1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to taxation; proposing an amendment to the 
  1.3             Minnesota Constitution, article X, section 1, by 
  1.4             adding a section; article XI, sections 4, 6, 7, 9, 12; 
  1.5             prohibiting the imposition of ad valorem taxes. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.] 
  1.8      An amendment to the Minnesota Constitution is proposed to 
  1.9   the people. 
  1.10     If the amendment is adopted, article X, section 1, will 
  1.11  read: 
  1.12     Section 1.  The power of taxation shall never be 
  1.13  surrendered, suspended or contracted away.  Taxes shall be 
  1.14  uniform upon the same class of subjects and shall be levied and 
  1.15  collected for public purposes, but public burying grounds, 
  1.16  public school houses, public hospitals, academies, colleges, 
  1.17  universities, all seminaries of learning, all churches, church 
  1.18  property, houses of worship, institutions of purely public 
  1.19  charity, and public property used exclusively for any public 
  1.20  purpose, shall be exempt from taxation except as provided in 
  1.21  this section.  There may be exempted from taxation personal 
  1.22  property not exceeding in value $200 for each household, 
  1.23  individual or head of a family, and household goods and farm 
  1.24  machinery as the legislature determines.  The legislature may 
  1.25  authorize municipal corporations to levy and collect assessments 
  2.1   for local improvements upon property benefited thereby without 
  2.2   regard to cash valuation.  The legislature by law may define or 
  2.3   limit the property exempt under this section other than 
  2.4   churches, houses of worship, and property solely used for 
  2.5   educational purposes by academies, colleges, universities and 
  2.6   seminaries of learning. 
  2.7      A section shall be added to article X, to read: 
  2.8      Sec. 9.  The legislature may not impose an ad valorem tax 
  2.9   on real or personal property nor may it authorize any political 
  2.10  subdivision of the state to impose such a tax.  This section 
  2.11  does not apply to an ad valorem tax on real or personal property 
  2.12  imposed by the state or a political subdivision of the state to 
  2.13  pay certificates of indebtedness, principal, and interest on 
  2.14  bonds, or other obligations issued before November 1, 2002, for 
  2.15  which ad valorem property taxes have been pledged for payment. 
  2.16     Article XI, section 4, will read: 
  2.17     Sec. 4.  The state may contract public debts for which its 
  2.18  full faith, credit and taxing powers may be pledged at the times 
  2.19  and in the manner authorized by law, but only for the purposes 
  2.20  and subject to the conditions stated in section 5.  Public debt 
  2.21  includes any obligation payable directly in whole or in part 
  2.22  from a tax of state wide application on any class of property, 
  2.23  income, sales and use, transaction or privilege, but does not 
  2.24  include any obligation which is payable from revenues other than 
  2.25  taxes. 
  2.26     Article XI, section 6, will read: 
  2.27     Sec. 6.  As authorized by law certificates of indebtedness 
  2.28  may be issued during a biennium, commencing on July 1 in each 
  2.29  odd-numbered year and ending on and including June 30 in the 
  2.30  next odd-numbered year, in anticipation of the collection of 
  2.31  taxes levied for and other revenues appropriated to any fund of 
  2.32  the state for expenditure during that biennium. 
  2.33     No certificates shall be issued in an amount which with 
  2.34  interest thereon to maturity, added to the then outstanding 
  2.35  certificates against a fund and interest thereon to maturity, 
  2.36  will exceed the then unexpended balance of all money which will 
  3.1   be credited to that fund during the biennium under existing 
  3.2   laws.  The maturities of certificates may be extended by 
  3.3   refunding to a date not later than December l of the first full 
  3.4   calendar year following the biennium in which the certificates 
  3.5   were issued.  If money on hand in any fund is not sufficient to 
  3.6   pay all non-refunding certificates of indebtedness issued on a 
  3.7   fund during any biennium and all certificates refunding the 
  3.8   same, plus interest thereon, which are outstanding on December 1 
  3.9   immediately following the close of the biennium, the state 
  3.10  auditor shall levy upon all taxable property in the state a 
  3.11  state sales and use tax collectible in the ensuing year 
  3.12  sufficient to pay the same on or before December 1 of the 
  3.13  ensuing year with interest to the date or dates of payment. 
  3.14     Article XI, section 7, will read: 
  3.15     Sec. 7.  Public debt other than certificates of 
  3.16  indebtedness authorized in section 6 shall be evidenced by the 
  3.17  issuance of bonds of the state.  All bonds issued under the 
  3.18  provisions of this section shall mature not more than 20 years 
  3.19  from their respective dates of issue and each law authorizing 
  3.20  the issuance of bonds shall distinctly specify the purposes 
  3.21  thereof and the maximum amount of the proceeds authorized to be 
  3.22  expended for each purpose.  A separate and special state bond 
  3.23  fund shall be maintained on the official books and records.  
  3.24  When the full faith and credit of the state has been pledged for 
  3.25  the payment of bonds, the state auditor shall levy each year on 
  3.26  all taxable property within the state a state sales and use tax 
  3.27  sufficient with the balance then on hand in the fund to pay all 
  3.28  principal and interest on bonds issued under this section due 
  3.29  and to become due within the ensuing year and to and including 
  3.30  July 1 in the second ensuing year.  The legislature by law may 
  3.31  appropriate funds from any source to the state bond fund.  The 
  3.32  amount of money actually received and on hand pursuant to 
  3.33  appropriations prior to the levy of the tax in any year shall be 
  3.34  used to reduce the amount of tax otherwise required to be levied.
  3.35     Article XI, section 9, will read: 
  3.36     Sec. 9.  The permanent university fund of this state may be 
  4.1   loaned to or invested in the bonds of any county, school 
  4.2   district, city or town of this state and in first mortgage loans 
  4.3   secured upon improved and cultivated farm lands of this state, 
  4.4   but no such investment or loan shall be made until approved by 
  4.5   the board of investment; nor shall a loan or investment be made 
  4.6   when the bonds to be issued or purchased would make the entire 
  4.7   bonded indebtedness exceed 15 percent of the assessed valuation 
  4.8   of the taxable market value property of the county, school 
  4.9   district, city or town issuing the bonds; nor shall any farm 
  4.10  loan or investment be made when the investment or loan would 
  4.11  exceed 30 percent of the actual cash value of the farm land 
  4.12  mortgaged to secure the investment; nor shall investments or 
  4.13  loans be made at a lower rate of interest than two percent per 
  4.14  annum nor for a shorter period than one year nor for a longer 
  4.15  period than 30 years. 
  4.16     Article XI, section 12, will read: 
  4.17     Sec. 12.  The legislature shall not authorize any county, 
  4.18  township or municipal corporation to become indebted to aid in 
  4.19  the construction or equipment of railroads to any amount that 
  4.20  exceeds five per cent of the market value of the taxable 
  4.21  property within that county, township or municipal corporation.  
  4.22  The amount of taxable property shall be determined by the last 
  4.23  assessment previous to the incurring of the indebtedness. 
  4.24     Sec. 2.  [SUBMISSION TO VOTERS.] 
  4.25     The proposed amendment must be submitted to the people at 
  4.26  the 2002 general election.  The question submitted shall be: 
  4.27     "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to prohibit 
  4.28  the state or a political subdivision of the state from imposing 
  4.29  an ad valorem tax on real or personal property, except for a tax 
  4.30  imposed to pay bonds or obligations issued before November 1, 
  4.31  2002? 
  4.32                                     Yes .......
  4.33                                     No ........"