State legislature considers changes to seasonal recreational property taxes to benefit schools

Amidst bills allocating state money to specific projects and programs, the Minnesota legislature will also be considering a selection of tax bills before the end of the season. Several of the property tax-related bills would change regulations about seasonal recreational classification, or where the funds from taxes collected on those properties would go.

Earlier this session Sen. Grant Hauschild introduced SF1197 in the state senate. The bill would change how taxes collected from seasonal recreation properties are used. Rep. Roger Skraba is a co-author of the companion legislation in the house, HF1161.

Skraba told WTIP that under the current structure, property taxes paid on seasonal recreational properties that would normally be allocated for school districts are instead put into the state’s general fund. This legislation would change that, sending the funds instead to local school districts.

“In today’s time, there’s not enough money for schools,” Skraba said, “So this would be, hopefully, a first, where the state’s turning back. Rather than taking, they’re giving it back to us.”

Skraba added, however, that with the state already projected to run billions of dollars short during the next budget cycle, a bill that pulls money from the general fund may be a difficult one to pass. “We’ll see what kind of response we get,” he said.

At the local level, ISD 166 Superintendent Chris Lindholm supports the legislation. He told WTIP that the money coming from seasonal recreational property taxes could be beneficial to more than just the schools. Lindholm said ISD 166 is advocating for the bill, saying “That would very much benefit our homeowners and our business owners here in Cook County by reducing the percentage of what they pay into our operating levy.”

SF1197 was discussed by the Education Finance Committee before being referred to the Taxes Committee in the middle of March. Hauschild sits on the Taxes Committee. The House version of the bill remains in that body’s Education Finance Committee.

Kirsten Wisniewski April 7, 2025