Legalectric

HF 2228 was amended the last day of session to include hundreds of lines of Tax Omnibus Language from HF 785, and it was passed by both House and Senate and is on the Governor’s desk to be signed.

Sen. Dick Day and Rep. Connie Ruth “authored” this part of the bill, which covers the Simon Industries power plant near Waseca. What’s disturbing is that the language is so different from similar bills — it doesn’t protect the rights of their constituent local governments to negotiate Host Fee Agreements!

LOOK AT LINES 146.3-146.5 – only COUNTY mentioned !!!

145.19 Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 272.02, is
145.20 amended by adding a subdivision to read:
145.21 Subd. 72. [ELECTRIC GENERATION FACILITY PERSONAL
145.22 PROPERTY.] (a) Notwithstanding subdivision 9, clause (a),
145.23 attached machinery and other personal property which is part of
145.24 either a simple-cycle, combustion-turbine electric generation
145.25 facility, or a combined-cycle, combustion-turbine electric
145.26 generation facility that does not exceed 325 megawatts of
145.27 installed capacity and that meets the requirements of this
145.28 subdivision is exempt. At the time of construction, the
145.29 facility must:
145.30 (1) utilize either a simple-cycle or a combined-cycle
145.31 combustion-turbine generator fueled by natural gas;
145.32 (2) be connected to an existing 115-kilovolt high-voltage
145.33 electric transmission line that is within two miles of the
145.34 facility;
145.35 (3) be located on an underground natural gas storage
145.36 aquifer;
146.1 (4) be designed as either a peaking or intermediate load
146.2 facility; and
146.3 (5) have received, by resolution, the approval from the
146.4 governing body of the county for the exemption of personal
146.5 property under this subdivision.
146.6 (b) Construction of the facility must be commenced after
146.7 January 1, 2006, and before January 1, 2008. Property eligible
146.8 for this exemption does not include electric transmission lines
146.9 and interconnections or gas pipelines and interconnections
146.10 appurtenant to the property or the facility.
146.11 [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective for assessment
146.12 year 2005, taxes payable in 2006, and thereafter.

Here’s language from the other exemptions in that bill:

(covers county, city and school district)

142.29 (6) have received, by resolution, the approval from the
142.30 governing body of the county, city, and school district in which
142.31 the proposed facility is to be located for the exemption of
142.32 personal property under this subdivision.

(covers host city)

143.23 (b) To qualify under this subdivision, an agreement must be
143.24 negotiated between the municipal power agency and the host city,
143.25 for a payment in lieu of property taxes to the host city.

(covers county and city)

144.14 (5) have received, by resolution, the approval from the
144.15 governing body of the county and the city for the exemption of
144.16 personal property under this subdivision.

(covers county and township)

145.7 (6) have received by resolution the approval from the
145.8 governing body of the county and township in which the proposed
145.9 facility is to be located for the exemption of personal property
145.10 under this subdivision.

Let’s give Dick Day and Connie Ruth the benefit of the doubt and assume that they “forgot” to mention the township, and that they “forgot” to require a host fee agreement in the bills they “authored,” even though other bills show how it’s done! But there’s no way that they “forgot” that their constituent communities, Waseca County and Blooming Grove Township, have passed resolutions requiring a Host Fee Agreement! They’ve been sent copies of these resolutions and newspaper articles how many times now???

Blooming Grove Township: Speaking up on power plant issue

County rescinds first resolution and passes another requiring host fee agreement!!

This bill does not represent the intent of the local governments.

Who are you representing, Dick Day and Connie Ruth? Why aren’t you protecting your constituents and making sure that the legislation matches their intent? In this legislation, only the county has power of approval and host fee agreements for both county and township aren’t even mentioned!

Call Dick Day at (651) 296-9457 and Connie Ruth at (651) 296-5368 and tell them to fix their error!