1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to capital improvements; authorizing the
1.3 	issuance of state bonds; appropriating money to the
1.4 	commissioner of employment and economic development
1.5 	for transfer to the redevelopment account; amending
1.6 	Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 116J.571; 116J.572,
1.7 	subdivision 2; 116J.573; 116J.575, subdivision 1.
1.8 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.9 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 116J.571, is
1.10 	amended to read:
1.11 	116J.571 CREATION OF ACCOUNTS.
1.12 	Two greater Minnesota redevelopment accounts are created,
1.13 	one in the general fund and one in the bond proceeds fund.
1.14 	Money in the accounts may be used to make grants as provided in
1.15 	section 116J.575.  Money in the bond proceeds fund may only be
1.16 	used for eligible costs for publicly owned property.  Money in
1.17 	the general fund may be used to pay for the commissioner's costs
1.18 	in reviewing the applications.

1.19 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 116J.572,
1.20 	subdivision 2, is amended to read:
1.21 		Subd. 2.Development authority.  "Development authority"
1.22 	includes a statutory or home rule charter city, county, housing
1.23 	and redevelopment authority, economic development authority, or
1.24 	port authority located outside the seven-county metropolitan
1.25 	area, as defined in section 473.121, subdivision 2.

1.26 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 116J.573, is
2.1 	amended to read:
2.2 	116J.573 CRITERIA FOR ACCOUNTS AND PROJECTS.
2.3 		Subdivision 1.Accounts. Criteria for use of the
2.4 	accounts created in section 116J.571 must be consistent with and
2.5 	promote the purposes of sections 116J.571 to 116J.575.  They
2.6 	include, but are not limited to:
2.7 	(1) creating and preserving living wage jobs in greater
2.8 	Minnesota;
2.9 	(2) creating incentives for communities to include a full
2.10 	range of housing opportunities;
2.11 	(3) creating incentives for all communities to implement
2.12 	compact, efficient, and mixed-use development; and
2.13 	(4) creating incentives to assist communities in
2.14 	maintaining a unique sense of place by preserving local,
2.15 	cultural assets.
2.16 		Subd. 2.Projects. To be eligible for funding by the
2.17 	greater Minnesota redevelopment account, a project must:
2.18 	(1) interrelate redevelopment with other public investments
2.19 	in transportation, housing, schools, energy, utilities
2.20 	information infrastructure, and other public services;
2.21 	(2) interrelate affordable housing and employment growth
2.22 	areas;
2.23 	(3) intensify land use that leads to more compact
2.24 	redevelopment;
2.25 	(4) involve redevelopment that mixes incomes of residents
2.26 	in housing, including introducing or reintroducing higher value
2.27 	housing in lower income areas to achieve a mix of housing
2.28 	opportunities;
2.29 	(5) involve participation from citizens and the business
2.30 	community in the planning and development of the proposed
2.31 	redevelopment plan;
2.32 	(6) encourage public infrastructure investments which
2.33 	attract private sector redevelopment investment in commercial,
2.34 	industrial, and residential properties adjacent to public
2.35 	improvements, and provide project area residents with expanded
2.36 	opportunities for private sector employment; or
3.1 	(7) be sustainable at the local level and reduce the
3.2 	probability of future requests for state development,
3.3 	maintenance, or replacement assistance.
3.4 		Subd. 3.Other factors. The factors listed in
3.5 	subdivisions 1 and 2 are not ranked in order of priority.
3.6 	Rather, the commissioner may weigh each factor depending upon
3.7 	the facts and circumstances as the commissioner considers
3.8 	appropriate.  The commissioner may consider other factors
3.9 	including, but not limited to, blight reduction, community
3.10 	stabilization, and property tax base maintenance or improvement.
3.11 		Subd. 4.Partnerships. The commissioner shall give
3.12 	priority to proposals using innovative financial partnerships
3.13 	between government, private for-profit, and nonprofit sectors as
3.14 	well as to proposals that meet current tax increment financing
3.15 	requirements for a redevelopment district and contribute tax
3.16 	increment financing towards the project.
3.17 		Subd. 5.Annual report. The commissioner shall prepare
3.18 	and submit to the legislature an annual report on the greater
3.19 	Minnesota redevelopment account.  The report must include
3.20 	information on the amount of money in the account, the amount
3.21 	distributed, to whom the grants were distributed and for what
3.22 	purposes, and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the projects
3.23 	funded in meeting the policies and goals of the program.

3.24 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 116J.575,
3.25 	subdivision 1, is amended to read:
3.26 		Subdivision 1.Commissioner discretion.  The commissioner
3.27 	may make a grant for up to 50 percent of the eligible costs of a
3.28 	project. The commissioner shall, in each grant cycle, make
3.29 	grants so that 50 percent of the dollar value of grants for that
3.30 	cycle are for projects located outside of the seven-county
3.31 	metropolitan area as defined in section 473.121, subdivision 2,
3.32 	and 50 percent are for projects located within the seven-county
3.33 	metropolitan area.  This allocation of grant funds does not
3.34 	apply for any grant cycle in which the applications received by
3.35 	the application deadline are insufficient to permit the equal
3.36 	division of grants between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan
4.1 	projects.The determination of whether to make a grant for a
4.2 	site is within the discretion of the commissioner, subject to
4.3 	this section and sections 116J.571 to 116J.574 and available
4.4 	unencumbered money in the greater Minnesota redevelopment
4.5 	account.  The commissioner's decisions and application of the
4.6 	priorities under this section are not subject to judicial
4.7 	review, except for abuse of discretion.

4.8 	Sec. 5. APPROPRIATION.
 4.9 	$20,000,000 is appropriated from the bond proceeds fund to
4.10 	the commissioner of employment and economic development for
4.11 	transfer to the redevelopment account created in Minnesota
4.12 	Statutes, section 116J.571.

4.13 	Sec. 6. BOND SALE.
 4.14 	To provide the money appropriated in this act from the bond
4.15 	proceeds fund, the commissioner of finance shall sell and issue
4.16 	bonds of the state in an amount up to $20,000,000 in the manner,
4.17 	upon the terms, and with the effect prescribed by Minnesota
4.18 	Statutes, sections 16A.631 to 16A.675, and by the Minnesota
4.19 	Constitution, article XI, sections 4 to 7.

4.20 	Sec. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
 4.21 	Sections 1 to 6 are effective the day following final
4.22 	enactment.