1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to housing; establishing a rental tax equity 
  1.3             pilot project in the city of Brooklyn Park; 
  1.4             appropriating money. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [RENTAL TAX EQUITY; BROOKLYN PARK PILOT 
  1.7   PROJECT.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [PILOT; TERM.] A pilot project for rental 
  1.9   tax equity in the city of Brooklyn Park is established.  The 
  1.10  program is for property taxes payable in 1996 and 1997.  The 
  1.11  program is available to owners of residential rental property. 
  1.12     Subd. 2.  [PRIMARY OBJECTIVE.] The pilot project's primary 
  1.13  objective is to give an incentive to landlords to improve their 
  1.14  tenant-occupied property and still offer affordable housing. 
  1.15     Subd. 3.  [DEFINITION; RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTY.] For 
  1.16  the purposes of this section, "residential rental property" 
  1.17  means privately owned property classified under section 273.13, 
  1.18  subdivision 25, paragraph (a) or (b)(1), that is ten or more 
  1.19  years old. 
  1.20     Subd. 4.  [PROPERTY TAX TREATMENT.] (a) Residential rental 
  1.21  property located in the city of Brooklyn Park that meets the 
  1.22  requirements of this section, is eligible for the property tax 
  1.23  credit under subdivision 9. 
  1.24     (b) The program is not a housing or building code 
  1.25  enforcement program.  
  2.1      (c) Participation in the program is voluntary. 
  2.2      Subd. 5.  [NOTIFICATION TO OWNERS.] The city of Brooklyn 
  2.3   Park shall notify the owner of each residential rental property 
  2.4   located in the city that the property may be eligible to receive 
  2.5   a property tax credit as provided in this section. 
  2.6      Subd. 6.  [PROGRAM STEPS.] (a) The Brooklyn Park city 
  2.7   council shall adopt by resolution guidelines for implementation 
  2.8   of the program under this section. 
  2.9      (b) A landlord who owns eligible property and who wishes to 
  2.10  participate must arrange for a certified evaluator who is 
  2.11  licensed by the city of Brooklyn Park to evaluate the property. 
  2.12     (c) The landlord must notify the tenant of the evaluation 
  2.13  so that the tenant may be present if the tenant wishes. 
  2.14     (d) The evaluator must evaluate the property using program 
  2.15  guidelines adopted by resolution of the Brooklyn Park city 
  2.16  council prior to implementation of the program under this 
  2.17  section. 
  2.18     (e) To receive the property tax credit under subdivision 9, 
  2.19  the evaluator must have determined that repairs were necessary, 
  2.20  and the landlord must make the repairs and call for a 
  2.21  reinspection by the evaluator.  If the evaluator identifies life 
  2.22  or safety hazards, the evaluator must notify appropriate city 
  2.23  officials, who shall take immediate action to require and 
  2.24  enforce repair of the life or safety hazard items. 
  2.25     (f) The evaluator must reinspect the property to see if the 
  2.26  program guidelines have been followed. 
  2.27     (g) The evaluator must submit a report on the property's 
  2.28  evaluation to the appropriate city officials, the landlord, and 
  2.29  the tenant.  A filing fee must be paid at the time the report is 
  2.30  submitted to the city. 
  2.31     (h) Appropriate city officials must review the report and 
  2.32  approve it or issue orders for further repair.  In so doing, 
  2.33  city staff members may make an on-site review.  The landlord may 
  2.34  withdraw from the program at any time without making required 
  2.35  repairs except those for life or safety hazards, which may be 
  2.36  otherwise required.  Property for which the evaluator's report 
  3.1   is approved must be certified by the appropriate city officials 
  3.2   to the county assessor.  The city must limit the number of 
  3.3   qualifying properties so that the credit payable under 
  3.4   subdivision 9 will not, in the city's estimate, exceed 
  3.5   $1,000,000. 
  3.6      (i) A landlord who chooses to participate must complete an 
  3.7   application for certification by November 1, 1995 for credit in 
  3.8   1996, or by November 1, 1996 for credit in 1997. 
  3.9      Subd. 7.  [APPEALS.] (a) The board of equalization must 
  3.10  serve as a board of review to hear appeals relating to the value 
  3.11  of improvements and properties.  Procedures for board actions 
  3.12  and for appeals from board decisions are as provided for other 
  3.13  matters decided by the board of equalization.  
  3.14     (b) The city may appoint a board of appeals to hear 
  3.15  disputes regarding qualification.  The board shall meet to hear 
  3.16  appeals under this program between November 1 and December 1, 
  3.17  1995, and November 1 and December 1, 1996. 
  3.18     Subd. 8.  [CITY FEES.] The landlord must pay the housing 
  3.19  evaluator a fee, as determined by the city, for the initial 
  3.20  inspection and necessary reinspections.  The evaluator must pay 
  3.21  a filing fee, as determined by the city, to file the evaluator's 
  3.22  report.  The evaluator may be reimbursed by the landlord for 
  3.23  this fee.  The landlord must pay the city a fee, as determined 
  3.24  by the city, to apply for recertification.  If additional 
  3.25  inspections are required, a reinspection fee, as determined by 
  3.26  the city, must be paid by the landlord. 
  3.27     Subd. 9.  [CREDIT AND REIMBURSEMENT.] (a) [CREDIT 
  3.28  PROVIDED.] Property that meets the requirements of this section 
  3.29  is eligible for a property tax credit equal to the difference 
  3.30  between (1) the tax on the property and (2) the tax that would 
  3.31  be payable if the property were classified under Minnesota 
  3.32  Statutes, section 273.13, subdivision 22, paragraph (a).  For 
  3.33  the purposes of determining the tax that would be payable if the 
  3.34  property were classified under section 273.13, subdivision 22, 
  3.35  paragraph (a), the first $72,000 of market value shall be 
  3.36  applied to the parcel as a whole. 
  4.1      (b) [PROPERTY TAX STATEMENTS.] The property tax statement 
  4.2   provided under Minnesota Statutes, section 276.04, to an owner 
  4.3   of property that receives the credit under this subdivision 
  4.4   shall include information on the amount of the credit given to 
  4.5   the property.  The Hennepin county treasurer shall notify the 
  4.6   commissioner of revenue on how the county plans to modify the 
  4.7   property tax statements to include the necessary information. 
  4.8      (c) [GENERAL FUND; REPLACEMENT OF REVENUE.] Payment from 
  4.9   the general fund shall be made as provided in this subdivision 
  4.10  for the purpose of replacing revenue lost as a result of the 
  4.11  reduction of property taxes provided in this subdivision. 
  4.12     The Hennepin county auditor shall certify to the 
  4.13  commissioner of revenue the amount of reduction resulting from 
  4.14  this subdivision.  This certification shall be submitted to the 
  4.15  commissioner of revenue as part of the abstracts of tax lists 
  4.16  required to be filed with the commissioner under the provisions 
  4.17  of Minnesota Statutes, section 275.29.  The commissioner of 
  4.18  revenue shall review the certification to determine its accuracy 
  4.19  and make changes in the certification as necessary or return the 
  4.20  certification to the county auditor for corrections. 
  4.21     Based on current year tax data reported in the abstracts of 
  4.22  tax lists, the commissioner of revenue shall determine the 
  4.23  taxing district distribution of the amounts certified.  The 
  4.24  commissioner of revenue shall pay to each taxing district, other 
  4.25  than school districts, its total payment for the year at the 
  4.26  times provided in Minnesota Statutes, section 473H.10.  The 
  4.27  credit reimbursement to school districts must be certified to 
  4.28  the commissioner of education and paid as provided under 
  4.29  Minnesota Statutes, section 273.1392. 
  4.30     The reimbursement paid under this subdivision shall be made 
  4.31  only in 1996 and 1997, and is limited to $1,000,000.  To the 
  4.32  extent the amount of credit originally certified exceeds 
  4.33  $1,000,000, reimbursements to the taxing districts shall be 
  4.34  prorated according to the proportions of their levies so as not 
  4.35  to exceed $1,000,000. 
  4.36     Subd. 10.  [NO RENT INCREASE.] A landlord who receives a 
  5.1   credit under subdivision 9, may not increase the rent charged 
  5.2   for the unit for which the credit is provided during the taxes 
  5.3   payable year in which the credit is provided. 
  5.4      Subd. 11.  [REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE.] By January 15, 
  5.5   1997, the Brooklyn Park city council shall provide a report to 
  5.6   the legislature as provided in Minnesota Statutes, section 
  5.7   3.195, the committee on housing and the committee on taxes and 
  5.8   tax laws of the senate, and the housing committee and the tax 
  5.9   committee of the house of representatives on the program.  The 
  5.10  report must include the program guidelines, housing costs, 
  5.11  rents, and the extent of participation in the program for the 
  5.12  1996 and 1997 tax years. 
  5.13     Subd. 12.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the 
  5.14  day following final enactment, upon compliance with Minnesota 
  5.15  Statutes, section 645.021, subdivision 3, by the city of 
  5.16  Brooklyn Park, and applies to property taxes payable in 1996 and 
  5.17  1997 on residential rental properties. 
  5.18     Sec. 2.  [PROPERTY TAX REFUNDS.] 
  5.19     Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 290A.03, 
  5.20  subdivision 11, for purposes of calculating a claimant's 
  5.21  property tax refund, in the case of a claimant who resides in a 
  5.22  unit certified for participation in the rental equity project 
  5.23  under section 1, the claimant's "rent constituting property 
  5.24  taxes paid" for property taxes payable in 1996 or 1997 shall be 
  5.25  the rent constituting property tax as defined in Minnesota 
  5.26  Statutes, section 290A.03, subdivision 11, for the unit in the 
  5.27  year preceding the year in which the unit was certified for the 
  5.28  rental equity project. 
  5.29     An owner or managing agent of a unit certified for 
  5.30  participation in the rental equity project shall indicate that 
  5.31  the unit was certified for participation on the rent certificate 
  5.32  prescribed in Minnesota Statutes, section 290A.19, paragraph 
  5.33  (a).  In the event that the owner or managing agent fails to 
  5.34  provide a rent certificate and the renter obtains a statement 
  5.35  from the county treasurer, as prescribed in Minnesota Statutes, 
  5.36  section 290A.19, paragraph (c), the county treasurer shall also 
  6.1   indicate on the statement if the building was certified for 
  6.2   participation in the rental equity project.  If the building was 
  6.3   certified for participation, the county treasurer shall include 
  6.4   on the statement the amount of property tax on the parcel in the 
  6.5   year preceding certification for the rental equity project. 
  6.6      Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  6.7      $1,000,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  6.8   commissioner of revenue for the biennium ending June 30, 1998, 
  6.9   for purposes of section 1.