Amendment SSA1-SB388

LRBs0142/2

EM/KRP/JK/MD/MS:all

2017 - 2018 LEGISLATURE

SENATE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1, TO SENATE BILL 388

October 19, 2017 - Offered by Senator Tiffany.

SB388-SSA1,2,12 An Act to repeal 227.115 (5); to renumber and amend 59.692 (1k) (a) 2., 66.1105 (2) (ab) and 227.115 (2); to amend 13.099 (2), 13.099 (3) (title), 13.099 (3) (a) (intro.), 13.099 (3) (a) 2., 13.099 (3) (a) 3., 13.099 (3) (b), 66.0617 (7), 66.10015 (2) (b), 66.1105 (2) (f) 3. (intro.), 66.1105 (4) (c), 66.1105 (4) (gm) 4. a., 66.1105 (4) (gm) 4. bm., 66.1105 (4) (gm) 6., 66.1105 (4m) (b) 2., 66.1105 (6) (a) 8., 66.1105 (6) (g) 3., 70.05 (4m), 70.47 (1), 70.47 (7) (aa), 70.47 (7) (af), 227.115 (2) (title), 227.115 (3) (title), 227.115 (3) (a) (intro.), 227.115 (3) (a) 2., 227.115 (3) (a) 3., 227.115 (3) (b), 227.15 (1) and 706.05 (2m) (b) 1.; to repeal and recreate 227.115 (1) and 227.19 (3) (g); and to create 13.099 (3) (a) 6., 13.099 (3) (c), 13.099 (3) (d), 59.692 (1k) (a) 2. c., 66.1105 (2) (n) 1., 66.1105 (2) (n) 2., 66.1105 (2) (o), 66.1105 (4) (gm) 4. am., 66.1105 (6) (a) 14., 66.1105 (7) (ak) 5., 70.05 (4n), 101.63 (5m), 227.115 (2) (b), 227.115 (3) (a) 6., 227.115 (3) (c), 227.115 (3) (d), 348.16 (3) (d) and 349.16 (3) (d) of the statutes; relating to: review by the Department of Safety and Professional Services of the state electrical wiring code applicable to one-family and two-family dwellings; the legal description required for recording an easement for the construction, operation, or maintenance of sewer lines or facilities; land development; effect of changes in requirements for development-related permits or authorizations on persons who apply for the permits or authorizations; exempting certain vehicles delivering propane from class B highway weight limitations and certain special or seasonal weight limitations; a property owner's right to refuse entry into his or her home for assessment purposes; reviews of and reports on bills and proposed administrative rules that affect housing; maintenance and construction activities on certain structures under a county shoreland zoning ordinance; and making an appropriation.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

introduction

This substitute amendment makes various changes relating to the following:

1. Review by the Department of Safety and Professional Services of the state electrical wiring code applicable to one-family and two-family dwellings.

2. The legal description required for recording an easement for the construction, operation, or maintenance of sewer lines or facilities.

3. Expanding the use of tax incremental financing for workforce housing development and requiring a reduction in the amount of certain impact fees.

4. The effect of changes in requirements for development-related permits or authorizations on persons who apply for the permits or authorizations.

5. Exempting certain vehicles delivering propane from class B highway weight limitations and certain special or seasonal weight limitations.

6. Reviews of and reports on bills and proposed administrative rules that affect housing.

7. Prohibits a Department of Natural Resources shoreland zoning standard and a county shoreland zoning ordinance from restricting certain maintenance and construction activities with respect to certain structures.

review of state electrical wiring code

This substitute amendment requires the DSPS to review, once every six years, those portions of the state electrical wiring code that apply to one-family and two-family dwellings. In reviewing the code, DSPS must consult with the Uniform Dwelling Code Council and any council or committee created by the secretary of DSPS to advise DSPS regarding the code.

formal requisites for recording sewer easements

This substitute amendment provides that a document that is recorded in the real estate records does not need to contain a full legal description of an easement for the construction, operation, or maintenance of sewer lines or facilities. Under current law, with certain exceptions, a document that affects title to land in this state that is recorded in the real estate records must contain a full legal description of the property affected by the document. One exception provides that a full legal description is not required for a description of an easement for the construction, operation, or maintenance of electric, gas, railroad, water, telecommunications, or telephone lines or facilities. The substitute amendment adds sewers to the types of easements that are not required to have a full legal description.

tax incremental financing, impact fees

This substitute amendment authorizes the creation of workforce housing development tax incremental districts and changes the method of imposing certain impact fees.

Under the current tax incremental financing program, a city or village may create a TID in part of its territory to foster development under certain conditions. Currently, towns and counties also have a limited ability to create a TID under certain limited circumstances. Before a city or village may create a TID, several steps and plans are required. These steps and plans include public hearings on the proposed TID within specified time frames, preparation and adoption by the local planning commission of a proposed project plan for the TID, approval of the proposed project plan by the common council or village board, approval of the city's or village's proposed TID by a joint review board (JRB) that consists of members who represent the overlying taxation districts, and adoption of a resolution by the common council or village board that creates the TID as of a date provided in the resolution.

Also under current law, once a TID has been created, the Department of Revenue calculates the “tax incremental base" value of the TID, which is the equalized value of all taxable property within the TID at the time of its creation. If the development in the TID increases the value of the property in the TID above the base value, a “value increment" is created. That portion of taxes collected on the value increment in excess of the base value is called a “tax increment." The tax increment is placed in a special fund that may be used only to pay back the project costs of the TID.

The project costs of a TID, which are initially incurred by the creating city or village, include public works such as sewers, streets, and lighting systems; financing costs; site preparation costs; and professional service costs. DOR authorizes the allocation of the tax increments until the TID terminates or, generally, 20 years, 23 years, or 27 years after the TID is created, depending on the type of TID and the year in which it was created. Also under current law, a city or village may not generally make expenditures for project costs later than five years before the unextended termination date of the TID. Under certain circumstances, the life of the TID, the expenditure period, and the allocation period may be extended. A TID is required to terminate, under current law and with some exceptions, once its project costs are paid back.

Generally under current law, project costs may be expended to benefit residential development but only certain TIDs for which a project plan was approved before September 30, 1995, or for a mix-use development. With regard to a mixed-use development, lands proposed for newly platted residential use may not exceed 35 percent, by area, of real property within the TID.

Under the substitute amendment, a workforce housing TID may contain only newly platted residential uses, 100 percent of which must be workforce housing. Before such a TID may be created, the JRB must approve the TID by a unanimous vote. For other TIDs, only a majority vote is required. A workforce housing TID has a maximum life of 15 years, and DOR may allocate tax increments for only 15 years.

Also under the substitute amendment, workforce housing is defined to mean housing based on the following two factors, which are subject to the five year average median costs as determined by the U.S. bureau of census:

1. Housing that costs no more than 30 percent of the household's gross median income.

2. The construction cost per housing unit, including rental housing, is no more than 80 percent of the median price for new residential construction in the county.

Under current law, if a city, village, or town imposes an impact fee on a developer to pay for certain capital costs that are necessary to accommodate land development, the ordinance may provide for an exemption from, or a reduction in the amount of, impact fees on land development that provides low-cost housing. Under this substitute amendment, the impact fee exemption or reduction provisions also apply to workforce housing. Current law prevents the shifting of an exemption from or reduction in impact fees to any other development in the land development in which the low-cost housing is located. The substitute amendment applies this provision to workforce housing as well.

development regulation

Under current law, if a project requires more than one approval or approvals from more than one political subdivision and the applicant identifies the full scope of the project at the time of filing the application for the first approval required for the project, the existing requirements applicable in each political subdivision at the time of filing are applicable to all subsequent approvals required for the project.

Under this substitute amendment, for any project that requires an approval, if the applicant identifies the full scope of the project at the time of filing the application for the first approval required for the project, the existing requirements applicable in each political subdivision from which a subsequent approval is necessary at the time of filing are applicable to all subsequent approvals required for the project.

propane transport

Under current law, in general, no person may operate on a highway any vehicle or combination of vehicles that exceeds certain statutory weight limits unless that person obtains a permit issued by the Department of Transportation or a local highway authority. Among the weight limitations are, generally, limitations on the gross weight imposed on the highway by the wheels of any one axle or by consecutive axles of the vehicle. In general, the maximum weight that may be imposed on the highway by one axle is 20,000 pounds and the maximum weight that may be imposed on the highway by two axles is 35,000 pounds if the axles are eight feet apart and 34,000 pounds if the axles are less than eight feet apart.

Also under current law, local highway authorities may impose special or seasonal weight limitations on highways that, because of deterioration or climatic conditions, would likely be seriously damaged or destroyed if limitations were not imposed. For vehicles carrying certain commodities or being used to perform certain services, local highway authorities may set different weight limitations or exempt the vehicles from the special or seasonal weight limitations if an exemption or limitation is in the interest of public health, safety, and welfare.

Local authorities may also designate highways under their jurisdiction as class “B” highways. With limited exceptions, the maximum gross weight and per-axle vehicle weight for vehicles on a class “B” highway is 60 percent of the weight allowed by statute if the vehicles were operating on a highway that is not designated as a class “B” highway.

This substitute amendment provides that special or seasonal weight limitations imposed by a highway authority and class “B” highway weight limitations do not apply to a motor vehicle that is being operated to deliver propane for heating purposes if the gross weight imposed on the highway by the vehicle does not exceed 30,000 pounds, for a vehicle with a single rear axle, or 40,000 pounds, for a vehicle with tandem rear axles, and, if the motor vehicle is a tank vehicle, the tank is loaded to no more than 50 percent of the capacity of the tank. The substitute amendment provides that a tank vehicle must be equipped with a gauge on the tank that shows the amount of propane in the tank as a percent of capacity of the tank and must carry documentation of the capacity of the tank either on the cargo tank or in the cab of the vehicle.

Property owner rights regarding assessments

Current law prohibits a person from appearing before the board of review to contest the assessed value of the person's property if the person has refused a reasonable written request from the assessor to view the property. A person who is prohibited from appearing before the board of review is also barred from filing a claim for an excessive assessment with the taxation district.

This substitute amendment allows a person who has refused an assessor's request to view the interior of a person's residence to appear before the board of review to contest the property's assessed value and, ultimately, to file a claim with the taxation district for an excessive assessment. The substitute amendment also provides that the assessor may not increase the value of a person's property based solely on the person's refusal to allow entry to the assessor. In addition, the substitute amendment requires an assessor to provide written notice to each owner of residential property regarding the property owner's right to refuse entry to his or her residence for property tax assessment purposes. The substitute amendment retains the authority of the assessor under current law to enter onto property to conduct an exterior inspection of the property.

The substitute amendment also requires the board of review to meet at any time during the 45-day period beginning on the fourth Monday of April, but no sooner than seven days after the assessment roll is open for examination, instead of the 30-day period beginning on the second Monday of May, as provided under current law. In addition, the substitute amendment requires a property owner who is asked by the assessor to provide income information to submit that information no later than seven days before the first meeting of the board of review.

reports on bills and rules affecting housing

Current law requires the Department of Administration to prepare a report on any bill or any proposed administrative rule that directly or substantially affects the development, construction, cost, or availability of housing in this state. A report for a bill must be completed within 30 days after the bill affecting housing is introduced, and a report for a proposed rule must be completed within 30 days after the rule is submitted to DOA and must be completed before the rule is submitted to the Legislative Council Staff for review. A report on either a bill or a proposed rule that affects housing must include information on the effect of the bill or proposed rule on the state housing strategy plan, the cost of constructing, rehabilitating, improving, or maintaining housing, the cost and availability of financing to purchase or develop housing, the purchase price of housing, and other housing costs such as rent, utilities and property taxes.

This substitute amendment does all of the following with respect to reports on bills or rules affecting housing:

1. Retitles such a report a “housing impact analysis.”

2. Requires a housing impact analysis for any bill or proposed rule that may increase or decrease, either directly or indirectly, the cost of the development, construction, financing, purchasing, sale, ownership, or availability of housing in this state.

3. Makes various changes to the information and analysis that is required to be included in a housing impact analysis and specifies how that information is expressed in the report.

4. With respect to a housing impact analysis for a proposed rule, requires the agency proposing the rule, rather than DOA, to prepare the housing impact analysis. The substitute amendment also requires that a housing impact analysis be included in an agency's submission to the Legislative Council Staff during the rule-making process and that an agency prepare a revised housing impact analysis if the housing impact of the rule is significantly changed.