1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to taxation; advancing the dates for sending 
  1.3             notices of proposed property taxes; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 1998, section 275.065, subdivisions 1, 1a, 
  1.5             1c, and 3. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 275.065, 
  1.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [PROPOSED LEVY.] (a) Notwithstanding any 
  1.10  law or charter to the contrary, on or before September 15 1, 
  1.11  each taxing authority, other than a school district, shall adopt 
  1.12  a proposed budget and shall certify to the county auditor the 
  1.13  proposed or, in the case of a town, the final property tax levy 
  1.14  for taxes payable in the following year. 
  1.15     (b) On or before September 30 15, each school district 
  1.16  shall certify to the county auditor the proposed property tax 
  1.17  levy for taxes payable in the following year.  The school 
  1.18  district shall certify the proposed levy as: 
  1.19     (1) the state determined school levy amount as prescribed 
  1.20  under section 126C.13, subdivision 2; 
  1.21     (2) voter approved referendum and debt levies; and 
  1.22     (3) the sum of the remaining school levies, or the maximum 
  1.23  levy limitation certified by the commissioner of children, 
  1.24  families, and learning according to section 126C.48, subdivision 
  1.25  1, less the amounts levied under clauses (1) and (2). 
  2.1      (c) If the board of estimate and taxation or any similar 
  2.2   board that establishes maximum tax levies for taxing 
  2.3   jurisdictions within a first class city certifies the maximum 
  2.4   property tax levies for funds under its jurisdiction by charter 
  2.5   to the county auditor by September 15 1, the city shall be 
  2.6   deemed to have certified its levies for those taxing 
  2.7   jurisdictions. 
  2.8      (d) For purposes of this section, "taxing authority" 
  2.9   includes all home rule and statutory cities, towns, counties, 
  2.10  school districts, and special taxing districts as defined in 
  2.11  section 275.066.  Intermediate school districts that levy a tax 
  2.12  under chapter 124 or 136D, joint powers boards established under 
  2.13  sections 123A.44 to 123A.446, and common school districts No. 
  2.14  323, Franconia, and No. 815, Prinsburg, are also special taxing 
  2.15  districts for purposes of this section.  
  2.16     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 275.065, 
  2.17  subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
  2.18     Subd. 1a.  [OVERLAPPING JURISDICTIONS.] In the case of a 
  2.19  taxing authority lying in two or more counties, the home county 
  2.20  auditor shall certify the proposed levy and the proposed local 
  2.21  tax rate to the other county auditor by September 20 1.  The 
  2.22  home county auditor must estimate the levy or rate in preparing 
  2.23  the notices required in subdivision 3, if the other county has 
  2.24  not certified the appropriate information.  If requested by the 
  2.25  home county auditor, the other county auditor must furnish an 
  2.26  estimate to the home county auditor. 
  2.27     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 275.065, 
  2.28  subdivision 1c, is amended to read: 
  2.29     Subd. 1c.  [LEVY; SHARED, MERGED, CONSOLIDATED SERVICES.] 
  2.30  If two or more taxing authorities are in the process of 
  2.31  negotiating an agreement for sharing, merging, or consolidating 
  2.32  services between those taxing authorities at the time the 
  2.33  proposed levy is to be certified under subdivision 1, each 
  2.34  taxing authority involved in the negotiation shall certify its 
  2.35  total proposed levy as provided in that subdivision, including a 
  2.36  notification to the county auditor of the specific service 
  3.1   involved in the agreement which is not yet finalized.  The 
  3.2   affected taxing authorities may amend their proposed levies 
  3.3   under subdivision 1 until October 10 September 15 for levy 
  3.4   amounts relating only to the specific service involved. 
  3.5      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 275.065, 
  3.6   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.7      Subd. 3.  [NOTICE OF PROPOSED PROPERTY TAXES.] (a) The 
  3.8   county auditor shall prepare and the county treasurer shall 
  3.9   deliver after November 10 October 15 and on or before November 
  3.10  24 October 30 each year, by first class mail to each taxpayer at 
  3.11  the address listed on the county's current year's assessment 
  3.12  roll, a notice of proposed property taxes.  
  3.13     (b) The commissioner of revenue shall prescribe the form of 
  3.14  the notice. 
  3.15     (c) The notice must inform taxpayers that it contains the 
  3.16  amount of property taxes each taxing authority proposes to 
  3.17  collect for taxes payable the following year.  In the case of a 
  3.18  town, or in the case of the state determined portion of the 
  3.19  school district levy, the final tax amount will be its proposed 
  3.20  tax.  The notice must clearly state that each taxing authority, 
  3.21  including regional library districts established under section 
  3.22  134.201, and including the metropolitan taxing districts as 
  3.23  defined in paragraph (i), but excluding all other special taxing 
  3.24  districts and towns, will hold a public meeting to receive 
  3.25  public testimony on the proposed budget and proposed or final 
  3.26  property tax levy, or, in case of a school district, on the 
  3.27  current budget and proposed property tax levy.  It must clearly 
  3.28  state the time and place of each taxing authority's meeting and 
  3.29  an address where comments will be received by mail.  
  3.30     (d) The notice must state for each parcel: 
  3.31     (1) the market value of the property as determined under 
  3.32  section 273.11, and used for computing property taxes payable in 
  3.33  the following year and for taxes payable in the current year as 
  3.34  each appears in the records of the county assessor on November 
  3.35  October 1 of the current year; and, in the case of residential 
  3.36  property, whether the property is classified as homestead or 
  4.1   nonhomestead.  The notice must clearly inform taxpayers of the 
  4.2   years to which the market values apply and that the values are 
  4.3   final values; 
  4.4      (2) the items listed below, shown separately by county, 
  4.5   city or town, state determined school tax net of the education 
  4.6   homestead credit under section 273.1382, voter approved school 
  4.7   levy, other local school levy, and the sum of the special taxing 
  4.8   districts, and as a total of all taxing authorities:  
  4.9      (i) the actual tax for taxes payable in the current year; 
  4.10     (ii) the tax change due to spending factors, defined as the 
  4.11  proposed tax minus the constant spending tax amount; 
  4.12     (iii) the tax change due to other factors, defined as the 
  4.13  constant spending tax amount minus the actual current year tax; 
  4.14  and 
  4.15     (iv) the proposed tax amount. 
  4.16     In the case of a town or the state determined school tax, 
  4.17  the final tax shall also be its proposed tax unless the town 
  4.18  changes its levy at a special town meeting under section 
  4.19  365.52.  If a school district has certified under section 
  4.20  126C.17, subdivision 9, that a referendum will be held in the 
  4.21  school district at the November general election, the county 
  4.22  auditor must note next to the school district's proposed amount 
  4.23  that a referendum is pending and that, if approved by the 
  4.24  voters, the tax amount may be higher than shown on the notice.  
  4.25  In the case of the city of Minneapolis, the levy for the 
  4.26  Minneapolis library board and the levy for Minneapolis park and 
  4.27  recreation shall be listed separately from the remaining amount 
  4.28  of the city's levy.  In the case of a parcel where tax increment 
  4.29  or the fiscal disparities areawide tax under chapter 276A or 
  4.30  473F applies, the proposed tax levy on the captured value or the 
  4.31  proposed tax levy on the tax capacity subject to the areawide 
  4.32  tax must each be stated separately and not included in the sum 
  4.33  of the special taxing districts; and 
  4.34     (3) the increase or decrease between the total taxes 
  4.35  payable in the current year and the total proposed taxes, 
  4.36  expressed as a percentage. 
  5.1      For purposes of this section, the amount of the tax on 
  5.2   homesteads qualifying under the senior citizens' property tax 
  5.3   deferral program under chapter 290B is the total amount of 
  5.4   property tax before subtraction of the deferred property tax 
  5.5   amount. 
  5.6      (e) The notice must clearly state that the proposed or 
  5.7   final taxes do not include the following: 
  5.8      (1) special assessments; 
  5.9      (2) levies approved by the voters after the date the 
  5.10  proposed taxes are certified, including bond referenda, school 
  5.11  district levy referenda, and levy limit increase referenda; 
  5.12     (3) amounts necessary to pay cleanup or other costs due to 
  5.13  a natural disaster occurring after the date the proposed taxes 
  5.14  are certified; 
  5.15     (4) amounts necessary to pay tort judgments against the 
  5.16  taxing authority that become final after the date the proposed 
  5.17  taxes are certified; and 
  5.18     (5) the contamination tax imposed on properties which 
  5.19  received market value reductions for contamination. 
  5.20     (f) Except as provided in subdivision 7, failure of the 
  5.21  county auditor to prepare or the county treasurer to deliver the 
  5.22  notice as required in this section does not invalidate the 
  5.23  proposed or final tax levy or the taxes payable pursuant to the 
  5.24  tax levy. 
  5.25     (g) If the notice the taxpayer receives under this section 
  5.26  lists the property as nonhomestead, and satisfactory 
  5.27  documentation is provided to the county assessor by the 
  5.28  applicable deadline, and the property qualifies for the 
  5.29  homestead classification in that assessment year, the assessor 
  5.30  shall reclassify the property to homestead for taxes payable in 
  5.31  the following year. 
  5.32     (h) In the case of class 4 residential property used as a 
  5.33  residence for lease or rental periods of 30 days or more, the 
  5.34  taxpayer must either: 
  5.35     (1) mail or deliver a copy of the notice of proposed 
  5.36  property taxes to each tenant, renter, or lessee; or 
  6.1      (2) post a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place on the 
  6.2   premises of the property.  
  6.3      The notice must be mailed or posted by the taxpayer by 
  6.4   November 27 2 or within three days of receipt of the notice, 
  6.5   whichever is later.  A taxpayer may notify the county treasurer 
  6.6   of the address of the taxpayer, agent, caretaker, or manager of 
  6.7   the premises to which the notice must be mailed in order to 
  6.8   fulfill the requirements of this paragraph. 
  6.9      (i) For purposes of this subdivision, subdivisions 5a and 
  6.10  6, "metropolitan special taxing districts" means the following 
  6.11  taxing districts in the seven-county metropolitan area that levy 
  6.12  a property tax for any of the specified purposes listed below: 
  6.13     (1) metropolitan council under section 473.132, 473.167, 
  6.14  473.249, 473.325, 473.446, 473.521, 473.547, or 473.834; 
  6.15     (2) metropolitan airports commission under section 473.667, 
  6.16  473.671, or 473.672; and 
  6.17     (3) metropolitan mosquito control commission under section 
  6.18  473.711. 
  6.19     For purposes of this section, any levies made by the 
  6.20  regional rail authorities in the county of Anoka, Carver, 
  6.21  Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington under chapter 
  6.22  398A shall be included with the appropriate county's levy and 
  6.23  shall be discussed at that county's public hearing. 
  6.24     (j) If a statutory or home rule charter city or a town has 
  6.25  exercised the local levy option provided by section 473.388, 
  6.26  subdivision 7, it may include in the notice of its proposed 
  6.27  taxes the amount of its proposed taxes attributable to its 
  6.28  exercise of the option.  In the first year of the city or town's 
  6.29  exercise of this option, the statement shall include an estimate 
  6.30  of the reduction of the metropolitan council's tax on the parcel 
  6.31  due to exercise of that option.  The metropolitan council's levy 
  6.32  shall be adjusted accordingly. 
  6.33     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  6.34     Section 1 is effective for property taxes levied in 1999, 
  6.35  payable in 2000, and thereafter.