1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to property taxation; establishing a uniform 
  1.3             class rate for residential homestead property; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 273.13, 
  1.5             subdivision 22; and 273.1398, subdivision 1a. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 273.13, 
  1.8   subdivision 22, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 22.  [CLASS 1.] (a) Except as provided in subdivision 
  1.10  23, real estate which is residential and used for homestead 
  1.11  purposes is class 1.  The market value of class 1a property must 
  1.12  be determined based upon the value of the house, garage, and 
  1.13  land.  
  1.14     The first $72,000 of market value of class 1a property has 
  1.15  a net class rate of one 1.3 percent of its market value and a 
  1.16  gross class rate of 2.17 percent of its market value.  For taxes 
  1.17  payable in 1992, the market value of class 1a property that 
  1.18  exceeds $72,000 but does not exceed $115,000 has a class rate of 
  1.19  two percent of its market value; and the market value of class 
  1.20  1a property that exceeds $115,000 has a class rate of 2.5 
  1.21  percent of its market value.  For taxes payable in 1993 and 
  1.22  thereafter, The market value of class 1a property that exceeds 
  1.23  $72,000 has a class rate of two 1.3 percent. 
  1.24     (b) Class 1b property includes homestead real estate or 
  1.25  homestead manufactured homes used for the purposes of a 
  2.1   homestead by 
  2.2      (1) any blind person, or the blind person and the blind 
  2.3   person's spouse; or 
  2.4      (2) any person, hereinafter referred to as "veteran," who: 
  2.5      (i) served in the active military or naval service of the 
  2.6   United States; and 
  2.7      (ii) is entitled to compensation under the laws and 
  2.8   regulations of the United States for permanent and total 
  2.9   service-connected disability due to the loss, or loss of use, by 
  2.10  reason of amputation, ankylosis, progressive muscular 
  2.11  dystrophies, or paralysis, of both lower extremities, such as to 
  2.12  preclude motion without the aid of braces, crutches, canes, or a 
  2.13  wheelchair; and 
  2.14     (iii) has acquired a special housing unit with special 
  2.15  fixtures or movable facilities made necessary by the nature of 
  2.16  the veteran's disability, or the surviving spouse of the 
  2.17  deceased veteran for as long as the surviving spouse retains the 
  2.18  special housing unit as a homestead; or 
  2.19     (3) any person who: 
  2.20     (i) is permanently and totally disabled and 
  2.21     (ii) receives 90 percent or more of total income from 
  2.22     (A) aid from any state as a result of that disability; or 
  2.23     (B) supplemental security income for the disabled; or 
  2.24     (C) workers' compensation based on a finding of total and 
  2.25  permanent disability; or 
  2.26     (D) social security disability, including the amount of a 
  2.27  disability insurance benefit which is converted to an old age 
  2.28  insurance benefit and any subsequent cost of living increases; 
  2.29  or 
  2.30     (E) aid under the federal Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, 
  2.31  United States Code Annotated, title 45, section 228b(a)5; or 
  2.32     (F) a pension from any local government retirement fund 
  2.33  located in the state of Minnesota as a result of that 
  2.34  disability; or 
  2.35     (G) pension, annuity, or other income paid as a result of 
  2.36  that disability from a private pension or disability plan, 
  3.1   including employer, employee, union, and insurance plans and 
  3.2      (iii) has household income as defined in section 290A.03, 
  3.3   subdivision 5, of $50,000 or less; or 
  3.4      (4) any person who is permanently and totally disabled and 
  3.5   whose household income as defined in section 290A.03, 
  3.6   subdivision 5, is 150 percent or less of the federal poverty 
  3.7   level. 
  3.8      Property is classified and assessed under clause (4) only 
  3.9   if the government agency or income-providing source certifies, 
  3.10  upon the request of the homestead occupant, that the homestead 
  3.11  occupant satisfies the disability requirements of this paragraph.
  3.12     Property is classified and assessed pursuant to clause (1) 
  3.13  only if the commissioner of economic security certifies to the 
  3.14  assessor that the homestead occupant satisfies the requirements 
  3.15  of this paragraph.  
  3.16     Permanently and totally disabled for the purpose of this 
  3.17  subdivision means a condition which is permanent in nature and 
  3.18  totally incapacitates the person from working at an occupation 
  3.19  which brings the person an income.  The first $32,000 market 
  3.20  value of class 1b property has a net class rate of .45 percent 
  3.21  of its market value and a gross class rate of .87 percent of its 
  3.22  market value.  The remaining market value of class 1b property 
  3.23  has a gross or net class rate using the rates for class 1 or 
  3.24  class 2a property, whichever is appropriate, of similar market 
  3.25  value.  
  3.26     (c) Class 1c property is commercial use real property that 
  3.27  abuts a lakeshore line and is devoted to temporary and seasonal 
  3.28  residential occupancy for recreational purposes but not devoted 
  3.29  to commercial purposes for more than 250 days in the year 
  3.30  preceding the year of assessment, and that includes a portion 
  3.31  used as a homestead by the owner, which includes a dwelling 
  3.32  occupied as a homestead by a shareholder of a corporation that 
  3.33  owns the resort or a partner in a partnership that owns the 
  3.34  resort, even if the title to the homestead is held by the 
  3.35  corporation or partnership.  For purposes of this clause, 
  3.36  property is devoted to a commercial purpose on a specific day if 
  4.1   any portion of the property, excluding the portion used 
  4.2   exclusively as a homestead, is used for residential occupancy 
  4.3   and a fee is charged for residential occupancy.  Class 1c 
  4.4   property has a class rate of one percent of total market value 
  4.5   for taxes payable in 1993 and thereafter with the following 
  4.6   limitation:  the area of the property must not exceed 100 feet 
  4.7   of lakeshore footage for each cabin or campsite located on the 
  4.8   property up to a total of 800 feet and 500 feet in depth, 
  4.9   measured away from the lakeshore.  
  4.10     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 273.1398, 
  4.11  subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
  4.12     Subd. 1a.  [TAX BASE DIFFERENTIAL.] (a) For aids payable in 
  4.13  1997, the tax base differential is 0.25 percent of the 
  4.14  assessment year 1995 taxable market value of class 4c 
  4.15  noncommercial seasonal recreational residential property up to 
  4.16  $72,000.  
  4.17     (b) For aids payable in 1998, the tax base differential is 
  4.18  0.25 percent of the assessment year 1996 taxable market value of 
  4.19  class 4c noncommercial seasonal recreational residential 
  4.20  property up to $72,000, plus 0.7 percent of the assessment year 
  4.21  1996 taxable market value of class 1a or 2a residential 
  4.22  homestead property over $72,000, provided that in the case of 
  4.23  class 2a property only the value of the house, garage, and 
  4.24  surrounding one acre of land shall be included in the tax base 
  4.25  differential. 
  4.26     Sec. 3.  [AID REDUCTION.] 
  4.27     Calendar year 1998 homestead and agricultural aid payments 
  4.28  to each local taxing jurisdiction under Minnesota Statutes, 
  4.29  section 273.1398, subdivision 2, shall be permanently reduced by 
  4.30  an amount equal to the taxing jurisdiction's current local tax 
  4.31  rate multiplied by 0.3 percent of the assessment year 1996 
  4.32  taxable market value of class 1a or 2a residential homestead 
  4.33  property up to $72,000, provided that in the case of class 2a 
  4.34  property only the value of the house, garage, and surrounding 
  4.35  one acre of land shall be included in the computation.  In no 
  4.36  case shall the resulting payment under Minnesota Statutes, 
  5.1   section 273.1398, subdivision 2, be less than zero.  The terms 
  5.2   used in this section shall have the meanings given in Minnesota 
  5.3   Statutes, section 273.1398, subdivision 1. 
  5.4      Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.5      Section 1 is effective for taxes payable in 1998 and 
  5.6   subsequent years.  Sections 2 and 3 are effective for aids 
  5.7   payable in 1998 and subsequent years.