1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to state lands; modifying certain tax-forfeited land sale requirements;
1.3 amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 85.012, subdivision 1; 282.01,
1.4 subdivision 3; 282.011, subdivision 1; 282.018, subdivision 1; 282.02; 459.06,
1.5 subdivision 3.
1.6BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.7 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 85.012, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.8 Subdivision 1.State parks generally.(a) State parks established and confirmed as state
1.9parks together with the counties in which they are situated are listed in this section and shall
1.10be named as indicated in this section.
1.11 (b) The lands described in the session laws establishing or changing the boundaries of
1.12each state park are included in the state parks so established or changed. The commissioner
1.13of natural resources is authorized to acquire by gift or purchase the lands as described. Any
1.14land which now is or hereafter becomes tax-forfeited land and is located within the described
1.15park boundaries is hereby withdrawn from sale and is transferred from the custody, control,
1.16and supervision of the county board of the county to the commissioner of natural resources,
1.17free from any trust in favor of the interested taxing districts. The commissioner shall execute
1.18a certificate of acceptance of the lands on behalf of the state for such purposes and transmit
1.19the same to the county auditor of the county for record as provided by law in the case of
1.20tax-forfeited land transferred to the commissioner by resolution of the county board for
1.21conservation purposes. Any lands within the described boundaries which may be owned by
1.22the United States and managed by any of its agents may be acquired by land exchange,
1.23direct transfer, or purchase as federal laws may prescribe. The lands acquired pursuant to
1Section 1.
25-00922 as introduced12/05/24 REVISOR CKM/DG
SENATE
STATE OF MINNESOTA
S.F. No. 28NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
(SENATE AUTHORS: GREEN)
OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE
Introduction and first reading01/16/2025
Referred to Environment, Climate, and Legacy 2.1any session laws establishing or changing the boundaries of a state park shall be administered
2.2in the manner provided for state parks and shall be perpetually dedicated for such use.
2.3 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 282.01, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
2.4 Subd. 3.Nonconservation lands; appraisal and sale.(a) All parcels of land classified
2.5as nonconservation, except those which may be reserved, shall be sold as provided, if it is
2.6determined, by the county board of the county in which the parcels lie, that it is advisable
2.7to do so, having in mind their accessibility, their proximity to existing public improvements,
2.8and the effect of their sale and occupancy on the public burdens. Any parcels of land proposed
2.9to be sold shall be first appraised by the county board of the county in which the parcels
2.10lie. The parcels may be reappraised whenever the county board deems it necessary to carry
2.11out the intent of sections 282.01 to 282.13.
2.12 (b) In an appraisal, the value of the land and any standing timber on it shall may be
2.13separately determined. No parcel of land containing any standing timber may be sold until
2.14the appraised value of the timber on it and the sale of the land have been approved by the
2.15commissioner of natural resources county board. The commissioner shall base review of a
2.16proposed sale on the policy and considerations specified in subdivision 1. The decision of
2.17the commissioner shall be in writing and shall state the reasons for it. The commissioner's
2.18decision is exempt from the rulemaking provisions of chapter 14 and section 14.386 does
2.19not apply. The county may appeal the decision of the commissioner in accordance with
2.20chapter 14.
2.21 (c) In any county in which a state forest or any part of it is located, the county auditor
2.22shall submit to the commissioner at least 60 days before the first publication of the list of
2.23lands to be offered for sale a list of all lands included on the list which are situated outside
2.24of any incorporated municipality. If, at any time before the opening of the sale, the
2.25commissioner notifies the county auditor in writing that there is standing timber on any
2.26parcel of land, the parcel shall not be sold unless the requirements of this section respecting
2.27the separate appraisal of the timber and the approval of the appraisal by the commissioner
2.28have been complied with. The commissioner may waive the requirement of the 60-day
2.29notice as to any parcel of land which has been examined and the timber value approved as
2.30required by this section.
2.31 (d) (c) If any public improvement is made by a municipality after any parcel of land has
2.32been forfeited to the state for the nonpayment of taxes, and the improvement is assessed in
2.33whole or in part against the property benefited by it, the clerk of the municipality shall
2.34certify to the county auditor, immediately upon the determination of the assessments for
2Sec. 2.
25-00922 as introduced12/05/24 REVISOR CKM/DG 3.1the improvement, the total amount that would have been assessed against the parcel of land
3.2if it had been subject to assessment; or if the public improvement is made, petitioned for,
3.3ordered in or assessed, whether the improvement is completed in whole or in part, at any
3.4time between the appraisal and the sale of the parcel of land, the cost of the improvement
3.5shall be included as a separate item and added to the appraised value of the parcel of land
3.6at the time it is sold. No sale of a parcel of land shall discharge or free the parcel of land
3.7from lien for the special benefit conferred upon it by reason of the public improvement until
3.8the cost of it, including penalties, if any, is paid. The county board shall determine through
3.9an appraisal the amount, if any, by which the value of the parcel was enhanced by the
3.10improvement and include the amount as a separate item in fixing the appraised value for
3.11the purpose of sale.
3.12 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 282.011, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
3.13 Subdivision 1.Classification, sale, procedures and conditions.Any lands which have
3.14become the absolute property of the state through forfeiture for nonpayment of taxes and
3.15which have been classified by the county board as conservation lands under the provisions
3.16of section 282.01, or have been classified as nonagricultural lands under the provisions of
3.17section 282.14, or any such lands which shall hereafter be so classified, may be designated
3.18by the county board of the county in which such lands lie, by resolution duly adopted, as
3.19appropriate and primarily suitable for either specific conservation purposes or for auxiliary
3.20forest lands. Any resolution so adopted, together with a list of the lands involved shall be
3.21forwarded to the commissioner of natural resources who shall promptly approve or disapprove
3.22the whole or any part thereof. The commissioner shall thereupon make a certificate showing
3.23the lands approved, transmit the same to the county auditor who shall record the same.
3.24Lands so designated and so approved shall thereupon be appraised and the whole, or any
3.25part thereof, may be offered for sale and sold in the same manner as provided for the sale
3.26of lands classified as nonconservation lands under section 282.01, or as agricultural lands
3.27under section 282.14, as the case may be, according to the status of such lands upon forfeiture.
3.28The right to a deed of conveyance to such property accorded the purchaser at any such sale
3.29shall may be conditioned upon the lands being placed in an auxiliary forest or used for
3.30designated conservation purposes as designated by the resolution of the county board.
3.31 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 282.018, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
3.32 Subdivision 1.Land on or adjacent to public waters.(a) All land which that is the
3.33property of the state as a result of forfeiture to the state for nonpayment of taxes, regardless
3.34of whether the land is held in trust for taxing districts, and which that borders on or is
3Sec. 4.
25-00922 as introduced12/05/24 REVISOR CKM/DG 4.1adjacent to meandered lakes and other public waters and watercourses, and the live timber
4.2growing or being thereon, is hereby withdrawn from sale may be sold, except as hereinafter
4.3provided, if the authority having jurisdiction over the land determines that it is in the public
4.4interest to do so. The authority having jurisdiction over the timber on any of these lands
4.5may sell the timber as otherwise provided by law for cutting and removal under the conditions
4.6as the authority may prescribe in accordance with approved, sustained yield forestry practices.
4.7The authority having jurisdiction over the timber shall may reserve the timber and impose
4.8the conditions as the authority deems necessary for the protection of watersheds, wildlife
4.9habitat, shorelines, and scenic features. Within the area in Cook, Lake, and St. Louis counties
4.10described in the Act of Congress approved July 10, 1930 (46 Stat. 1020), the timber on
4.11tax-forfeited lands shall be subject to like restrictions as are now imposed by that act on
4.12federal lands.
4.13 (b) Of all tax-forfeited land bordering on or adjacent to meandered lakes and other public
4.14waters and watercourses and so withdrawn from sale, a strip two rods in width, the ordinary
4.15high-water mark being the waterside boundary thereof, and the land side boundary thereof
4.16being a line drawn parallel to the ordinary high-water mark and two rods distant landward
4.17therefrom, hereby is may be reserved for public travel thereon, and whatever the conformation
4.18of the shore line or conditions require, the authority having jurisdiction over these lands
4.19shall may reserve a wider strip for these purposes.
4.20 (c) Any tract or parcel of land which has 150 feet or less of waterfront may be sold by
4.21the authority having jurisdiction over the land, in the manner otherwise provided by law
4.22for the sale of the lands, if the authority determines that it is in the public interest to do so.
4.23Any tract or parcel of land within a plat of record bordering on or adjacent to meandered
4.24lakes and other public waters and watercourses may be sold by the authority having
4.25jurisdiction over the land, in the manner otherwise provided by law for the sale of the lands,
4.26if the authority determines that it is in the public interest to do so. If the authority having
4.27jurisdiction over the land is not the commissioner of natural resources, the land may not be
4.28offered for sale without the prior approval of the commissioner of natural resources.
4.29 (d) Where the authority having jurisdiction over lands withdrawn from sale under this
4.30section is not the commissioner of natural resources, the authority may submit proposals
4.31for disposition of the lands to the commissioner. The commissioner of natural resources
4.32shall evaluate the lands and their public benefits and make recommendations on the proposed
4.33dispositions to the committees of the legislature with jurisdiction over natural resources.
4.34The commissioner shall include any recommendations of the commissioner for disposition
4.35of lands withdrawn from sale under this section over which the commissioner has jurisdiction.
4Sec. 4.
25-00922 as introduced12/05/24 REVISOR CKM/DG 5.1The commissioner's recommendations may include a public sale, sale to a private party,
5.2acquisition by the Department of Natural Resources for public purposes, or a cooperative
5.3management agreement with, or transfer to, another unit of government.
5.4 (e) Notwithstanding this subdivision, a county may sell property governed by this section
5.5upon written authorization from the commissioner of natural resources. Prior to the sale or
5.6conveyance of lands under this subdivision, the county board must give notice of its intent
5.7to meet for that purpose as provided in section 282.01, subdivision 1.
5.8 Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 282.02, is amended to read:
5.9 282.02 LIST OF LANDS FOR SALE; NOTICE; ONLINE AUCTIONS
5.10PERMITTED.
5.11 (a) Immediately after classification and appraisal of the land, and after approval by the
5.12commissioner of natural resources when required pursuant to section 282.01, subdivision
5.133, the county board shall provide and file with the county auditor a list of parcels of land to
5.14be offered for sale. This list shall contain a description of the parcels of land and the appraised
5.15value thereof. The auditor shall publish a notice of the intended public sale of such parcels
5.16of land and a copy of the resolution of the county board fixing the terms of the sale, if other
5.17than for cash only, by publication once a week for two weeks in the official newspaper of
5.18the county, the last publication to be not less than ten days previous to the commencement
5.19of the sale.
5.20 (b) The notice shall include the parcel's description and appraised value. The notice shall
5.21also indicate the amount of any special assessments which may be the subject of a
5.22reassessment or new assessment or which may result in the imposition of a fee or charge
5.23pursuant to sections 429.071, subdivision 4, 435.23, and 444.076. The county auditor shall
5.24also mail notice to the owners of land adjoining the parcel to be sold. For purposes of this
5.25section, "owner" means the taxpayer as listed in the records of the county auditor.
5.26 (c) If the county board determines that the sale shall take place in a county facility other
5.27than the courthouse, the notice shall specify the facility and its location. If the county board
5.28determines that the sale shall take place as an online auction under section 282.01, subdivision
5.2913, the notice shall specify the auction website and the date of the auction.
5.30 (d) A county board may require one or more of the parcels of land listed for sale to be
5.31subject to taxation by prohibiting an individual or entity with tax-exempt status from
5.32purchasing the property. The notice of intended sale for a parcel with this prohibition must
5.33state that the prohibition applies to the parcel.
5Sec. 5.
25-00922 as introduced12/05/24 REVISOR CKM/DG 6.1 Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 459.06, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
6.2 Subd. 3.Withdrawal of tax-forfeited lands.Any tax-forfeited land which has been
6.3included in a memorial forest established in any county under the provisions of subdivision
6.42, and which is found more suitable for other purposes may by resolution of the county
6.5board be withdrawn from the forest for disposal as tax-forfeited land if the commissioner
6.6of natural resources approves the sale of such land.
6Sec. 6.
25-00922 as introduced12/05/24 REVISOR CKM/DG