HF132 Bill Summary

• Establishes the PROMISE Act to provide disaster assistance and redevelopment support for areas affected by civil unrest in May and June 2020 in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and surrounding communities.

• Creates a community repair panel of 3-9 attorneys to consider damage claims and award one-time disaster assistance payments (separate from insurance) to eligible individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and property owners in affected zones, with $125 million appropriated for awards and $5 million for administrative costs.

• Establishes a Metropolitan Area Redevelopment Corporation led by people of color and indigenous people to address systemic racial discrimination through grants to nonprofits for community redevelopment, small business support, and affordable housing in the 7-county metropolitan area.

• Imposes a 0.125 percent sales and use tax in metropolitan counties (subject to reverse referendum), with proceeds funding the redevelopment corporation; exempts building materials, equipment, and cleaning services used for disaster recovery from sales tax through December 2022.

• Provides property tax abatement for damaged properties (50-100 percent based on damage severity), regulates commercial and residential lease increases, authorizes limited use of eminent domain by cities through 2022, and establishes a Civil Unrest Investigatory Commission to examine government responses and issue a public report by December 2020.