1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to taxation; property; providing that certain 
  1.3             personal property of an electric generation facility 
  1.4             is exempt from property taxation; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 2002, section 272.02, by adding a subdivision.
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 272.02, is 
  1.8   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 68.  [ELECTRIC GENERATION FACILITY PERSONAL 
  1.10  PROPERTY.] (a) Notwithstanding subdivision 9, clause (a), and 
  1.11  section 453.54, subdivision 20, attached machinery and other 
  1.12  personal property which is part of an electric generation 
  1.13  facility that exceeds 150 megawatts of installed capacity and 
  1.14  meets the requirements of this subdivision is exempt.  At the 
  1.15  time of construction, the facility must: 
  1.16     (1) be designed to utilize natural gas as a primary fuel; 
  1.17     (2) be owned and operated by a municipal power agency as 
  1.18  defined in section 453.52, subdivision 8; 
  1.19     (3) have received the certificate of need under section 
  1.20  216B.243; 
  1.21     (4) be located outside the metropolitan area as defined 
  1.22  under section 473.121, subdivision 2; and 
  1.23     (5) be designed to be a combined-cycle facility, although 
  1.24  initially the facility will be operated as a simple-cycle 
  1.25  combustion turbine. 
  2.1      (b) To qualify under this subdivision, an agreement must be 
  2.2   negotiated between the municipal power agency and the host city, 
  2.3   for a payment in lieu of property taxes to the host city. 
  2.4      (c) Construction of the facility must be commenced after 
  2.5   January 1, 2004, and before January 1, 2006.  Property eligible 
  2.6   for this exemption does not include electric transmission lines 
  2.7   and interconnections or gas pipelines and interconnections 
  2.8   appurtenant to the property or the facility. 
  2.9      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective for assessment 
  2.10  year 2005, taxes payable in 2006, and thereafter.