropolitan
livable communities act. The report must include an accounting
of the funds credited to the tax base revitalization account,
the livable communities demonstration account, and the local
housing incentives account, a summary of how the funds were
spent, an analysis of the costs and benefits of the program, and
recommendations for future legislative action regarding the
program.
Sec. 7. [2020 REPORT.]
The metropolitan council shall report to the legislature by
January 15, 1996, on the probable development patterns in and
affecting the metropolitan area by the year 2020 under various
scenarios, including the present course of growth versus
directed, compact, and efficient development. The report should
consider impacts on the greater metropolitan region, including
within it counties in which five percent or more of residents
commute to employment in the present metropolitan region or
which are part of the metropolitan area as defined by the U.S.
Department of Commerce Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Sec. 8. [APPLICATION.]
This article applies in the counties of Anoka, Carver,
Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.
Sec. 9. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
This article is effective the day after final enactment.
Section 4 is effective for taxes levied in 1995 and payable in
1996, and subsequent years.
ARTICLE 2
MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.552,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [CLEANUP COSTS.] "Cleanup costs" or "costs"
mean means the cost costs of developing and implementing an
approved a response action plan, but does not include
implementation costs incurred before the award of a grant unless
the application for the grant was submitted within 180 days
after the response action plan was approved by the commissioner
of the pollution control agency.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.555,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [APPLICATION CYCLES; REPORTING TO LCWM.] (a) In
making grants, the commissioner shall establish regular
semiannual application deadlines in which grants will be
authorized from all or part of the available appropriations of
money in the account.
(b) After each semiannual cycle in which grants are
awarded, the commissioner shall report to the legislative
commission on waste management the grants awarded and
appropriate supporting information describing each grant made.
This report must be made within 30 days after the grants are
awarded.
(c) The commissioner shall annually report to the
legislative commission on the status of the cleanup projects
undertaken under grants made under the programs. The
commissioner shall include in the annual report information on
the cleanup and development activities undertaken for the grants
made in that and previous fiscal years. The commissioner shall
make this report no later than 120 days after the end of the
fiscal year.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.554, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 1a. [METROPOLITAN LIVABLE COMMUNITIES.] The
commissioner may not make a grant to a municipality in the
metropolitan area unless it is participating in the local
housing incentives program under section 473.254.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.556, is
amended to read:
116J.556 [LOCAL MATCH REQUIREMENT.]
(a) In order to qualify for a grant under sections 116J.551
to 116J.557, the municipality must pay for at least one-half of
the project costs as a local match. The municipality shall pay
an amount of the project costs equal to at least 18 12 percent
of the cleanup costs from the municipality's general fund, a
property tax levy for that purpose, or other unrestricted money
available to the municipality (excluding tax increments). These
unrestricted moneys may be spent for project costs, other than
cleanup costs, and qualify for the local match payment equal to
18 12 percent of cleanup costs. The rest of the local match may
be paid with tax increments, regional, state, or federal money
available for the redevelopment of brownfields or any other
money available to the municipality.
(b) If the development authority establishes a tax
increment financing district or hazardous substance subdistrict
on the site to pay for part of the local match requirement, the
district or subdistrict is not subject to the state aid
reductions under section 273.1399. In order to qualify for the
exemption from the state aid reductions, the municipality must
elect, by resolution, on or before the request for certification
is filed that all tax increments from the district or
subdistrict will be used exclusively to pay (1) for project
costs for the site and (2) administrative costs for the district
or subdistrict. The district or subdistrict must be decertified
when an amount of tax increments equal to no more than three
times the costs of implementing the response action plan for the
site and the administrative costs for the district or
subdistrict have been received, after deducting the amount of
the state grant.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473.167,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [LOANS FOR ACQUISITION.] The council may make
loans to counties, towns, and statutory and home rule charter
cities within the metropolitan area for the purchase of property
within the right-of-way of a state trunk highway shown on an
official map adopted pursuant to section 394.361 or 462.359 or
for the purchase of property within the proposed right-of-way of
a principal or intermediate arterial highway designated by the
council as a part of the metropolitan highway system plan and
approved by the council pursuant to subdivision 1. The loans
shall be made by the council, from the fund established pursuant
to this subdivision, for purchases approved by the council. The
loans shall bear no interest. The council shall make loans
only: (1) to accelerate the acquisition of primarily
undeveloped property when there is a reasonable probability that
the property will increase in value before highway construction,
and to update an expired environmental impact statement on a
project for which the right-of-way is being purchased; (2) to
avert the imminent conversion or the granting of approvals which
would allow the conversion of property to uses which would
jeopardize its availability for highway construction; or (3) to
advance planning and environmental activities on highest
priority major metropolitan river crossing projects, under the
transportation development guide chapter/policy plan. The
council shall not make loans for the purchase of property at a
price which exceeds the fair market value of the property or
which includes the costs of relocating or moving persons or
property. A private property owner may elect to receive the
purchase price either in a lump sum or in not more than four
annual installments without interest on the deferred
installments. If the purchase agreement provides for
installment payments, the council shall make the loan in
installments corresponding to those in the purchase agreement.
The recipient of an acquisition loan shall convey the property
for the construction of the highway at the same price which the
recipient paid for the property. The price may include the
costs of preparing environmental documents that were required
for the acquisition and that were paid for with money that the
recipient received from the loan fund. Upon notification by the
council that the plan to construct the highway has been
abandoned or the anticipated location of the highway changed,
the recipient shall sell the property at market value in
accordance with the procedures required for the disposition of
the property. All rents and other money received because of the
recipient's ownership of the property and all proceeds from the
conveyance or sale of the property shall be paid to the
council. If a recipient is not permitted to include in the
conveyance price the cost of preparing environmental documents
that were required for the acquisition, then the recipient is
not required to repay the council an amount equal to 40 percent
of the money received from the loan fund and spent in preparing
the environmental documents. The proceeds of the tax authorized
by subdivision 3 and distributed to the right-of-way acquisition
loan fund pursuant to subdivision 3a, paragraph (a), all money
paid to the council by recipients of loans, and all interest on
the proceeds and payments shall be maintained as a separate
fund. For administration of the loan program, the council may
expend from the fund each year an amount no greater than three
percent of the amount of the authorized levy proceeds
distributed to the right-of-way acquisition loan fund pursuant
to subdivision 3a, paragraph (a), for that year.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473.167,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [TAX.] The council may levy a tax on all taxable
property in the metropolitan area, as defined in section
473.121, to provide funds for loans made pursuant to
subdivisions 2 and 2a and for the tax base revitalization
account in the metropolitan livable communities fund,
established under section 473.251. This tax for the
right-of-way acquisition loan fund and the tax base
revitalization account shall be certified by the council,
levied, and collected in the manner provided by section 473.13.
The tax shall be in addition to that authorized by section
473.249 and any other law and shall not affect the amount or
rate of taxes which may be levied by the council or any
metropolitan agency or local governmental unit. The amount of
the levy shall be as determined and certified by the council,
except as otherwise provided in this subdivision.
The property tax levied by the metropolitan council for the
right-of-way acquisition loan fund and the tax base
revitalization account shall not exceed the following amount for
the years specified:
(a) for taxes payable in 1988, the product of 5/100 of one
mill multiplied by the total assessed valuation of all taxable
property located within the metropolitan area as adjusted by the
provisions of Minnesota Statutes 1986, sections 272.64; 273.13,
subdivision 7a; and 275.49;
(b) for taxes payable in 1989, except as provided in
section 473.249, subdivision 3, the product of (1) the
metropolitan council's property tax levy limitation for the
right-of-way acquisition loan fund for the taxes payable year
1988 determined under clause (a) multiplied by (2) an index for
market valuation changes equal to the assessment year 1988 total
market valuation of all taxable property located within the
metropolitan area divided by the assessment year 1987 total
market valuation of all taxable property located within the
metropolitan area;
(c) for taxes payable in 1990, an amount not to exceed
$2,700,000; and
(d) for taxes payable in 1991 and subsequent years, the
product of (1) the metropolitan council's property tax levy
limitation for the right-of-way acquisition loan fund for the
taxes payable in 1988 determined under clause (a) multiplied by
(2) an index for market valuation changes equal to the total
market valuation of all taxable property located within the
metropolitan area for the current taxes payable year divided by
the total market valuation of all taxable property located
within the metropolitan area for taxes payable in 1988.
For the purpose of determining the metropolitan council's
property tax levy limitation for the right-of-way acquisition
loan fund and tax base revitalization account in the
metropolitan livable communities fund, under section 473.251,
for the taxes payable year 1988 and subsequent years under this
subdivision, "total market valuation" means the total market
valuation of all taxable property within the metropolitan area
without valuation adjustments for fiscal disparities (chapter
473F), tax increment financing (sections 469.174 to 469.179),
and high voltage transmission lines (section 273.425).
The property tax levied under this subdivision for taxes
payable in 1988 and subsequent years shall not be levied at a
rate higher than that determined by the metropolitan council to
be sufficient, considering the other anticipated revenues of and
disbursements from the right-of-way acquisition loan fund, to
produce a balance in the loan fund at the end of the next
calendar year equal to twice the amount of the property tax levy
limitation for taxes payable in the next calendar year
determined under this section.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473.167, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 3a. [DISTRIBUTION OF TAX PROCEEDS.] (a) Right-of-way
acquisition loan fund. Tax proceeds shall first be deposited
into the right-of-way acquisition loan fund in an amount
determined by the metropolitan council to be sufficient,
considering the other anticipated revenues of and disbursements
from the right-of-way acquisition loan fund, to produce a
balance in the loan fund at the end of the next calendar year
equal to twice the amount of the property tax levy limitation
for taxes payable in the next calendar year determined under
subdivision 3.
(b) Metropolitan livable communities tax base
revitalization account. Any tax proceeds not first deposited
into the right-of-way acquisition loan fund shall be distributed
to the tax base revitalization account in the metropolitan
livable communities fund, established under section 473.251.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473.704,
subdivision 18, is amended to read:
Subd. 18. The commission may establish a research program
to evaluate the effects of control programs on other fauna. The
purpose of the program is to identify the types and magnitude of
the adverse effects of the control program on fish and wildlife
and associated food chain invertebrates. The commission may
conduct research through contracts with qualified outside
researchers. The commission may finance the research program
each year at a level up to 2.5 percent of its annual budget,
until December 31, 1995.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473.711,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [BUDGET; TAX LEVY.] (a) Budget. The metropolitan
mosquito control commission shall prepare an annual budget. The
budget may provide for expenditures in an amount not exceeding
the property tax levy limitation determined in this subdivision.
(b) Tax Levy. The commission may levy a tax on all taxable
property in the district as defined in section 473.702 to
provide funds for the purposes of sections 473.701 to 473.716.
The tax shall not exceed the property tax levy limitation
determined in this subdivision. A participating county may
agree to levy an additional tax to be used by the commission for
the purposes of sections 473.701 to 473.716 but the sum of the
county's and commission's taxes may not exceed the county's
proportionate share of the property tax levy limitation
determined under this subdivision based on the ratio of its
total net tax capacity to the total net tax capacity of the
entire district as adjusted by section 270.12, subdivision 3.
The auditor of each county in the district shall add the amount
of the levy made by the district to other taxes of the county
for collection by the county treasurer with other taxes. When
collected, the county treasurer shall make settlement of the tax
with the district in the same manner as other taxes are
distributed to political subdivisions. No county shall levy any
tax for mosquito, disease vectoring tick, and black gnat
(Simuliidae) control except under sections 473.701 to 473.716
this section. The levy shall be in addition to other taxes
authorized by law.
The property tax levied by the metropolitan mosquito
control commission shall not exceed the following amount for the
years specified:
(i) for taxes payable in 1996, the product of (1) the
commission's property tax levy limitation for the previous
year taxes payable in 1995 determined under this
subdivision minus 50 percent of the amount actually levied for
taxes payable in 1995, multiplied by (2) an index for market
valuation changes equal to the total market valuation of all
taxable property located within the district for the
current assessment taxes payable year divided by the total
market valuation of all taxable property located within the
district for the previous assessment taxes payable year; and
(ii) for taxes payable in 1997 and subsequent years, the
product of (1) the commission's property tax levy limitation for
the previous year determined under this subdivision multiplied
by (2) an index for market valuation changes equal to the total
market valuation of all taxable property located within the
district for the current taxes payable year divided by the total
market valuation of all taxable property located within the
district for the previous taxes payable year.
For the purpose of determining the commission's property
tax levy limitation under this subdivision, "total market
valuation" means the total market valuation of all taxable
property within the district without valuation adjustments for
fiscal disparities (chapter 473F), tax increment financing
(sections 469.174 to 469.179), and high voltage transmission
lines (section 273.425).
(c) Homestead and Agricultural Credit Aid. For aids
payable in 1996 and subsequent years, the commission's homestead
and agricultural credit aid base under section 273.1398,
subdivision 1, is permanently reduced by 50 percent of the
amount certified to be received in 1995, less any permanent aid
reduction in 1995 under section 477A.0132.
(d) Emergency Tax Levy. If the commissioner of the
department of health declares a health emergency due to a
threatened or actual outbreak of disease caused by mosquitos,
disease vectoring ticks, or black gnats (Simuliidae), the
commission may levy an additional tax not to exceed $500,000 on
all taxable property in the district to pay for the required
control measures.
(e) Optional County Levy. A participating county may levy
a tax in an amount to be determined by the county board for
mosquito, disease vectoring tick, and black gnat (Simuliidae)
nuisance control. If the county levies the tax for nuisance
control, it must contract with the commission to provide for
nuisance control activities within the county. The levy for
nuisance control shall be in addition to other levies authorized
by law to the county.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473F.08,
subdivision 3a, is amended to read:
Subd. 3a. Beginning in 1987 and each subsequent year
through 1998, the city of Bloomington shall determine the
interest payments for that year for the bonds which have been
sold for the highway improvements pursuant to Laws 1986, chapter
391, section 2, paragraph (g). Effective for property taxes
payable in 1988 through property taxes payable in 1999, after
the Hennepin county auditor has computed the areawide portion of
the levy for the city of Bloomington pursuant to subdivision 3,
clause (a), the auditor shall annually add a dollar amount to
the city of Bloomington's areawide portion of the levy equal to
the amount which has been certified to the auditor by the city
of Bloomington for the interest payments for that year for the
bonds which were sold for highway improvements. The total
areawide portion of the levy for the city of Bloomington
including the additional amount for interest repayment certified
pursuant to this subdivision shall be certified by the Hennepin
county auditor to the administrative auditor pursuant to
subdivision 5. The Hennepin county auditor shall distribute to
the city of Bloomington the additional areawide portion of the
levy computed pursuant to this subdivision at the same time that
payments are made to the other counties pursuant to subdivision
7a. For property taxes payable from the year 2000 2006 through
2009 2015, the Hennepin county auditor shall adjust
Bloomington's contribution to the areawide gross tax capacity
upward each year by a value equal to ten percent of the total
additional areawide levy distributed to Bloomington under this
subdivision from 1988 to 1999, divided by the areawide tax rate
for taxes payable in the previous year.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473F.08, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 3b. [LIVABLE COMMUNITIES FUND.] (a) The Hennepin
county auditor shall certify the city of Bloomington's interest
payments for 1987 for the bonds which were sold for highway
improvements pursuant to Laws 1986, chapter 391, section 2,
paragraph (g), and which were certified as an addition to the
city of Bloomington's areawide levy for taxes payable in 1988.
(b) For taxes payable in 1996 through taxes payable in
1999, the Hennepin county auditor shall certify the amount
calculated by subtracting the amount certified under subdivision
3a from the amount in paragraph (a). For taxes payable in 2000
and subsequent years, the Hennepin county auditor shall certify
the amount calculated in paragraph (a).
(c) The metropolitan council may annually certify to the
Ramsey county auditor the amount calculated under paragraph (b),
or a lesser amount, but not to exceed $5,000,000, to be used to
provide funds for the cleanup of polluted lands in the
metropolitan area.
(d) The amount certified under paragraph (c) shall be
certified annually by the Ramsey county auditor to the
administrative auditor as an addition to the metropolitan
council's areawide levy under subdivision 5.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473F.08,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [AREAWIDE TAX RATE.] On or before August 25 of
each year, the county auditor shall certify to the
administrative auditor that portion of the levy of each
governmental unit determined under subdivision subdivisions 3,
clause (a), 3a, and 3b. The administrative auditor shall then
determine the areawide tax rate sufficient to yield an amount
equal to the sum of such levies from the areawide net tax
capacity. On or before September 1 of each year, the
administrative auditor shall certify the areawide tax rate to
each of the county auditors.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473F.08,
subdivision 7a, is amended to read:
Subd. 7a. [CERTIFICATION OF VALUES; PAYMENT.] The
administrative auditor shall determine for each county the
difference between the total levy on distribution value pursuant
to subdivision subdivisions 3, clause (a), 3a, and 3b, within
the county and the total tax on contribution value pursuant to
subdivision 6, within the county. On or before May 16 of each
year, the administrative auditor shall certify the differences
so determined to each county auditor. In addition, the
administrative auditor shall certify to those county auditors
for whose county the total tax on contribution value exceeds the
total levy on distribution value the settlement the county is to
make to the other counties of the excess of the total tax on
contribution value over the total levy on distribution value in
the county. On or before June 15 and November 15 of each year,
each county treasurer in a county having a total tax on
contribution value in excess of the total levy on distribution
value shall pay one-half of the excess to the other counties in
accordance with the administrative auditors certification.
Sec. 14. [MOSQUITO CONTROL COMMISSION EMPLOYEES.]
Employees of the metropolitan mosquito control commission
covered under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement as
of March 1, 1995, may not be terminated by discharge, except for
cause, before January 1, 1999. This act does not abrogate or
change any rights enjoyed by the employees of the commission
under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement that is in
effect on March 1, 1995.
Sec. 15. [AMENDMENT OF GRANT APPLICATIONS.]
A development authority that, before the effective date of
this section, submitted an application for a grant under
Minnesota Statutes, sections 116J.551 to 116J.558, may, before
the next application deadline, submit to the commissioner of
trade and economic development an amended application based on
the changes made by section 1.
Sec. 16. [ECONOMIC VITALITY AND HOUSING INITIATIVE.]
Subdivision 1. [ESTABLISHMENT.] The Minnesota housing
finance agency may establish an economic vitality and housing
initiative to provide funds for affordable housing projects in
connection with local communities' economic development and
redevelopment efforts. The purpose of the economic vitality and
housing initiative is to provide resources for affordable
housing in communities throughout the state necessary to ensure
the expansion and preservation of the economic base and
employment opportunities. The agency must use the economic
vitality and housing initiative to leverage to the extent
possible private and other public funds for the purpose of this
section.
Subd. 2. [GREATER MINNESOTA.] In Greater Minnesota, which
is defined for this section as the area of the state not
included in subdivision 3, the agency must work with groups in
the McKnight initiative fund regions to assist the agency in
identifying the affordable housing needed in each region in
connection with economic development and redevelopment efforts
and in establishing priorities for uses of economic vitality and
housing funds. The groups must include the McKnight initiative
funds, the regional development commissions, the private
industry councils, units of local government, community action
agencies, the Minnesota housing partnership network groups,
local lenders, for-profit and nonprofit developers, and
realtors. In addition to priorities developed by the group, the
agency must give a preference to viable projects in which area
employers contribute financial assistance.
Subd. 3. [METROPOLITAN AREA.] In the metropolitan area, as
defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 473.121, subdivision 2,
the agency must confer with the metropolitan council to identify
the priorities for use of the economic vitality and housing
funds. The agency shall give preference to economically viable
projects that:
(1) include a contribution of financial resources from
units of local government and area employers;
(2) are located in areas accessible to public
transportation or served by transportation programs or along
arterial roadways;
(3) take into account the availability of job training
efforts in the community; and
(4) address local and regional objectives for the
development of affordable and life cycle housing and the
redevelopment of neighborhoods and communities.
Subd. 4. [EXPIRATION.] This section expires June 30, 1997.
Sec. 17. [REPEALER.]
Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 504.33; 504.34; and
504.35, are repealed.
Sec. 18. [CITATION.]
This act may be cited as "the metropolitan livable
communities act."
Sec. 19. [APPLICATION.]
This article applies in the counties of Anoka, Carver,
Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.
Sec. 20. [EFFECTIVE DATES.]
This article is effective the day after final enactment.
Sections 6, 9, and 11 to 13 are effective for taxes levied in
1995, payable in 1996 and subsequent years.
ARTICLE 3
HOUSING
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 290.01,
subdivision 19b, is amended to read:
Subd. 19b. [SUBTRACTIONS FROM FEDERAL TAXABLE INCOME.] For
individuals, estates, and trusts, there shall be subtracted from
federal taxable income:
(1) interest income on obligations of any authority,
commission, or instrumentality of the United States to the
extent includable in taxable income for federal income tax
purposes but exempt from state income tax under the laws of the
United States;
(2) if included in federal taxable income, the amount of
any overpayment of income tax to Minnesota or to any other
state, for any previous taxable year, whether the amount is
received as a refund or as a credit to another taxable year's
income tax liability;
(3) the amount paid to others not to exceed $650 for each
dependent in grades kindergarten to 6 and $1,000 for each
dependent in grades 7 to 12, for tuition, textbooks, and
transportation of each dependent in attending an elementary or
secondary school situated in Minnesota, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Iowa, or Wisconsin, wherein a resident of this state may
legally fulfill the state's compulsory attendance laws, which is
not operated for profit, and which adheres to the provisions of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and chapter 363. As used in this
clause, "textbooks" includes books and other instructional
materials and equipment used in elementary and secondary schools
in teaching only those subjects legally and commonly taught in
public elementary and secondary schools in this state.
"Textbooks" does not include instructional books and materials
used in the teaching of religious tenets, doctrines, or worship,
the purpose of which is to instill such tenets, doctrines, or
worship, nor does it include books or materials for, or
transportation to, extracurricular activities including sporting
events, musical or dramatic events, speech activities, driver's
education, or similar programs. In order to qualify for the
subtraction under this clause the taxpayer must elect to itemize
deductions under section 63(e) of the Internal Revenue Code;
(4) to the extent included in federal taxable income,
distributions from a qualified governmental pension plan, an
individual retirement account, simplified employee pension, or
qualified plan covering a self-employed person that represent a
return of contributions that were included in Minnesota gross
income in the taxable year for which the contributions were made
but were deducted or were not included in the computation of
federal adjusted gross income. The distribution shall be
allocated first to return of contributions until the
contributions included in Minnesota gross income have been
exhausted. This subtraction applies only to contributions made
in a taxable year prior to 1985;
(5) income as provided under section 290.0802;
(6) the amount of unrecovered accelerated cost recovery
system deductions allowed under subdivision 19g;
(7) to the extent included in federal adjusted gross
income, income realized on disposition of property exempt from
tax under section 290.491; and
(8) to the extent not deducted in determining federal
taxable income, the amount paid for health insurance of
self-employed individuals as determined under section 162(l) of
the Internal Revenue Code, except that the 25 percent limit does
not apply. If the taxpayer deducted insurance payments under
section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the
subtraction under this clause must be reduced by the lesser of:
(i) the total itemized deductions allowed under section
63(d) of the Internal Revenue Code, less state, local, and
foreign income taxes deductible under section 164 of the
Internal Revenue Code and the standard deduction under section
63(c) of the Internal Revenue Code; or
(ii) the lesser of (A) the amount of insurance qualifying
as "medical care" under section 213(d) of the Internal Revenue
Code to the extent not deducted under section 162(1) of the
Internal Revenue Code or excluded from income or (B) the total
amount deductible for medical care under section 213(a); and
(9) the exemption amount allowed under section 2,
subdivision 3.
Sec. 2. [URBAN HOMESTEADING PROGRAM.]
Subdivision 1. [URBAN REVITALIZATION AND STABILIZATION
ZONES.] By September 1, 1995, the metropolitan council shall
designate one or more urban revitalization and stabilization
zones in the metropolitan area, as defined in section 473.121,
subdivision 2. The designated zones must contain no more than
1,000 single family homes in total. In designating urban
revitalization and stabilization zones, the council shall choose
areas that are in transition toward blight and poverty. The
council shall use indicators that evidence increasing
neighborhood distress such as declining residential property
values, declining resident incomes, declining rates of
owner-occupancy, and other indicators of blight and poverty in
determining which areas are to be urban revitalization and
stabilization zones.
Subd. 2. [PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY.] Any person buying and
occupying a home within the boundaries of an urban
revitalization and stabilization zone after September 1, 1995,
is eligible to participate in the urban homesteading program.
An owner may participate by filing an annual application with
the county assessor of the county in which the homestead is
located. On or before January 15 of the second year after the
initial application and for a total of four subsequent years in
which the owner continues to meet eligibility requirements under
this subdivision, the assessor shall provide written
verification that the homestead is within an urban
revitalization and stabilization zone to the owner in a form and
manner prescribed by the commissioner of revenue. The form
shall include the date on which the owner purchased the
property, the date on which the owner applied for the urban
homesteading program, and shall indicate if the property has
been found to be not in compliance with applicable building
codes, and the dates of inspections. The assessor may charge a
fee to the owner, not to exceed $10 per year, for the costs of
processing the application. An owner shall become ineligible
for the program if any of the following occurs:
(1) the property is sold or otherwise transferred to
another party;
(2) the property is found not to be in compliance with
applicable building codes, provided that at least three years
have passed since the owner filed for participation in the
program;
(3) the owner ceases to occupy the property; or
(4) any of the owners of the property are convicted of
violating Minnesota Statutes, sections 152.021 to 152.025 or
152.0261, or committing any other felony-level violation.
The county assessor shall annually provide to the county
attorney a list of the owners of property within the county who
are currently in the program. The county attorney shall notify
the assessor if any of the owners participating in the program
have been convicted of violating a felony-level crime after the
date on which they began participation in the program. The
assessor shall notify the owners, by first class mail, of the
loss of their eligibility of participation in the program for
the following year and any subsequent years. The assessor shall
at the same time notify the commissioner of revenue of the
owners' loss of eligibility. The owners may appeal the loss of
eligibility to the tax court, but the appeal is limited to the
factual question of whether the disqualifying event has actually
occurred.
Subd. 3. [TAX BENEFITS.] Individuals participating in the
urban homesteading program shall receive an exemption from
Minnesota taxable income for each full tax year during which
eligibility under subdivision 2 is mandated, beginning in the
first full tax year following the filing of an application with
the county assessor. Eligibility may continue for a maximum of
five years, provided that the individual does not become
ineligible for the program under subdivision 2. The maximum
exemption amount shall equal $15,000 for married individuals
filing joint returns and surviving spouses as defined in section
2(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, $10,000 for unmarried
individuals, and $12,500 for unmarried individuals qualifying as
a head of household as defined in section 2(b) of the Internal
Revenue Code. The maximum exemption amount shall be reduced by
two percent of the maximum exemption amount for each $1,000 of
adjusted gross income or part thereof above an income
threshold. For purposes of this subdivision, adjusted gross
income means federal adjusted gross income as defined in section
62 of the Internal Revenue Code. The income threshold shall
equal $60,000 for married individuals filing joint returns and
surviving spouses, $40,000 for unmarried individuals, and
$50,000 for unmarried individuals qualifying as a head of
household. Participants shall claim the exemption by filing the
form provided under subdivision 2 with the income tax return
filed under chapter 290.
Subd. 4. [EXPIRATION.] Initial applications for the urban
homesteading program shall not be accepted after July 1, 1997.
Subd. 5. [INFORMATION TO POTENTIAL BUYERS.] The
metropolitan council shall market and promote the urban
homestead program to the extent feasible, but such efforts shall
at least include informing area realtors or realtor associations
about the program.
Subd. 6. [REPORTS.] The metropolitan council shall make an
initial report to the legislature by January 1, 1998, on the
urban homesteading program. The initial report shall contain
information on designation of zones, participation rates, and
current and projected future costs of providing state income tax
exemptions to program participants.
The metropolitan council shall make full reports to the
legislature by January 1, 2000, and January 1, 2003, on the
urban homesteading program. The full reports shall include
information on those subjects covered by the initial report, as
well as information on neighborhood impacts, property values,
resident incomes, rates of owner-occupancy, and other indicators
of poverty and blight.
Sec. 3. [APPLICATION.]
Section 2 applies in the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota,
Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.
Sec. 4. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Section 1 is effective for tax years beginning after
December 31, 1995.
Presented to the governor May 30, 1995
Signed by the governor June 1, 1995, 11:40 a.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes