1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to taxation; providing that substantially 
  1.3             undervalued property is subject to a recapture of 
  1.4             taxes; providing a penalty for certain local 
  1.5             government employees who fail to report substantial 
  1.6             undervaluations; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
  1.7             section 273.02, by adding a subdivision. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 273.02, is 
  1.10  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 3a.  [SUBSTANTIALLY UNDERVALUED PROPERTY.] (a) If a 
  1.12  county auditor discovers that any real property has been 
  1.13  substantially undervalued, and determines that the owner of the 
  1.14  property had reason to know that the property was substantially 
  1.15  undervalued, the county auditor shall correct the net tax 
  1.16  capacity of the property on the assessment and tax books and 
  1.17  shall extend against the property on the tax list for the 
  1.18  current year all arrearages of taxes that would have accrued 
  1.19  during the six previous years against it if the property had 
  1.20  been valued accurately.  As used in this subdivision, 
  1.21  "substantially undervalued" means having a value determined by 
  1.22  the assessor under section 273.01 that is less than 35 percent 
  1.23  of the correct market value as determined by the assessor at the 
  1.24  time of implementation of this subdivision. 
  1.25     (b) If the owner of a property that has been found by the 
  1.26  auditor to be substantially undervalued pursuant to this 
  2.1   subdivision is an employee of a taxing jurisdiction in which the 
  2.2   property is located, and the owner willfully fails to report the 
  2.3   underassessment to the assessor within 60 days of receipt of the 
  2.4   valuation notice for the property, that willful failure will 
  2.5   constitute an act of misfeasance that could result in the 
  2.6   employee's dismissal, subject to the terms of existing contracts 
  2.7   and agreements. 
  2.8      Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.9      Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment, 
  2.10  and applies to valuations for taxes levied in 1992 and 
  2.11  thereafter.