1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to tax increment financing; requiring county 
  1.3             approval of certain tax increment financing decisions; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 469.175, 
  1.5             subdivision 4, and by adding a subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 469.175, is 
  1.8   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 3a.  [COUNTY APPROVAL.] (a) The authority shall 
  1.10  submit the tax increment financing plan and the proposed 
  1.11  district to the county board for its approval.  The county board 
  1.12  may approve the plan, but specify (1) a duration shorter than 
  1.13  provided in the plan approved by the municipality, (2) that only 
  1.14  a portion of the county tax rate will be used in computing 
  1.15  increment, or (3) both. 
  1.16     (b) On or before approving the tax increment plan and 
  1.17  district, the county board shall, by resolution, make the 
  1.18  findings in clauses (1) to (3).  The resolution must include the 
  1.19  reasons and supporting facts for each determination. 
  1.20     (1) The proposed development or redevelopment, in the 
  1.21  opinion of the county board, would not reasonably be expected to 
  1.22  occur within the county solely through private investment within 
  1.23  the reasonably foreseeable future without tax increment 
  1.24  financing including the addition of the approved portion of the 
  1.25  county tax rate and that another development or redevelopment of 
  2.1   the site of equal or greater value, after deducting the 
  2.2   estimated cost of the county tax increment assistance, would not 
  2.3   occur within the reasonably foreseeable future without using tax 
  2.4   increment financing.  In the case of a redevelopment, the county 
  2.5   may instead find that the social or economic benefits outweigh 
  2.6   the costs of the county's share of the tax increment. 
  2.7      (2) The tax increment financing plan conforms to the 
  2.8   general plan for the development or redevelopment of the county 
  2.9   as a whole. 
  2.10     (3) The tax increment financing plan affords maximum 
  2.11  opportunity, consistent with the needs of the county as a whole, 
  2.12  for the development or redevelopment of the site by private 
  2.13  enterprise. 
  2.14     (c) The county board has 30 days after submission of the 
  2.15  plan by the authority to approve the tax increment financing 
  2.16  plan and the district.  If the county fails to approve a 
  2.17  submitted plan within 30 days after it is submitted, the plan is 
  2.18  deemed approved. 
  2.19     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 469.175, 
  2.20  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  2.21     Subd. 4.  [MODIFICATION OF PLAN.] (a) A tax increment 
  2.22  financing plan may be modified by an authority, provided that 
  2.23  any reduction or enlargement of geographic area of the project 
  2.24  or tax increment financing district, increase in amount of 
  2.25  bonded indebtedness to be incurred, including a determination to 
  2.26  capitalize interest on the debt if that determination was not a 
  2.27  part of the original plan, or to increase or decrease the amount 
  2.28  of interest on the debt to be capitalized, increase in the 
  2.29  portion of the captured net tax capacity to be retained by the 
  2.30  authority, increase in total estimated tax increment 
  2.31  expenditures or designation of additional property to be 
  2.32  acquired by the authority shall be approved upon the notice and 
  2.33  after the discussion, public hearing, and findings required for 
  2.34  approval of the original plan; provided that if an authority 
  2.35  changes the type of district from housing, redevelopment, or 
  2.36  economic development to another type of district, this change 
  3.1   shall not be considered a modification but shall require the 
  3.2   authority to follow the procedure set forth in sections 469.174 
  3.3   to 469.179 for adoption of a new plan, including certification 
  3.4   of the net tax capacity of the district by the county auditor.  
  3.5   If a redevelopment district or a renewal and renovation district 
  3.6   is enlarged, the reasons and supporting facts for the 
  3.7   determination that the addition to the district meets the 
  3.8   criteria of section 469.174, subdivision 10, paragraph (a), 
  3.9   clauses (1) and (2), or subdivision 10a, must be documented.  
  3.10  The requirements of this paragraph do not apply if (1) the only 
  3.11  modification is elimination of parcels from the project or 
  3.12  district and (2)(A) the current net tax capacity of the parcels 
  3.13  eliminated from the district equals or exceeds the net tax 
  3.14  capacity of those parcels in the district's original net tax 
  3.15  capacity or (B) the authority agrees that, notwithstanding 
  3.16  section 469.177, subdivision 1, the original net tax capacity 
  3.17  will be reduced by no more than the current net tax capacity of 
  3.18  the parcels eliminated from the district.  The authority must 
  3.19  notify the county auditor of any modification that reduces or 
  3.20  enlarges the geographic area of a district or a project area.  
  3.21     (b) The geographic area of a tax increment financing 
  3.22  district may be reduced, but shall not be enlarged after five 
  3.23  years following the date of certification of the original net 
  3.24  tax capacity by the county auditor or after August 1, 1984, for 
  3.25  tax increment financing districts authorized prior to August 1, 
  3.26  1979. 
  3.27     (c) The authority shall submit a modification of the plan 
  3.28  to the county board for each county in which the district is 
  3.29  located, if the modification is made five years or more after 
  3.30  the initial request for certification of the district was 
  3.31  submitted to the county auditor and if one of the following 
  3.32  conditions is met: 
  3.33     (1) the modification increases the estimated or authorized 
  3.34  total tax increment expenditures; 
  3.35     (2) the modification designates additional property to be 
  3.36  acquired by the authority; 
  4.1      (3) the modification authorizes additional bonded 
  4.2   indebtedness to be incurred; 
  4.3      (4) the modification authorizes expenditures on new 
  4.4   activities; 
  4.5      (5) the area where increments may be spent is changed; or 
  4.6      (6) the type of development or redevelopment for the 
  4.7   district is changed. 
  4.8   If the county board fails to approve the modifications, they do 
  4.9   not become effective. 
  4.10     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.11     Section 1 is effective for requests for certification of 
  4.12  new tax increment financing districts or of new area for an 
  4.13  existing tax increment financing district made after June 30, 
  4.14  1999.  Section 2 is effective for modifications of a tax 
  4.15  increment financing plan, including plans for tax increment 
  4.16  districts certified before, on, or after August 1, 1979, made 
  4.17  after June 30, 1999.