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Appendix A Legislation authorizing this report Sec. 19 [STUDY OF LOCAL SALES TAX] (a) The commissioner of revenue shall study the local sales taxes in Minnesota and provide a written report and recommendations to the legislature, in compliance with Minnesota Statutes, sections 3.195 and 3.197, by February 1, 2004. The study must report on: (1) the authorized uses of revenue from local sales taxes in effect, and the proposed uses of revenue from local sales taxes recently proposed but not enacted; (2) the local approval requirements for local sales taxes; (3) the duration of local sales taxes and whether the full duration authorized in law was necessary to provide sufficient revenue for the authorized uses of the local sales tax; (4) if the authorized uses of the local sales tax revenues are regional in nature or limited in benefit to the jurisdiction in which the tax is imposed; (5) the estimated portion of revenue raised through the local sales taxes that comes from (i) residents of the jurisdiction in which the tax is imposed; (ii) Minnesota residents who live outside the jurisdiction; and (iii) non-Minnesota residents; (6) the ability of jurisdictions to raise revenue by other means, including the local property tax, and the extent to which the jurisdictions assess property taxes in comparison to other similar jurisdictions, and the state average, expressed in terms of levy as a percent of adjusted net tax capacity; (7) how jurisdictions that do not impose local sales taxes raise revenue to fund projects similar to those funded through local sales taxes; and (8) the compatibility of local sales taxes with the policies underlying the stream- linedsales tax project. (b) The study must make recommendations on: (1) the appropriate role of local sales taxes as a part of Minnesota's state and local revenue system, including: (i) the appropriate uses of local sales taxes; and (ii) whether local sales taxes should be limited to jurisdictions that do not meet minimum thresholds of raising revenue through other means, includ- inglocal property tax; (2) criteria to be used in evaluating local sales tax proposals, designed to direct the use of local sales taxes toward: (i) projects that are regional in nature; (ii) projects that require capital expenditures; and (iii) projects in jurisdictions with inadequate fiscal capacity to fund the projects through other means; and (3) the feasibility of authorizing the commissioner of revenue to approve or deny local sales tax proposals based on a uniform set of criteria, including the advisability of requiring local approval by referendum or revocation by reverse referendum, and if the referendum should be a criterion necessary for a proposal to be considered for authorization or should occur after authorization but as a condition of the tax being implemented. 26