1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to tornado relief; providing disaster relief 
  1.3             and other assistance for counties designated a major 
  1.4             disaster area due to the July 25, 2000, tornado; 
  1.5             appropriating money. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [APPROPRIATIONS; ELIGIBILITY.] 
  1.8      The sums in the column under "APPROPRIATIONS" are 
  1.9   appropriated from the general fund for fiscal year 2001, to be 
  1.10  spent for disaster relief and other assistance, as specified in 
  1.11  this act.  Disaster relief and assistance under this act are 
  1.12  limited to the areas that sustained damage from the tornado that 
  1.13  struck Yellow Medicine and Chippewa counties on July 25, 2000, 
  1.14  and were added to the Presidential Declaration of Major 
  1.15  Disaster, DR1333, by amendment number 5 dated July 28, 2000, and 
  1.16  amendment number 6 dated August 14, 2000.  The appropriations 
  1.17  are available until June 30, 2002, unless otherwise specified.  
  1.18  If there is a shortage of funds in any of the programs under 
  1.19  sections 2 and 3, unused funds in any of the other programs 
  1.20  under those sections may be transferred by interagency agreement 
  1.21  to cover the shortfall. 
  1.22                Summary by Fund
  1.23  PUBLIC SAFETY                                      $    226,104 
  1.24  TRADE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT                        1,761,398
  1.25  REVENUE                                                 200,000
  2.1   CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND LEARNING                        156,000
  2.2   TOTAL                                                $2,343,502
  2.3                                                    APPROPRIATIONS
  2.4   Sec. 2.  PUBLIC SAFETY 
  2.5   Subdivision 1.  To the commissioner of public  
  2.6   safety for the purposes of this section                 226,104
  2.7   Subd. 2.  Disaster Assistance Match                     206,104 
  2.8   For grants to local units of government 
  2.9   for the applicant's share of federal 
  2.10  disaster assistance funds under 
  2.11  Minnesota Statutes, section 12.221.  
  2.12  The commissioner must award grants 
  2.13  based on the amount of the local share 
  2.14  in the signed grant agreement. 
  2.15  Subd. 3.  Hospital Digital Paging                        20,000
  2.16  For a grant to the Granite Falls 
  2.17  municipal hospital for a digital paging 
  2.18  system.  
  2.19  Sec. 3.  TRADE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 
  2.20  Subdivision 1.  To the commissioner of trade 
  2.21  and economic development for purposes of            
  2.22  this section                                          1,761,398
  2.23  Subd. 2.  Project Turnabout                             400,000
  2.24  For a grant to Project Turnabout for 
  2.25  capital expenditures necessitated by 
  2.26  the tornado. 
  2.27  Subd. 3.  Public Infrastructure                       1,305,000 
  2.28  For a grant to the city of Granite 
  2.29  Falls to assist with the cost of damage 
  2.30  assessment, repair, replacement, 
  2.31  extension, or improvement of publicly 
  2.32  owned wastewater and municipal utility 
  2.33  service and drinking water systems. 
  2.34  Subd. 4.  Lost Interest                                  56,398 
  2.35  For grants to local units of government 
  2.36  for the cost of lost interest earnings 
  2.37  to the local units of government.  
  2.38  Sec. 4.  REVENUE                                        200,000 
  2.39  To the commissioner of revenue to be 
  2.40  apportioned among the counties in 
  2.41  amendment number 5 and amendment number 
  2.42  6 to the Presidential Declaration of 
  2.43  Major Disaster, DR1333, to provide 
  2.44  reimbursement for abatements granted 
  2.45  under section 7, for taxes payable in 
  2.46  2000 and 2001 to properties damaged 
  2.47  from tornadoes on July 25, 2000.  The 
  2.48  apportionment shall be based upon the 
  2.49  amount of disaster-related market value 
  2.50  loss in each county.  Counties must be 
  2.51  reimbursed only for property taxes that 
  2.52  were actually abated, not to exceed 
  2.53  each county's apportioned amount. 
  3.1      Sec. 5.  [TEMPORARY WAIVER OF FEES.] 
  3.2      Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, for fiscal year 
  3.3   2001, an agency, with the approval of the governor, may waive 
  3.4   fees that would otherwise be charged for agency services.  The 
  3.5   waiver of fees must be confined to geographic areas within 
  3.6   counties eligible for assistance under section 1 and to the 
  3.7   minimum periods of times necessary to deal with the emergency 
  3.8   situation.  The agency must promptly report the reasons for and 
  3.9   the impact of any suspended fees to the chairs of the 
  3.10  legislative committees that oversee the policy and budgetary 
  3.11  affairs of the agency.  
  3.12     Sec. 6.  [SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT TAX WAIVER.] 
  3.13     Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the commissioner 
  3.14  of revenue may waive solid waste management taxes under 
  3.15  Minnesota Statutes, chapter 297H, for construction debris 
  3.16  generated from repair and demolition activities in the area 
  3.17  eligible for assistance under section 1 due to tornado and other 
  3.18  weather damage on July 25, 2000, and disposed of in a waste 
  3.19  management facility designated by the commissioner of the 
  3.20  pollution control agency.  The commissioner of revenue's 
  3.21  authority under this section to waive the taxes expires for 
  3.22  waste transported to the designated facilities after July 25, 
  3.23  2001. 
  3.24     Sec. 7.  [PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENTS; PROPERTY DAMAGED BY 
  3.25  TORNADO.] 
  3.26     Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORIZATION.] Notwithstanding the 
  3.27  requirements of Minnesota Statutes, section 375.192, a city 
  3.28  council by resolution may request the county board of a 
  3.29  qualified county to grant abatements on eligible property for 
  3.30  taxes payable in 2000 and 2001 as provided in this section.  The 
  3.31  full amount of taxes payable in 2000 on an eligible property may 
  3.32  be abated.  Up to 50 percent of the taxes payable in 2001 on an 
  3.33  eligible property that does not qualify for reimbursement under 
  3.34  Minnesota Statutes, section 273.123, subdivision 4, may be 
  3.35  abated.  The owner of the eligible property is not required to 
  3.36  apply for the abatement. 
  4.1      Subd. 2.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) As used in this section, the 
  4.2   terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings given them. 
  4.3      (b) "Qualified county" means any county in the area added 
  4.4   to the Presidential Declaration of Major Disaster, DR1333, by 
  4.5   amendment number 5 dated July 28, 2000, and amendment number 6 
  4.6   dated August 14, 2000. 
  4.7      (c) "Eligible property" means a parcel of taxable property 
  4.8   located in a qualified county that contains a structure that has 
  4.9   been determined by the assessor to have lost over 50 percent of 
  4.10  its estimated market value due to wind damage.  In the case of 
  4.11  agricultural property, the abatement is limited to the taxes on 
  4.12  the parcel attributable to the value of the house, garage, and 
  4.13  surrounding one acre, if the house has lost over 50 percent of 
  4.14  its estimated market value; and the tax attributable to the 
  4.15  value of any farm buildings and structures that have lost over 
  4.16  50 percent of their estimated market value. 
  4.17     Subd. 3.  [ASSESSORS' DUTIES.] As soon as practicable, 
  4.18  local and county assessors in qualified counties shall notify 
  4.19  the county board and property owners of parcels of eligible 
  4.20  property. 
  4.21     Sec. 8.  [VALUATION EXCLUSION FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO CERTAIN 
  4.22  BUSINESS PROPERTY.] 
  4.23     (a) Property classified under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  4.24  273.13, subdivision 24, which is eligible for the preferred 
  4.25  class rate on the market value up to $150,000, shall qualify for 
  4.26  a valuation exclusion for assessment purposes, provided all of 
  4.27  the following conditions are met: 
  4.28     (1) the building must be damaged by the tornadoes of July 
  4.29  25, 2000; 
  4.30     (2) the building must be located within an area added to 
  4.31  the Presidential Declaration of Major Disaster, DR1333, by 
  4.32  amendment number 5 dated July 28, 2000, and amendment number 6 
  4.33  dated August 14, 2000, as eligible for federal aid due to the 
  4.34  tornadoes of July 25, 2000; 
  4.35     (3) the total estimated market value of the land and 
  4.36  buildings must be $150,000 or less prior to the damage caused by 
  5.1   the tornadoes of July 25, 2000; 
  5.2      (4) a building permit must have been issued prior to the 
  5.3   commencement of the improvement, or if the building is located 
  5.4   in a city or town that does not have a building permit process, 
  5.5   the property owner must notify the assessor prior to the 
  5.6   commencement of the improvement; 
  5.7      (5) the property, including its improvements, has received 
  5.8   no public assistance, grants, or financing; 
  5.9      (6) the property is not receiving a property tax abatement 
  5.10  under Minnesota Statutes, section 469.1813; and 
  5.11     (7) the improvements are made after July 25, 2000, and 
  5.12  prior to July 1, 2001. 
  5.13     (b) The assessor shall estimate the market value of the 
  5.14  building in the assessment year immediately following the year 
  5.15  that (1) the building permit was taken out, or (2) the taxpayer 
  5.16  notified the assessor that an improvement was to be made.  If 
  5.17  the estimated market value of the building has increased over 
  5.18  the prior year's assessment, the assessor shall note the amount 
  5.19  of the increase on the property's record, and that amount shall 
  5.20  be subtracted from the value of the property in each year for 
  5.21  five years after the improvement has been made, at which time an 
  5.22  amount equal to 20 percent of the excluded value shall be added 
  5.23  back in each of the five subsequent assessment years. 
  5.24     (c) For any property, there can be no more than two 
  5.25  improvements qualifying for exclusion under this subdivision.  
  5.26  The maximum amount of value that can be excluded from any 
  5.27  property under this subdivision is $50,000. 
  5.28     (d) The assessor shall require an application.  
  5.29  Applications must be received prior to July 1 of any year in 
  5.30  order to be effective for taxes payable in the following year. 
  5.31     Sec. 9.  [DELAY OF FINANCIAL REPORT FILING; DISASTER 
  5.32  AREAS.] 
  5.33     For any city or town located in whole or in part within a 
  5.34  county that is eligible for assistance under section 1 due to 
  5.35  the tornadoes of July 25, 2000, the deadline by which financial 
  5.36  reports are required to be filed under Minnesota Statutes, 
  6.1   section 471.697 or 471.698, is extended by 90 days. 
  6.2      Sec. 10.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  6.3      Except as otherwise provided in this act, this act is 
  6.4   effective the day following its final enactment.