1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to taxation; property; prohibiting an 
  1.3             increase in estimated market value for homesteads 
  1.4             owned by persons at least 65 years of age; amending 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 273.11, subdivision 
  1.6             5, and by adding a subdivision; 273.121; and 276.04, 
  1.7             subdivision 2. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 273.11, 
  1.10  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 5.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the 
  1.12  contrary, the limitation contained in subdivisions 1 and, 1a, 
  1.13  and 20 shall also apply to the authority of the local board of 
  1.14  review as provided in section 274.01, the county board of 
  1.15  equalization as provided in section 274.13, the state board of 
  1.16  equalization and the commissioner of revenue as provided in 
  1.17  sections 270.11, 270.12, and 270.16. 
  1.18     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 273.11, is 
  1.19  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.20     Subd. 20.  [HOMESTEADS OF PERSONS AT LEAST AGE 65; 
  1.21  VALUATION INCREASE PROHIBITED.] (a) The market value used for 
  1.22  taxes levied in the current year on class 1 property as defined 
  1.23  in section 273.13, subdivision 22, and that portion of class 2a 
  1.24  property as defined in section 273.13, subdivision 23, 
  1.25  consisting of the house, garage, and surrounding one acre of 
  1.26  land, may not exceed the property's market value used for taxes 
  2.1   levied in the preceding year, if all of the following conditions 
  2.2   are met: 
  2.3      (1) the property must be owned and occupied as a homestead 
  2.4   by a person 65 years of age or older.  In the case of a married 
  2.5   couple, both of the spouses must be at least 65 years old at the 
  2.6   time the application is filed under clause (3) regardless of 
  2.7   whether the property is titled in the name of one spouse or both 
  2.8   spouses, or titled in another way that permits the property to 
  2.9   have homestead status; 
  2.10     (2) the owner or owners have owned and occupied the 
  2.11  property as a homestead for the current year and for at least 
  2.12  five years prior to the year the application is filed under 
  2.13  clause (3); and 
  2.14     (3) the owner or owners have applied for a valuation freeze 
  2.15  under this section as required in paragraph (b). 
  2.16     (b) An owner or owners must apply to the county assessor by 
  2.17  September 1 of the levy year for which treatment under paragraph 
  2.18  (a) is first requested.  The applicant or applicants must submit 
  2.19  proof of age, and any other information required by the assessor 
  2.20  to determine eligibility for valuation under paragraph (a).  In 
  2.21  succeeding years, applicants must submit whatever information 
  2.22  the county assessor deems necessary to determine the continued 
  2.23  eligibility under this subdivision. 
  2.24     (c) This subdivision does not apply to any increase in 
  2.25  estimated market value attributable to improvements made to the 
  2.26  homestead. 
  2.27     (d) The county assessor shall annually inform the public of 
  2.28  the availability of treatment under this subdivision as part of 
  2.29  the notice published under section 273.121. 
  2.30     (e) Property that no longer qualifies for treatment under 
  2.31  this subdivision must be assessed for the current levy year as 
  2.32  otherwise provided by law. 
  2.33     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 273.121, is 
  2.34  amended to read: 
  2.35     273.121 [VALUATION OF REAL PROPERTY, NOTICE.] 
  2.36     Any county assessor or city assessor having the powers of a 
  3.1   county assessor, valuing or classifying taxable real property 
  3.2   shall in each year notify those persons whose property is to be 
  3.3   assessed or reclassified that year if the person's address is 
  3.4   known to the assessor, otherwise the occupant of the property.  
  3.5   The notice shall be in writing and shall be sent by ordinary 
  3.6   mail at least ten days before the meeting of the local board of 
  3.7   review or equalization under section 274.01 or the review 
  3.8   process established under section 274.13, subdivision 1c.  It 
  3.9   shall contain:  (1) the market value, (2) the limited market 
  3.10  value under section 273.11, subdivision 1a, (3) the qualifying 
  3.11  amount of any improvements under section 273.11, subdivision 16, 
  3.12  (4) the amount of any market value increase prohibited under 
  3.13  section 273.11, subdivision 20, (5) the market value subject to 
  3.14  taxation after subtracting the amount of any qualifying 
  3.15  improvements under clause (3) or any senior citizen's freeze 
  3.16  amount under clause (4), (5) (6) the new classification, 
  3.17  (6) (7) a note that if the property is homestead and at least 35 
  3.18  years old, improvements made to the property may be eligible for 
  3.19  a valuation exclusion under section 273.11, subdivision 
  3.20  16, (7) (8) the assessor's office address, and (8) (9) the 
  3.21  dates, places, and times set for the meetings of the local board 
  3.22  of review or equalization, the review process established under 
  3.23  section 274.13, subdivision 1c, and the county board of 
  3.24  equalization.  If the assessment roll is not complete, the 
  3.25  notice shall be sent by ordinary mail at least ten days prior to 
  3.26  the date on which the board of review has adjourned.  The 
  3.27  assessor shall attach to the assessment roll a statement that 
  3.28  the notices required by this section have been mailed.  Any 
  3.29  assessor who is not provided sufficient funds from the 
  3.30  assessor's governing body to provide such notices, may make 
  3.31  application to the commissioner of revenue to finance such 
  3.32  notices.  The commissioner of revenue shall conduct an 
  3.33  investigation and, if satisfied that the assessor does not have 
  3.34  the necessary funds, issue a certification to the commissioner 
  3.35  of finance of the amount necessary to provide such notices.  The 
  3.36  commissioner of finance shall issue a warrant for such amount 
  4.1   and shall deduct such amount from any state payment to such 
  4.2   county or municipality.  The necessary funds to make such 
  4.3   payments are hereby appropriated.  Failure to receive the notice 
  4.4   shall in no way affect the validity of the assessment, the 
  4.5   resulting tax, the procedures of any board of review or 
  4.6   equalization, or the enforcement of delinquent taxes by 
  4.7   statutory means. 
  4.8      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 276.04, 
  4.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  4.10     Subd. 2.  [CONTENTS OF TAX STATEMENTS.] (a) The treasurer 
  4.11  shall provide for the printing of the tax statements.  The 
  4.12  commissioner of revenue shall prescribe the form of the property 
  4.13  tax statement and its contents.  The statement must contain a 
  4.14  tabulated statement of the dollar amount due to each taxing 
  4.15  authority and the amount of the state determined school tax from 
  4.16  the parcel of real property for which a particular tax statement 
  4.17  is prepared.  The dollar amounts attributable to the county, the 
  4.18  state determined school tax, the voter approved school tax, the 
  4.19  other local school tax, the township or municipality, and the 
  4.20  total of the metropolitan special taxing districts as defined in 
  4.21  section 275.065, subdivision 3, paragraph (i), must be 
  4.22  separately stated.  The amounts due all other special taxing 
  4.23  districts, if any, may be aggregated.  The amount of the tax on 
  4.24  homesteads qualifying under the senior citizens' property tax 
  4.25  deferral program under chapter 290B is the total amount of 
  4.26  property tax before subtraction of the deferred property tax 
  4.27  amount.  The amount of the tax on contamination value imposed 
  4.28  under sections 270.91 to 270.98, if any, must also be separately 
  4.29  stated.  The dollar amounts, including the dollar amount of any 
  4.30  special assessments, may be rounded to the nearest even whole 
  4.31  dollar.  For purposes of this section whole odd-numbered dollars 
  4.32  may be adjusted to the next higher even-numbered dollar.  The 
  4.33  amount of market value excluded under section 273.11, 
  4.34  subdivision 16, if any, must also be listed on the tax 
  4.35  statement.  The statement shall include the following sentences, 
  4.36  printed in upper case letters in boldface print:  "EVEN THOUGH 
  5.1   THE STATE OF MINNESOTA DOES NOT RECEIVE ANY PROPERTY TAX 
  5.2   REVENUES, IT SETS THE AMOUNT OF THE STATE-DETERMINED SCHOOL TAX 
  5.3   LEVY.  THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REDUCES YOUR PROPERTY TAX BY 
  5.4   PAYING CREDITS AND REIMBURSEMENTS TO LOCAL UNITS OF GOVERNMENT." 
  5.5      (b) The property tax statements for manufactured homes and 
  5.6   sectional structures taxed as personal property shall contain 
  5.7   the same information that is required on the tax statements for 
  5.8   real property.  
  5.9      (c) Real and personal property tax statements must contain 
  5.10  the following information in the order given in this paragraph.  
  5.11  The information must contain the current year tax information in 
  5.12  the right column with the corresponding information for the 
  5.13  previous year in a column on the left: 
  5.14     (1) the property's estimated market value under section 
  5.15  273.11, subdivision 1; 
  5.16     (2) the property's taxable market value after reductions 
  5.17  under section 273.11, subdivisions 1a and, 16, and 20; 
  5.18     (3) the property's gross tax, calculated by adding the 
  5.19  property's total property tax to the sum of the aids enumerated 
  5.20  in clause (4); 
  5.21     (4) a total of the following aids: 
  5.22     (i) education aids payable under chapters 122A, 123A, 123B, 
  5.23  124D, 125A, 126C, and 127A; 
  5.24     (ii) local government aids for cities, towns, and counties 
  5.25  under chapter 477A; 
  5.26     (iii) disparity reduction aid under section 273.1398; and 
  5.27     (iv) homestead and agricultural credit aid under section 
  5.28  273.1398; 
  5.29     (5) for homestead residential and agricultural properties, 
  5.30  the education homestead credit under section 273.1382; 
  5.31     (6) any credits received under sections 273.119; 273.123; 
  5.32  273.135; 273.1391; 273.1398, subdivision 4; 469.171; and 
  5.33  473H.10, except that the amount of credit received under section 
  5.34  273.135 must be separately stated and identified as "taconite 
  5.35  tax relief"; and 
  5.36     (7) the net tax payable in the manner required in paragraph 
  6.1   (a). 
  6.2      (d) If the county uses envelopes for mailing property tax 
  6.3   statements and if the county agrees, a taxing district may 
  6.4   include a notice with the property tax statement notifying 
  6.5   taxpayers when the taxing district will begin its budget 
  6.6   deliberations for the current year, and encouraging taxpayers to 
  6.7   attend the hearings.  If the county allows notices to be 
  6.8   included in the envelope containing the property tax statement, 
  6.9   and if more than one taxing district relative to a given 
  6.10  property decides to include a notice with the tax statement, the 
  6.11  county treasurer or auditor must coordinate the process and may 
  6.12  combine the information on a single announcement.  
  6.13     The commissioner of revenue shall certify to the county 
  6.14  auditor the actual or estimated aids enumerated in clause (4) 
  6.15  that local governments will receive in the following year.  The 
  6.16  commissioner must certify this amount by January 1 of each year. 
  6.17     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  6.18     Sections 1 and 2 are effective for taxes levied in 1999 and 
  6.19  thereafter, payable in 2000 and thereafter.  Section 3 is 
  6.20  effective for valuation notices beginning with the 2000 
  6.21  assessment.  Section 4 is effective for the property tax 
  6.22  statements prepared in 1999 and thereafter, for taxes payable in 
  6.23  2000 and thereafter.