SF 1659

1st Engrossment - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 03/18/2010 11:59am

A bill for an act
relating to eminent domain; modifying definition of public use; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 117.025, subdivision 11.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 117.025, subdivision 11, is amended to
read:

Subd. 11.

Public use; public purpose.

(a) "Public use" or "public purpose" means,
exclusively:

(1) the possession, occupation, ownership, and enjoyment of the land by the general
public, or by public agencies;

(2) the creation or functioning of a public service corporation; deleted text begin or
deleted text end

(3) mitigation of a blighted area, remediation of an environmentally contaminated
area, reduction of abandoned property, or removal of a public nuisance deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ; or
new text end

new text begin (4) mitigation of the harmful effects of abandoned property. For purposes of this
clause, abandoned property means property that has been substantially unoccupied or
unused for any commercial or residential purpose for at least six months by a person
with a legal or equitable right to occupy or use the property and that: (i) is located in
an area having a disproportionate number of vacant residential buildings or mortgage
foreclosures, as described in section 469.202, subdivision 2, paragraph (d); and (ii)
would qualify as abandoned property under the criteria in section 582.032, subdivision
7, regardless of whether the property is the subject of a foreclosure sale or action. This
clause expires on December 31, 2015.
new text end

(b) The public benefits of economic development, including an increase in tax base,
tax revenues, employment, or general economic health, do not by themselves constitute
a public use or public purpose.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end