HF3396

Purpose

• Establish a property tax task force to investigate why property taxes are rising across counties, school districts, cities, and towns, and to propose ways to make local government budgets more transparent. This includes ideas to standardize the budget information shown in notices and meetings required by Minnesota law.

Key objectives

• Identify causes of rising property taxes.
• Develop options to improve transparency around local government budgets.
• Consider standardizing information presented in notices and meetings related to property tax issues (as required by Minnesota Statutes section 275.065).

Main provisions (what the bill does)

• Creates a property tax task force with a defined role to advise the legislature on the above goals and to provide any relevant information the task force thinks is needed.
• Requires the Legislative Coordinating Commission to facilitate the task force, provide administrative support, and convene the first meeting by July 15, 2026.
• Requires task force members to be appointed by specific leaders and organizations (see membership section) and to receive compensation or expense reimbursement as allowed by state law.
• Sets a schedule for meetings and transparency requirements, including open public meetings and seven days’ notice for meetings.

Task force membership and appointments

• Members must include:
  • Two state representatives (one appointed by each of the cochairs of the House Taxes Committee).
  • Two state senators (one appointed by the chair of the Senate Taxes Committee and one by the ranking minority member of that committee).
  • The commissioner of revenue or a designee.
  • One county commissioner appointed by the Association of Minnesota Counties.
  • One mayor appointed by the League of Minnesota Cities.
  • One school board member appointed by the Minnesota School Boards Association.
• All appointments and designations must be made by June 2, 2026.

Meetings, openness, and timeline

• The task force must meet at regular intervals through November 1, 2026.
• The commissioner of revenue or a designee chairs the initial meeting; the task force will elect a chair at that meeting.
• Meetings must be open to the public, with at least seven days’ notice before meetings. A meeting occurs when a quorum is present.
• Minnesota Statutes chapter 13D does not apply to the task force’s meetings (they are not governed by that chapter’s procedures).

Reporting requirements

• By January 15, 2027, the task force must submit a report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over property taxes.
• The report must include advisory recommendations and any other information the task force deems relevant.
• The relevant legislative committees must hold a public hearing on the report during the regular session in the year the report is submitted.

Expiration and next steps

• The task force expires after it submits its report under the reporting subsection.
• The bill specifies the task force’s work ends with the report, and the legislature will review it and hold hearings as part of the normal process.

Significance and potential impact

• Aims to identify drivers of property tax increases and to make local government budgeting more transparent for residents.
• Seeks to standardize how budget information is presented to the public, potentially affecting notices and public meetings under existing law.

Relevant Terms - property tax task force - property taxes - transparency - local government budgets - notices - meetings - Minnesota Statutes section 275.065 - Minnesota Statutes chapter 13D - Legislative Coordinating Commission - appointments - Association of Minnesota Counties - League of Minnesota Cities - Minnesota School Boards Association - commissioner of revenue - January 15, 2027 - July 15, 2026 - November 1, 2026 - public hearing - open meetings - quorum - compensation and reimbursement - chairs and ranking minority members - committees with jurisdiction over property taxes