Property-tax, TIF and local-aid changes in Chapter 13 shift costs and local authorities

Committee members heard that Chapter 13 includes a series of property‑tax and local‑finance changes affecting tribal properties, local abatements and special legislation for named cities.

Mr. Cope summarized Article 2: limits on the property‑tax exemption for charity‑owned housing, new property‑tax exemptions for certain properties owned by Indian tribes and Red Lake Nation College, and modifications to exemptions for electric distribution systems and cooperative systems serving farmers. He said the article also grants local governments authority to offer economic‑development abatements and clarifies property‑tax notice requirements by removing certain fiscal‑disparity adjustments from notices.

Article 5 extended by one year a temporary tax‑increment financing authority enacted in 2021 that had been set to expire in 2025; Mr. Cope identified a list of cities receiving special TIF legislation, including Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Eden Prairie, Edina, Maple Grove, Maplewood, Marshall, Minnetonka, Moorhead, Oakdale, Plymouth, Ramsey, St. Cloud, and St. Paul.

Katrina Highmark described appropriation‑side effects: modest fiscal costs tied to certain tribal exemptions and a Bloomington Port Authority exemption; a land‑bank abatement with small costs; and a 10% reduction in Sustainable Forest Incentive Act payments starting in fiscal 2028–29 (estimated savings of about $3.77 million). Highmark also noted the aquatic invasive species prevention aid was halved and the local government cannabis aid program was closed with transfers back to the general fund.

Members were directed to the committee packet for the detailed line‑by‑line fiscal spreadsheet.