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| Date: | April 15, 2011 | | Contact Name: | Chris Van Guilder | | Contact Phone: | 651-296-1388 | | Contact Email: | christopher.vanguilder@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| SENATOR MILLER APPLAUDS GOVERNOR DAYTON FOR SIGNING GREEN ACRES REFORM |
St. Paul – Senator Jeremy Miller’s (R-Winona) legislation intended to reform Minnesota’s problematic Green Acres program was signed into law by Governor Dayton Friday morning. The legislation, House File 12 (Senate File 222), is intended to protect farmers from rising property taxes due to nearby commercial and residential development. Senator Miller was the chief Senate author.
The bill extends the enrollment deadline for 2011 from May 1 to August 1 to allow landowners added time to apply for the revised program.
Senator Miller commented Friday:
“Today was a great day for farming and agriculture in the State of Minnesota. Farming and agriculture is the heartbeat of many local communities, and it is still the economic driver in the State of Minnesota. We need to do everything we can to promote this industry, and this legislation is one way to help accomplish that. This bill proves again our trust in the farmers and individuals who work their land to know what it is best suited for.
“We firmly believe that this is the appropriate adjustment and I thank my colleagues and those who helped in this effort. I also thank Governor Dayton for recognizing the bi-partisan support of this bill by signing it into law.”
Green Acres was originally passed in 1967 to prevent the premature development of farmland through tax deferment benefits. In 2008, due to perceptions that some of the enrolled land may not have been the type of land the legislation was intended to protect, legislators altered the program by instituting the Rural Preserve program. These changes did not have the desired effect. Instead, they created additional costs to implement the changes, irregular and inconsistent application, and significant increases in property taxes for many land owners.
The legislation includes the following Rural Preserve modifications:
• Extension of the 2011 Rural Preserve enrollment deadline from May 1 to August 1, allowing landowners added time to apply for the revised program.
• Provision to allow land removed from Green Acres after the 2008 changes to be reinstated to the Green Acres Program or the Rural Preserve Program at the owner's request.
• Requirement that the Commissioner of Revenue consider alternative methodologies for valuing property in the Green Acres and Rural Preserve programs.
• The elimination of the eight-year irrevocable covenant.
• Elimination of the conservation assessment plan, previously required for enrollment.
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