1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to taxation; providing for treatment of 
  1.3             certain property owned by utilities and leased for 
  1.4             residential or recreational purposes; amending 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 272.03, subdivision 
  1.6             6; 273.124, subdivision 7; and 273.13, subdivision 24. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 272.03, 
  1.9   subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 6.  [TRACT, LOT, PARCEL, AND PIECE OR PARCEL.] 
  1.11  (a) "Tract," "lot," "parcel," and "piece or parcel" of land 
  1.12  means any contiguous quantity of land in the possession of, 
  1.13  owned by, or recorded as the property of, the same claimant or 
  1.14  person.  
  1.15     (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), property that is owned 
  1.16  by a utility, leased for residential or recreational uses for 
  1.17  terms of 20 years or longer, and separately valued by the 
  1.18  assessor, will be treated for property tax purposes as separate 
  1.19  parcels. 
  1.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 273.124, 
  1.21  subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  1.22     Subd. 7.  [LEASED BUILDINGS OR LAND.] For purposes of class 
  1.23  1 determinations, homesteads include: 
  1.24     (a) buildings and appurtenances owned and used by the 
  1.25  occupant as a permanent residence which are located upon land 
  1.26  the title to which is vested in a person or entity other than 
  2.1   the occupant; 
  2.2      (b) all buildings and appurtenances located upon land owned 
  2.3   by the occupant and used for the purposes of a homestead 
  2.4   together with the land upon which they are located, if all of 
  2.5   the following criteria are met: 
  2.6      (1) the occupant is using the property as a permanent 
  2.7   residence; 
  2.8      (2) the occupant is paying the property taxes and any 
  2.9   special assessments levied against the property; 
  2.10     (3) the occupant has signed a lease which has an option to 
  2.11  purchase the buildings and appurtenances; 
  2.12     (4) the term of the lease is at least five years; and 
  2.13     (5) the occupant has made a down payment of at least $5,000 
  2.14  in cash if the property was purchased by means of a contract for 
  2.15  deed or subject to a mortgage. 
  2.16     (c) all buildings and appurtenances and the land upon which 
  2.17  they are located that are used for purposes of a homestead, if 
  2.18  all of the following criteria are met: 
  2.19     (1) the land is owned by a utility, which maintains 
  2.20  ownership of the land in order to facilitate compliance with the 
  2.21  terms of its hydroelectric project license from the federal 
  2.22  energy regulatory commission; 
  2.23     (2) the land is leased for a term of 20 years or more; 
  2.24     (3) the occupant is using the property as a permanent 
  2.25  residence; and 
  2.26     (4) the occupant is paying the property taxes and any 
  2.27  special assessments levied against the property. 
  2.28     Any taxpayer meeting all the requirements of this paragraph 
  2.29  must notify the county assessor, or the assessor who has the 
  2.30  powers of the county assessor pursuant to section 273.063, in 
  2.31  writing, as soon as possible after signing the lease agreement 
  2.32  and occupying the buildings as a homestead. 
  2.33     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 273.13, 
  2.34  subdivision 24, is amended to read: 
  2.35     Subd. 24.  [CLASS 3.] (a) Commercial and industrial 
  2.36  property and utility real and personal property, except class 5 
  3.1   property as identified in subdivision 31, clause (1), is class 
  3.2   3a.  Each parcel has a class rate of 2.45 percent of the first 
  3.3   tier of market value, and 3.5 percent of the remaining market 
  3.4   value, except that in the case of contiguous parcels of 
  3.5   commercial and industrial property owned by the same person or 
  3.6   entity, only the value equal to the first-tier value of the 
  3.7   contiguous parcels qualifies for the reduced class rate.  For 
  3.8   the purposes of this subdivision, the first tier means the first 
  3.9   $150,000 of market value.  In the case of utility property owned 
  3.10  by one person or entity, only one parcel in each county has a 
  3.11  reduced class rate on the first tier of market value, except 
  3.12  that this limitation does not apply to utility property 
  3.13  described in section 272.03, subdivision 6, paragraph (b). 
  3.14     For purposes of this paragraph, parcels are considered to 
  3.15  be contiguous even if they are separated from each other by a 
  3.16  road, street, vacant lot, waterway, or other similar intervening 
  3.17  type of property. 
  3.18     (b) Employment property defined in section 469.166, during 
  3.19  the period provided in section 469.170, shall constitute class 
  3.20  3b and has a class rate of 2.3 percent of the first $50,000 of 
  3.21  market value and 3.5 percent of the remainder, except that for 
  3.22  employment property located in a border city enterprise zone 
  3.23  designated pursuant to section 469.168, subdivision 4, paragraph 
  3.24  (c), the class rate of the first tier of market value and the 
  3.25  class rate of the remainder is determined under paragraph (a), 
  3.26  unless the governing body of the city designated as an 
  3.27  enterprise zone determines that a specific parcel shall be 
  3.28  assessed pursuant to the first clause of this sentence.  The 
  3.29  governing body may provide for assessment under the first clause 
  3.30  of the preceding sentence only for property which is located in 
  3.31  an area which has been designated by the governing body for the 
  3.32  receipt of tax reductions authorized by section 469.171, 
  3.33  subdivision 1. 
  3.34     (c) Structures which are (i) located on property classified 
  3.35  as class 3a, (ii) constructed under an initial building permit 
  3.36  issued after January 2, 1996, (iii) located in a transit zone as 
  4.1   defined under section 473.3915, subdivision 3, (iv) located 
  4.2   within the boundaries of a school district, and (v) not 
  4.3   primarily used for retail or transient lodging purposes, shall 
  4.4   have a class rate equal to 85 percent of the class rate of the 
  4.5   second tier of the commercial property rate under paragraph (a) 
  4.6   on any portion of the market value that does not qualify for the 
  4.7   first tier class rate under paragraph (a).  As used in item (v), 
  4.8   a structure is primarily used for retail or transient lodging 
  4.9   purposes if over 50 percent of its square footage is used for 
  4.10  those purposes.  A class rate equal to 85 percent of the class 
  4.11  rate of the second tier of the commercial property class rate 
  4.12  under paragraph (a) shall also apply to improvements to existing 
  4.13  structures that meet the requirements of items (i) to (v) if the 
  4.14  improvements are constructed under an initial building permit 
  4.15  issued after January 2, 1996, even if the remainder of the 
  4.16  structure was constructed prior to January 2, 1996.  For the 
  4.17  purposes of this paragraph, a structure shall be considered to 
  4.18  be located in a transit zone if any portion of the structure 
  4.19  lies within the zone.  If any property once eligible for 
  4.20  treatment under this paragraph ceases to remain eligible due to 
  4.21  revisions in transit zone boundaries, the property shall 
  4.22  continue to receive treatment under this paragraph for a period 
  4.23  of three years. 
  4.24     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.25     Sections 1 to 3 are effective for taxes levied in 1999, 
  4.26  payable in 2000, and thereafter.