1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to the legislature; proposing an amendment to 
  1.3             the Minnesota Constitution by adding a section to 
  1.4             article IV; requiring a three-fifths vote to enact a 
  1.5             law imposing or increasing taxes, fees, or surcharges. 
  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.  If the amendment is adopted, a section must be 
  1.10  added to article IV, to read: 
  1.11     Sec. 27.  Passage of a law that increases the general rate 
  1.12  or expands the taxable base of a state tax on income or sales or 
  1.13  increases property taxes requires the vote of three-fifths of 
  1.14  the members of each house of the legislature.  If, however, a 
  1.15  single law not only makes such increases but also makes equal or 
  1.16  greater reductions in other taxes so that the estimated combined 
  1.17  revenues raised by state taxes and property taxes in the law are 
  1.18  reduced or maintained, then passage of that law requires only a 
  1.19  majority vote of the members in each house.  A law increases 
  1.20  property taxes if the law: 
  1.21     (1) increases a property tax rate or levy set or permitted 
  1.22  under state law other than a general education tax rate and levy 
  1.23  set by state law; 
  1.24     (2) authorizes a governmental unit to impose or increase a 
  1.25  property tax rate or levy; 
  2.1      (3) reduces total state aid to governmental units with 
  2.2   authority to increase their property tax rate or levy; or 
  2.3      (4) imposes additional requirements to provide services or 
  2.4   otherwise spend money on a governmental unit with authority to 
  2.5   impose or increase a property tax rate or levy.  
  2.6      Passage of a law that creates a new tax of statewide 
  2.7   applicability also requires the vote of three-fifths of the 
  2.8   members of each house of the legislature. 
  2.9      Passage of a law that imposes or authorizes a new state fee 
  2.10  or surcharges or that increases a state fee or surcharges by 
  2.11  more than an amount to compensate for inflation also requires 
  2.12  the vote of three-fifths of the members of each house of the 
  2.13  legislature.  A state fee is a charge or fee imposed by state 
  2.14  law or by the state or a state agency as authorized by state 
  2.15  law.  An increase compensates for inflation if the increase is 
  2.16  less than an amount that adjusts for the change in the consumer 
  2.17  price index for the period since the amount of the fee was set, 
  2.18  rounded up to the nearest whole dollar. 
  2.19     Sec. 2.  [QUESTION.] 
  2.20     The proposed amendment must be submitted to the people at 
  2.21  the 2002 general election.  The question submitted must be: 
  2.22     "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require a 
  2.23  three-fifths vote of each house of the legislature to pass a law 
  2.24  that increases state income, state sales, or property taxes or 
  2.25  state fees or surcharges? 
  2.26                                     Yes .......
  2.27                                     No ........"