1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to property taxes; increasing state aid to 
  1.3             education; reducing the class rate of lower-valued 
  1.4             commercial industrial property; providing for a 
  1.5             property tax freeze for certain homeowners aged 65 or 
  1.6             older; reducing the rate of property tax increase that 
  1.7             qualifies for targeting; appropriating money; amending 
  1.8             Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 124A.23, subdivision 
  1.9             1; 273.13, subdivision 24; 275.065, subdivision 3; 
  1.10            275.08, subdivision 1b; 276.04, subdivision 2; and 
  1.11            290A.04, subdivision 2h; proposing coding for new law 
  1.12            in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 273. 
  1.13  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.14     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 124A.23, 
  1.15  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.16     Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL EDUCATION TAX RATE.] The 
  1.17  commissioner shall establish the general education tax rate by 
  1.18  July 1 of each year for levies payable in the following year.  
  1.19  The general education tax capacity rate shall be a rate, rounded 
  1.20  up to the nearest tenth of a percent, that, when applied to the 
  1.21  adjusted net tax capacity for all districts, raises the amount 
  1.22  specified in this subdivision.  The general education tax rate 
  1.23  shall be the rate that raises $1,054,000,000 for fiscal year 
  1.24  1996 and, $1,359,000,000 for fiscal year 1997, and 
  1.25  $1,070,000,000 for fiscal year 1998 and later fiscal years.  The 
  1.26  general education tax rate may not be changed due to changes or 
  1.27  corrections made to a district's adjusted net tax capacity after 
  1.28  the tax rate has been established.  
  1.29     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 273.13, 
  2.1   subdivision 24, is amended to read: 
  2.2      Subd. 24.  [CLASS 3.] (a) Commercial and industrial 
  2.3   property and utility real and personal property, except class 5 
  2.4   property as identified in subdivision 31, clause (1), is class 
  2.5   3a.  It has a class rate of three two percent of the first 
  2.6   $100,000 of market value for taxes payable in 1993 and 
  2.7   thereafter, and 5.06 percent of the market value over $100,000.  
  2.8   In the case of state-assessed commercial, industrial, and 
  2.9   utility property owned by one person or entity, only one parcel 
  2.10  has a reduced class rate on the first $100,000 of market value.  
  2.11  In the case of other commercial, industrial, and utility 
  2.12  property owned by one person or entity, only one parcel in each 
  2.13  county has a reduced class rate on the first $100,000 of market 
  2.14  value, except that: 
  2.15     (1) if the market value of the parcel is less than 
  2.16  $100,000, and additional parcels are owned by the same person or 
  2.17  entity in the same city or town within that county, the reduced 
  2.18  class rate shall be applied up to a combined total market value 
  2.19  of $100,000 for all parcels owned by the same person or entity 
  2.20  in the same city or town within the county; 
  2.21     (2) in the case of grain, fertilizer, and feed elevator 
  2.22  facilities, as defined in section 18C.305, subdivision 1, or 
  2.23  232.21, subdivision 8, the limitation to one parcel per owner 
  2.24  per county for the reduced class rate shall not apply, but there 
  2.25  shall be a limit of $100,000 of preferential value per site of 
  2.26  contiguous parcels owned by the same person or entity.  Only the 
  2.27  value of the elevator portion of each parcel shall qualify for 
  2.28  treatment under this clause.  For purposes of this subdivision, 
  2.29  contiguous parcels include parcels separated only by a railroad 
  2.30  or public road right-of-way; and 
  2.31     (3) in the case of property owned by a nonprofit charitable 
  2.32  organization that qualifies for tax exemption under section 
  2.33  501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended 
  2.34  through December 31, 1993, if the property is used as a business 
  2.35  incubator, the limitation to one parcel per owner per county for 
  2.36  the reduced class rate shall not apply, provided that the 
  3.1   reduced rate applies only to the first $100,000 of value per 
  3.2   parcel owned by the organization.  As used in this clause, a 
  3.3   "business incubator" is a facility used for the development of 
  3.4   nonretail businesses, offering access to equipment, space, 
  3.5   services, and advice to the tenant businesses, for the purpose 
  3.6   of encouraging economic development, diversification, and job 
  3.7   creation in the area served by the organization. 
  3.8      To receive the reduced class rate on additional parcels 
  3.9   under clause (1), (2), or (3), the taxpayer must notify the 
  3.10  county assessor that the taxpayer owns more than one parcel that 
  3.11  qualifies under clause (1), (2), or (3). 
  3.12     (b) Employment property defined in section 469.166, during 
  3.13  the period provided in section 469.170, shall constitute class 
  3.14  3b and has a class rate of 2.3 1.5 percent of the first $50,000 
  3.15  of market value and 3.6 percent of the remainder, except that 
  3.16  for employment property located in a border city enterprise zone 
  3.17  designated pursuant to section 469.168, subdivision 4, paragraph 
  3.18  (c), the class rate of the first $100,000 of market value and 
  3.19  the class rate of the remainder is determined under paragraph 
  3.20  (a), unless the governing body of the city designated as an 
  3.21  enterprise zone determines that a specific parcel shall be 
  3.22  assessed pursuant to the first clause of this sentence.  The 
  3.23  governing body may provide for assessment under the first clause 
  3.24  of the preceding sentence only for property which is located in 
  3.25  an area which has been designated by the governing body for the 
  3.26  receipt of tax reductions authorized by section 469.171, 
  3.27  subdivision 1. 
  3.28     (c) Structures which are (i) located on property classified 
  3.29  as class 3a, (ii) constructed under an initial building permit 
  3.30  issued after January 2, 1996, (iii) located in a transit zone as 
  3.31  defined under section 473.3915, subdivision 3, (iv) located 
  3.32  within the boundaries of a school district, and (v) not 
  3.33  primarily used for retail or transient lodging purposes, shall 
  3.34  have a class rate of four percent on that portion of the market 
  3.35  value in excess of $100,000 and any market value under $100,000 
  3.36  that does not qualify for the three percent class rate under 
  4.1   paragraph (a).  As used in item (v), a structure is primarily 
  4.2   used for retail or transient lodging purposes if over 50 percent 
  4.3   of its square footage is used for those purposes.  The four 
  4.4   percent rate shall also apply to improvements to existing 
  4.5   structures that meet the requirements of items (i) to (v) if the 
  4.6   improvements are constructed under an initial building permit 
  4.7   issued after January 2, 1996, even if the remainder of the 
  4.8   structure was constructed prior to January 2, 1996.  For the 
  4.9   purposes of this paragraph, a structure shall be considered to 
  4.10  be located in a transit zone if any portion of the structure 
  4.11  lies within the zone.  If any property once eligible for 
  4.12  treatment under this paragraph ceases to remain eligible due to 
  4.13  revisions in transit zone boundaries, the property shall 
  4.14  continue to receive treatment under this paragraph for a period 
  4.15  of three years. 
  4.16     Sec. 3.  [273.1371] [HOMESTEADS OF PERSONS AT LEAST AGE 65; 
  4.17  TAX INCREASE PROHIBITED.] 
  4.18     Subdivision 1.  [ELIGIBILITY.] The net tax payable on class 
  4.19  1 property as defined in section 273.13, subdivision 22, and 
  4.20  that part of class 2a property as defined in section 273.13, 
  4.21  subdivision 23, consisting of the house, garage, and surrounding 
  4.22  one acre of land, may not exceed its net tax payable for the 
  4.23  preceding year, if all of the following conditions are met: 
  4.24     (1) the owners or, in the case of property owned by a 
  4.25  married couple in joint tenancy or tenancy in common, at least 
  4.26  one of the owners, are at least 65 years of age on January 1 of 
  4.27  the current tax year; 
  4.28     (2) the federal adjusted gross income for the preceding 
  4.29  calendar year does not exceed $25,000 in the case of a married 
  4.30  couple or $15,000 for a single individual; 
  4.31     (3) the property qualifies for full homestead 
  4.32  classification for both the previous and current tax years; 
  4.33     (4) the owner or owners have owned the property for both 
  4.34  years; and 
  4.35     (5) the owner or owners have applied for taxation under 
  4.36  this section as required in subdivision 2. 
  5.1      Subd. 2.  [APPLICATION.] An owner or owners must apply to 
  5.2   the county auditor for taxation under this subdivision by July 1 
  5.3   of the year before the year for which treatment under 
  5.4   subdivision 1 is first requested.  The applicant or applicants 
  5.5   must submit proof of age, income, and any other information 
  5.6   required by the auditor to determine eligibility for taxation 
  5.7   under subdivision 1.  In succeeding years, applicants must 
  5.8   submit by July 1 the information the assessor deems necessary to 
  5.9   determine continued eligibility under this section, including 
  5.10  proof of federal adjusted gross income required under 
  5.11  subdivision 1, clause (2). 
  5.12     Subd. 3.  [TREATMENT OF IMPROVEMENTS.] This section does 
  5.13  not apply to any increase in net property taxes attributable to 
  5.14  improvements made to the homestead. 
  5.15     Subd. 4.  [TERMINATION OF TREATMENT.] Property that no 
  5.16  longer qualifies for treatment under this section shall be taxed 
  5.17  as otherwise provided by law. 
  5.18     Subd. 5.  [STATE REIMBURSEMENT; APPROPRIATION.] Each taxing 
  5.19  district that contains property subject to this section will 
  5.20  receive reimbursement from the state equal to the amount of tax 
  5.21  revenue foregone due to the application of subdivision 1.  The 
  5.22  commissioner of revenue shall annually determine the amount of 
  5.23  the reimbursement for each taxing district, basing the 
  5.24  determination on information to be provided by the county 
  5.25  auditors.  The commissioner shall make payments to the county by 
  5.26  May 15 and October 15 annually.  The county treasurer shall 
  5.27  distribute as part of the May and October settlements the funds 
  5.28  received from the commissioner.  A sum sufficient to make the 
  5.29  payments required by this section is annually appropriated from 
  5.30  the general fund to the commissioner of revenue. 
  5.31     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 275.065, 
  5.32  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  5.33     Subd. 3.  [NOTICE OF PROPOSED PROPERTY TAXES.] (a) The 
  5.34  county auditor shall prepare and the county treasurer shall 
  5.35  deliver after November 10 and on or before November 24 each 
  5.36  year, by first class mail to each taxpayer at the address listed 
  6.1   on the county's current year's assessment roll, a notice of 
  6.2   proposed property taxes and, in the case of a town, final 
  6.3   property taxes.  
  6.4      (b) The commissioner of revenue shall prescribe the form of 
  6.5   the notice. 
  6.6      (c) The notice must inform taxpayers that it contains the 
  6.7   amount of property taxes each taxing authority other than a town 
  6.8   proposes to collect for taxes payable the following year and, 
  6.9   for a town, the amount of its final levy.  It must clearly state 
  6.10  that each taxing authority, including regional library districts 
  6.11  established under section 134.201, and including the 
  6.12  metropolitan taxing districts as defined in paragraph (i), but 
  6.13  excluding all other special taxing districts and towns, will 
  6.14  hold a public meeting to receive public testimony on the 
  6.15  proposed budget and proposed or final property tax levy, or, in 
  6.16  case of a school district, on the current budget and proposed 
  6.17  property tax levy.  It must clearly state the time and place of 
  6.18  each taxing authority's meeting and an address where comments 
  6.19  will be received by mail.  
  6.20     (d) The notice must state for each parcel: 
  6.21     (1) the market value of the property as determined under 
  6.22  section 273.11, and used for computing property taxes payable in 
  6.23  the following year and for taxes payable in the current year; 
  6.24  and, in the case of residential property, whether the property 
  6.25  is classified as homestead or nonhomestead.  The notice must 
  6.26  clearly inform taxpayers of the years to which the market values 
  6.27  apply and that the values are final values; 
  6.28     (2) by county, city or town, school district excess 
  6.29  referenda levy, remaining school district levy, regional library 
  6.30  district, if in existence, the total of the metropolitan special 
  6.31  taxing districts as defined in paragraph (i) and the sum of the 
  6.32  remaining special taxing districts, and as a total of the taxing 
  6.33  authorities, including all special taxing districts, the 
  6.34  proposed or, for a town, final net tax on the property for taxes 
  6.35  payable the following year and the actual tax for taxes payable 
  6.36  the current year.  The notice shall state the amount of any tax 
  7.1   reduction accruing to the property under section 273.1371, and 
  7.2   shall reflect the net tax after the application of that 
  7.3   section.  If a school district has certified under section 
  7.4   124A.03, subdivision 2, that a referendum will be held in the 
  7.5   school district at the November general election, the county 
  7.6   auditor must note next to the school district's proposed amount 
  7.7   that a referendum is pending and that, if approved by the 
  7.8   voters, the tax amount may be higher than shown on the notice.  
  7.9   For the purposes of this subdivision, "school district excess 
  7.10  referenda levy" means school district taxes for operating 
  7.11  purposes approved at referendums, including those taxes based on 
  7.12  net tax capacity as well as those based on market value.  
  7.13  "School district excess referenda levy" does not include school 
  7.14  district taxes for capital expenditures approved at referendums 
  7.15  or school district taxes to pay for the debt service on bonds 
  7.16  approved at referenda.  In the case of the city of Minneapolis, 
  7.17  the levy for the Minneapolis library board and the levy for 
  7.18  Minneapolis park and recreation shall be listed separately from 
  7.19  the remaining amount of the city's levy.  In the case of a 
  7.20  parcel where tax increment or the fiscal disparities areawide 
  7.21  tax under chapter 276A or 473F applies, the proposed tax levy on 
  7.22  the captured value or the proposed tax levy on the tax capacity 
  7.23  subject to the areawide tax must each be stated separately and 
  7.24  not included in the sum of the special taxing districts; and 
  7.25     (3) the increase or decrease in the amounts in clause (2) 
  7.26  from taxes payable in the current year to proposed or, for a 
  7.27  town, final taxes payable the following year, expressed as a 
  7.28  dollar amount and as a percentage. 
  7.29     (e) The notice must clearly state that the proposed or 
  7.30  final taxes do not include the following: 
  7.31     (1) special assessments; 
  7.32     (2) levies approved by the voters after the date the 
  7.33  proposed taxes are certified, including bond referenda, school 
  7.34  district levy referenda, and levy limit increase referenda; 
  7.35     (3) amounts necessary to pay cleanup or other costs due to 
  7.36  a natural disaster occurring after the date the proposed taxes 
  8.1   are certified; 
  8.2      (4) amounts necessary to pay tort judgments against the 
  8.3   taxing authority that become final after the date the proposed 
  8.4   taxes are certified; and 
  8.5      (5) the contamination tax imposed on properties which 
  8.6   received market value reductions for contamination. 
  8.7      (f) Except as provided in subdivision 7, failure of the 
  8.8   county auditor to prepare or the county treasurer to deliver the 
  8.9   notice as required in this section does not invalidate the 
  8.10  proposed or final tax levy or the taxes payable pursuant to the 
  8.11  tax levy. 
  8.12     (g) If the notice the taxpayer receives under this section 
  8.13  lists the property as nonhomestead and the homeowner provides 
  8.14  satisfactory documentation to the county assessor that the 
  8.15  property is owned and used as the owner's homestead, the 
  8.16  assessor shall reclassify the property to homestead for taxes 
  8.17  payable in the following year. 
  8.18     (h) In the case of class 4 residential property used as a 
  8.19  residence for lease or rental periods of 30 days or more, the 
  8.20  taxpayer must either: 
  8.21     (1) mail or deliver a copy of the notice of proposed 
  8.22  property taxes to each tenant, renter, or lessee; or 
  8.23     (2) post a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place on the 
  8.24  premises of the property.  
  8.25     The notice must be mailed or posted by the taxpayer by 
  8.26  November 27 or within three days of receipt of the notice, 
  8.27  whichever is later.  A taxpayer may notify the county treasurer 
  8.28  of the address of the taxpayer, agent, caretaker, or manager of 
  8.29  the premises to which the notice must be mailed in order to 
  8.30  fulfill the requirements of this paragraph. 
  8.31     (i) For purposes of this subdivision, subdivisions 5a and 
  8.32  6, "metropolitan special taxing districts" means the following 
  8.33  taxing districts in the seven-county metropolitan area that levy 
  8.34  a property tax for any of the specified purposes listed below: 
  8.35     (1) metropolitan council under section 473.132, 473.167, 
  8.36  473.249, 473.325, 473.446, 473.521, 473.547, or 473.834; 
  9.1      (2) metropolitan airports commission under section 473.667, 
  9.2   473.671, or 473.672; and 
  9.3      (3) metropolitan mosquito control commission under section 
  9.4   473.711. 
  9.5      For purposes of this section, any levies made by the 
  9.6   regional rail authorities in the county of Anoka, Carver, 
  9.7   Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington under chapter 
  9.8   398A shall be included with the appropriate county's levy and 
  9.9   shall be discussed at that county's public hearing. 
  9.10     (j) For taxes levied in 1996, payable in 1997 only, in the 
  9.11  case of a statutory or home rule charter city or town that 
  9.12  exercises the local levy option provided in section 473.388, 
  9.13  subdivision 7, the notice of its proposed taxes may include a 
  9.14  statement of the amount by which its proposed tax increase for 
  9.15  taxes payable in 1997 is attributable to its exercise of that 
  9.16  option, together with a statement that the levy of the 
  9.17  metropolitan council was decreased by a similar amount because 
  9.18  of the exercise of that option. 
  9.19     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 275.08, 
  9.20  subdivision 1b, is amended to read: 
  9.21     Subd. 1b.  [COMPUTATION OF TAX RATES.] The amounts 
  9.22  certified to be levied against net tax capacity under section 
  9.23  275.07 by an individual local government unit shall be divided 
  9.24  by the total net tax capacity of all taxable properties within 
  9.25  the local government unit's taxing jurisdiction.  The resulting 
  9.26  ratio, the local government's local tax rate, multiplied by each 
  9.27  property's net tax capacity shall be each property's net tax 
  9.28  capacity tax for that local government unit before reduction by 
  9.29  any credits or by the application of section 273.1371. 
  9.30     Any amount certified to the county auditor to be levied 
  9.31  against market value shall be divided by the total referendum 
  9.32  market value of all taxable properties within the taxing 
  9.33  district.  The resulting ratio, the taxing district's new 
  9.34  referendum tax rate, multiplied by each property's referendum 
  9.35  market value shall be each property's new referendum tax before 
  9.36  reduction by any credits or by the application of section 
 10.1   273.1371.  For the purposes of this subdivision, "referendum 
 10.2   market value" means the market value as defined in section 
 10.3   124A.02, subdivision 3b. 
 10.4      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 276.04, 
 10.5   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 10.6      Subd. 2.  [CONTENTS OF TAX STATEMENTS.] (a) The treasurer 
 10.7   shall provide for the printing of the tax statements.  The 
 10.8   commissioner of revenue shall prescribe the form of the property 
 10.9   tax statement and its contents.  The statement must contain a 
 10.10  tabulated statement of the dollar amount due to each taxing 
 10.11  authority from the parcel of real property for which a 
 10.12  particular tax statement is prepared.  The dollar amounts due 
 10.13  the county, township or municipality, the total of the 
 10.14  metropolitan special taxing districts as defined in section 
 10.15  275.065, subdivision 3, paragraph (i), school district excess 
 10.16  referenda levy, remaining school district levy, and the total of 
 10.17  other voter approved referenda levies based on market value 
 10.18  under section 275.61 must be separately stated.  The amounts due 
 10.19  all other special taxing districts, if any, may be aggregated.  
 10.20  For the purposes of this subdivision, "school district excess 
 10.21  referenda levy" means school district taxes for operating 
 10.22  purposes approved at referenda, including those taxes based on 
 10.23  net tax capacity as well as those based on market value.  
 10.24  "School district excess referenda levy" does not include school 
 10.25  district taxes for capital expenditures approved at referendums 
 10.26  or school district taxes to pay for the debt service on bonds 
 10.27  approved at referenda.  The amount of the tax on contamination 
 10.28  value imposed under sections 270.91 to 270.98, if any, must also 
 10.29  be separately stated.  The dollar amounts, including the dollar 
 10.30  amount of any special assessments, may be rounded to the nearest 
 10.31  even whole dollar.  For purposes of this section whole 
 10.32  odd-numbered dollars may be adjusted to the next higher 
 10.33  even-numbered dollar.  The amount of market value excluded under 
 10.34  section 273.11, subdivision 16, if any, must also be listed on 
 10.35  the tax statement.  The statement shall include the following 
 10.36  sentence, printed in upper case letters in boldface print:  "THE 
 11.1   STATE OF MINNESOTA DOES NOT RECEIVE ANY PROPERTY TAX REVENUES.  
 11.2   THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REDUCES YOUR PROPERTY TAX BY PAYING 
 11.3   CREDITS AND REIMBURSEMENTS TO LOCAL UNITS OF GOVERNMENT."  
 11.4      (b) The property tax statements for manufactured homes and 
 11.5   sectional structures taxed as personal property shall contain 
 11.6   the same information that is required on the tax statements for 
 11.7   real property.  
 11.8      (c) Real and personal property tax statements must contain 
 11.9   the following information in the order given in this paragraph.  
 11.10  The information must contain the current year tax information in 
 11.11  the right column with the corresponding information for the 
 11.12  previous year in a column on the left: 
 11.13     (1) the property's estimated market value under section 
 11.14  273.11, subdivision 1; 
 11.15     (2) the property's taxable market value after reductions 
 11.16  under section 273.11, subdivisions 1a and 16; 
 11.17     (3) the property's gross tax, calculated by multiplying the 
 11.18  property's gross tax capacity times the total local tax rate and 
 11.19  adding to the result the sum of the aids enumerated in clause 
 11.20  (4); 
 11.21     (4) a total of the following aids: 
 11.22     (i) education aids payable under chapters 124 and 124A; 
 11.23     (ii) local government aids for cities, towns, and counties 
 11.24  under chapter 477A; and 
 11.25     (iii) disparity reduction aid under section 273.1398; 
 11.26     (5) for homestead residential and agricultural properties, 
 11.27  the homestead and agricultural credit aid apportioned to the 
 11.28  property.  This amount is obtained by multiplying the total 
 11.29  local tax rate by the difference between the property's gross 
 11.30  and net tax capacities under section 273.13.  This amount must 
 11.31  be separately stated and identified as "homestead and 
 11.32  agricultural credit."  For purposes of comparison with the 
 11.33  previous year's amount for the statement for taxes payable in 
 11.34  1990, the statement must show the homestead credit for taxes 
 11.35  payable in 1989 under section 273.13, and the agricultural 
 11.36  credit under section 273.132 for taxes payable in 1989; 
 12.1      (6) any credits received under sections 273.119; 273.123; 
 12.2   273.135; 273.1391; 273.1398, subdivision 4; 469.171; and 
 12.3   473H.10, except that the amount of credit received under section 
 12.4   273.135 must be separately stated and identified as "taconite 
 12.5   tax relief"; and 
 12.6      (7) the amount of any tax reduction resulting from the 
 12.7   property qualifying for treatment under section 273.1371; and 
 12.8      (8) the net tax payable in the manner required in paragraph 
 12.9   (a). 
 12.10     (d) If the county uses envelopes for mailing property tax 
 12.11  statements and if the county agrees, a taxing district may 
 12.12  include a notice with the property tax statement notifying 
 12.13  taxpayers when the taxing district will begin its budget 
 12.14  deliberations for the current year, and encouraging taxpayers to 
 12.15  attend the hearings.  If the county allows notices to be 
 12.16  included in the envelope containing the property tax statement, 
 12.17  and if more than one taxing district relative to a given 
 12.18  property decides to include a notice with the tax statement, the 
 12.19  county treasurer or auditor must coordinate the process and may 
 12.20  combine the information on a single announcement.  
 12.21     The commissioner of revenue shall certify to the county 
 12.22  auditor the actual or estimated aids enumerated in clauses (3) 
 12.23  and (4) that local governments will receive in the following 
 12.24  year.  In the case of a county containing a city of the first 
 12.25  class, for taxes levied in 1991, and for all counties for taxes 
 12.26  levied in 1992 and thereafter, the commissioner must certify 
 12.27  this amount by September 1.  
 12.28     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 290A.04, 
 12.29  subdivision 2h, is amended to read: 
 12.30     Subd. 2h.  (a) If the gross property taxes payable on a 
 12.31  homestead increase more than 12 eight percent over the net 
 12.32  property taxes payable in the prior year on the same property 
 12.33  that is owned and occupied by the same owner on January 2 of 
 12.34  both years, and the amount of that increase is $100 or more for 
 12.35  taxes payable in 1996 and 1997, a claimant who is a homeowner 
 12.36  shall be allowed an additional refund equal to 60 percent of the 
 13.1   amount of the increase over the greater of 12 eight percent of 
 13.2   the prior year's net property taxes payable or $100 for taxes 
 13.3   payable in 1996 and 1997.  This subdivision shall not apply to 
 13.4   any increase in the gross property taxes payable attributable to 
 13.5   improvements made to the homestead after the assessment date for 
 13.6   the prior year's taxes.  This subdivision shall not apply to any 
 13.7   increase in the gross property taxes payable attributable to the 
 13.8   termination of valuation exclusions under section 273.11, 
 13.9   subdivision 16. 
 13.10     The maximum refund allowed under this subdivision is $1,000.
 13.11     (b) For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms 
 13.12  have the meanings given: 
 13.13     (1) "Net property taxes payable" means property taxes 
 13.14  payable minus refund amounts for which the claimant qualifies 
 13.15  pursuant to subdivision 2 and this subdivision.  
 13.16     (2) "Gross property taxes" means net property taxes payable 
 13.17  determined without regard to the refund allowed under this 
 13.18  subdivision. 
 13.19     (c) In addition to the other proofs required by this 
 13.20  chapter, each claimant under this subdivision shall file with 
 13.21  the property tax refund return a copy of the property tax 
 13.22  statement for taxes payable in the preceding year or other 
 13.23  documents required by the commissioner. 
 13.24     (d) On or before December 1, 1995, the commissioner shall 
 13.25  estimate the cost of making the payments provided by this 
 13.26  subdivision for taxes payable in 1996.  Notwithstanding the open 
 13.27  appropriation provision of section 290A.23, if the estimated 
 13.28  total refund claims for taxes payable in 1996 exceed $5,500,000, 
 13.29  the commissioner shall first reduce the 60 percent refund rate 
 13.30  enough, but to no lower a rate than 50 percent, so that the 
 13.31  estimated total refund claims do not exceed $5,500,000.  If the 
 13.32  commissioner estimates that total claims will exceed $5,500,000 
 13.33  at a 50 percent refund rate, the commissioner shall also reduce 
 13.34  the $1,000 maximum refund amount by enough so that total 
 13.35  estimated refund claims do not exceed $5,500,000. 
 13.36     The determinations of the revised thresholds by the 
 14.1   commissioner are not rules subject to chapter 14.  
 14.2      (e) Upon request, the appropriate county official shall 
 14.3   make available the names and addresses of the property taxpayers 
 14.4   who may be eligible for the additional property tax refund under 
 14.5   this section.  The information shall be provided on a magnetic 
 14.6   computer disk.  The county may recover its costs by charging the 
 14.7   person requesting the information the reasonable cost for 
 14.8   preparing the data.  The information may not be used for any 
 14.9   purpose other than for notifying the homeowner of potential 
 14.10  eligibility and assisting the homeowner, without charge, in 
 14.11  preparing a refund claim. 
 14.12     Sec. 8.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 14.13     Sections 2 to 6 are effective for taxes levied in 1997, 
 14.14  payable in 1998, and subsequent years.  Section 7 is effective 
 14.15  for claims based on taxes payable in 1998 and subsequent years.