1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to agricultural assistance; providing 
  1.3             payments to certain farmers and property tax relief to 
  1.4             certain livestock producers; appropriating money. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE IN 1999.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) The definitions in this 
  1.8   subdivision apply to this section. 
  1.9      (b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of revenue. 
  1.10     (c) "Farm service agency" means the United States Farm 
  1.11  Service Agency. 
  1.12     (d) "Farmer" means a person who produces an agricultural 
  1.13  crop or livestock and is certified by the farm service agency as 
  1.14  bearing a percentage of the risk for the production operation. 
  1.15     (e) "Livestock" means cattle, hogs, poultry, and sheep. 
  1.16     Subd. 2.  [PAYMENT TO FARMERS.] The commissioner shall pay 
  1.17  $4 to every farmer who is a Minnesota resident and who applies 
  1.18  for the payment by May 1, 1999, and qualifies for the payment, 
  1.19  for every acre in Minnesota on which the farmer produced an 
  1.20  agricultural crop certified by the farm service agency by 
  1.21  December 31, 1998.  The commissioner shall prepare application 
  1.22  forms for the payment and ensure that they are available 
  1.23  throughout the state.  To receive a payment under this 
  1.24  subdivision, a farmer must include with the application a 
  1.25  certification from the farm service agency of the number of 
  2.1   acres farmed including any percentage of risk for particular 
  2.2   acres. 
  2.3      Subd. 3.  [LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS.] A person who operates a 
  2.4   livestock production facility on 160 acres or less may elect to 
  2.5   participate in the payment program in subdivision 2 or apply for 
  2.6   the agricultural property tax credit in subdivisions 4 to 9. 
  2.7      Subd. 4.  [CREDIT.] For a person who is eligible under 
  2.8   subdivision 3 who elects to participate in this program, 
  2.9   property taxes due and payable in 1999 on class 1b agricultural 
  2.10  homestead property, class 2a agricultural homestead property, or 
  2.11  class 2b(3) agricultural nonhomestead property as defined in 
  2.12  Minnesota Statutes, section 273.13, except for the portion of 
  2.13  the tax attributable to the house, garage, and surrounding acre 
  2.14  of land, are eligible for the credit under subdivisions 4 to 9.  
  2.15  The credit equals the full amount of the tax payment due on May 
  2.16  15, 1999, except the portion of the tax attributable to the 
  2.17  house, garage, and surrounding acre of land, and except that if 
  2.18  a portion of the property was leased for the 1998 agricultural 
  2.19  production year, the credit amount shall be prorated so that 
  2.20  only the portion of the property which was not leased for the 
  2.21  1998 agricultural production year qualifies for the credit.  
  2.22  Only property owned by a resident of the state of Minnesota is 
  2.23  eligible for the credit under subdivisions 4 to 9. 
  2.24     Subd. 5.  [CERTIFICATION.] The commissioner of revenue 
  2.25  shall develop a form for use by the county auditors to ascertain 
  2.26  qualification for the credit under subdivisions 4 to 9 by 
  2.27  February 15, 1999.  The form shall require the property owner to 
  2.28  certify that the owner is a resident of the state of Minnesota, 
  2.29  and the percentage of the property, if any, that was leased to 
  2.30  anyone for the 1998 agricultural production year.  The county 
  2.31  auditor shall send the form by March 1, 1999, to all owners of 
  2.32  agricultural property in the county who potentially qualify for 
  2.33  the credit under subdivision 4.  In order to receive the credit, 
  2.34  the owner must file the form with the county auditor by April 
  2.35  15, 1999. 
  2.36     Subd. 6.  [VERIFICATION.] The county auditor shall verify 
  3.1   all forms submitted for accuracy, and shall determine the amount 
  3.2   of the credit for all qualifying properties in the county.  By 
  3.3   May 1, 1999, the auditor shall notify all applicants of the 
  3.4   amount of the credit and, if applicable, the remaining property 
  3.5   tax amount due by May 15, 1999.  If the May 15 installment has 
  3.6   already been paid on the property, the county shall deduct the 
  3.7   credit amount computed under subdivisions 4 to 9 from the amount 
  3.8   due on November 15, 1999. 
  3.9      Subd. 7.  [STATE REIMBURSEMENT.] By June 1, 1999, the 
  3.10  county auditor shall submit a listing of all credits issued 
  3.11  under subdivisions 4 to 9 to the commissioner of revenue on a 
  3.12  form prescribed by the commissioner.  By June 15, 1999, the 
  3.13  commissioner shall remit a payment to each county treasurer 
  3.14  equal to the total amount of property tax credits issued under 
  3.15  subdivisions 4 to 9.  The treasurer shall treat these payments 
  3.16  in the same manner as if they were property tax receipts. 
  3.17     Subd. 8.  [PROPERTY TAX REFUND AND SPECIAL PROPERTY TAX 
  3.18  REFUND.] Taxpayers benefiting from the credit under subdivisions 
  3.19  4 to 9 must deduct the amount of the credit from the net 
  3.20  property taxes payable when applying for a property tax refund 
  3.21  under Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 290A.04, subdivision 2, 
  3.22  or a special property tax refund under Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
  3.23  section 290A.04, subdivision 2h. 
  3.24     Subd. 9.  [APPROPRIATION.] (a) The amount necessary to make 
  3.25  the payments required under subdivisions 4 to 8 is appropriated 
  3.26  from the general fund in the state treasury to the commissioner 
  3.27  of revenue for fiscal year 1999. 
  3.28     (b) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 is appropriated to the 
  3.29  commissioner of revenue for distribution to counties for the 
  3.30  costs of administering subdivisions 4 to 9. 
  3.31     Subd. 10.  [LIMIT.] No person may receive a payment under 
  3.32  subdivision 2 or a property tax credit under subdivisions 4 to 9 
  3.33  that exceeds $10,000. 
  3.34     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.35     $....... is appropriated from the general fund in the state 
  3.36  treasury to the commissioner of revenue to make the payments 
  4.1   required by section 1, subdivision 2.  Of this amount, $....... 
  4.2   is for the costs of administering the payment program.  This 
  4.3   appropriation is available until June 30, 2000. 
  4.4      Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.5      This act is effective the day following final enactment.