HF 3954

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to transportation; establishing interest 
  1.3             requirements for rail service improvement loans; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 222.50, 
  1.5             subdivision 5. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 222.50, 
  1.8   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 5.  [CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS.] In making any contract 
  1.10  pursuant to subdivision 4 the commissioner may: 
  1.11     (a) stipulate minimum operating standards for rail lines 
  1.12  designed to achieve reasonable transportation service for 
  1.13  shippers and to achieve best use of funds invested in rail line 
  1.14  rehabilitation; 
  1.15     (b) require a portion of the total assistance for improving 
  1.16  a rail line to be loaned to the railroad by rail users and 
  1.17  require the railroad to reimburse rail users for any loan on the 
  1.18  basis of use of the line and the revenues produced when the line 
  1.19  has been improved; 
  1.20     (c) determine the terms and conditions under which all or 
  1.21  any portion of state funds allocated shall be repaid to the 
  1.22  department by the railroads.  The terms of repayment must 
  1.23  provide that repayment be at a rate of interest equal to the 
  1.24  rate of interest on the most recent issue of state general 
  1.25  obligation bonds authorized under section 16A.641, subdivision 
  2.1   1.  Reimbursement may be made as a portion of the increased 
  2.2   revenue derived from the improved rail line.  Any reimbursement 
  2.3   received by the department pursuant to this clause shall be 
  2.4   deposited in the rail service improvement account and shall be 
  2.5   appropriated exclusively for rehabilitating other rail lines in 
  2.6   the state pursuant to subdivision 4; and 
  2.7      (d) to the extent not prohibited by federal law or 
  2.8   regulation, require that when the railroad elects to contract 
  2.9   for portions of the rehabilitation work or rail service 
  2.10  improvement, the railroad must select a contractor who is 
  2.11  experienced in rail rehabilitation work, and must require the 
  2.12  contractor to: 
  2.13     (1) recruit any new workers from the area where the work is 
  2.14  to be done; and 
  2.15     (2) pay workers under the contract wages that are equal to 
  2.16  or greater than the wages the railroad pays its own workers for 
  2.17  similar work, but not less than twice the state minimum wage 
  2.18  that state-covered employers are required to pay under section 
  2.19  177.24, subdivision 1, paragraph (b).