1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to highways; abolishing provision prohibiting 
  1.3             spending on costs of bus service provided to mitigate 
  1.4             effects of highway construction; amending Laws 2001, 
  1.5             First Special Session chapter 8, article 1, section 2, 
  1.6             subdivision 7. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Laws 2001, First Special Session chapter 8, 
  1.9   article 1, section 2, subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  1.10  Subd. 7.  State Roads                975,975,000    988,878,000
  1.11                Summary by Fund
  1.12  General                  9,000          9,000
  1.13  Trunk Highway      975,966,000    988,869,000
  1.14  The amounts that may be spent from this 
  1.15  appropriation for each activity are as 
  1.16  follows:  
  1.17  (a) State Road Construction 
  1.18     564,707,000    564,707,000
  1.19  It is estimated that these 
  1.20  appropriations will be funded as 
  1.21  follows:  
  1.22  Federal Highway Aid 
  1.23     275,000,000    300,000,000
  1.24  Highway User Taxes 
  1.25     289,707,000    264,707,000
  1.26  The commissioner of transportation 
  1.27  shall notify the chair of the 
  1.28  transportation budget division of the 
  1.29  senate and chair of the transportation 
  1.30  finance committee of the house of 
  2.1   representatives quarterly of any events 
  2.2   that should cause these estimates to 
  2.3   change. 
  2.4   This appropriation is for the actual 
  2.5   construction, reconstruction, and 
  2.6   improvement of trunk highways.  This 
  2.7   includes the cost of actual payment to 
  2.8   landowners for lands acquired for 
  2.9   highway rights-of-way, payment to 
  2.10  lessees, interest subsidies, and 
  2.11  relocation expenses. 
  2.12  The commissioner may transfer up to 
  2.13  $15,000,000 each year to the 
  2.14  transportation revolving loan fund. 
  2.15  The commissioner may receive money 
  2.16  covering other shares of the cost of 
  2.17  partnership projects.  These receipts 
  2.18  are appropriated to the commissioner 
  2.19  for these projects. 
  2.20  $1,000,000 the first year and 
  2.21  $1,000,000 the second year are for 
  2.22  trunk highway advantages to bus transit 
  2.23  in conjunction with highway 
  2.24  construction or reconstruction projects 
  2.25  in the commissioner's statewide 
  2.26  transportation improvement program.  
  2.27  For purposes of this appropriation, 
  2.28  "advantages to transit" includes 
  2.29  shoulder bus lanes, bus park-and-ride 
  2.30  facilities, and bus passenger waiting 
  2.31  facilities, but does not include (1) 
  2.32  any facility relating to light rail 
  2.33  transit or commuter rail or (2) bus 
  2.34  facilities or operating costs in a 
  2.35  light rail transit or commuter rail 
  2.36  corridor. 
  2.37  $5,000,000 the first year and 
  2.38  $5,000,000 the second year are for 
  2.39  acquisition of right-of-way for trunk 
  2.40  highway construction and reconstruction 
  2.41  projects in advance of final design 
  2.42  work for those projects. 
  2.43  ~~The commissioner may not spend any~~ 
  2.44  ~~money from the trunk highway fund to~~ 
  2.45  ~~pay the operating costs of bus service~~ 
  2.46  ~~intended solely or primarily to~~ 
  2.47  ~~mitigate the effects of trunk highway~~ 
  2.48  ~~construction projects.~~ 
  2.49  Until July 1, 2002, the commissioner 
  2.50  may not cancel, or remove from the 
  2.51  commissioner's statewide transportation 
  2.52  improvement program, the trunk highway 
  2.53  project that would construct a new 
  2.54  bridge across the St. Croix river at or 
  2.55  near the terminus of marked trunk 
  2.56  highway No. 36. 
  2.57  (b) Highway Debt Service 
  2.58      19,235,000     24,228,000
  2.59  $9,235,000 the first year and 
  2.60  $14,228,000 the second year are for 
  2.61  transfer to the state bond fund. 
  3.1   If this appropriation is insufficient 
  3.2   to make all transfers required in the 
  3.3   year for which it is made, the 
  3.4   commissioner of finance shall notify 
  3.5   the committee on state government 
  3.6   finance of the senate and the committee 
  3.7   on ways and means of the house of 
  3.8   representatives of the amount of the 
  3.9   deficiency and shall then transfer that 
  3.10  amount under the statutory open 
  3.11  appropriation.  
  3.12  Any excess appropriation must be 
  3.13  canceled to the trunk highway fund. 
  3.14  (c) Research and Investment Management 
  3.15      12,187,000     12,211,000
  3.16  $600,000 the first year and $600,000 
  3.17  the second year are available for 
  3.18  grants for transportation studies 
  3.19  outside the metropolitan area to 
  3.20  identify critical concerns, problems, 
  3.21  and issues.  These grants are available 
  3.22  to (1) regional development 
  3.23  commissions, and (2) in regions where 
  3.24  no regional development commission is 
  3.25  functioning, joint powers boards 
  3.26  established under agreement of two or 
  3.27  more political subdivisions in the 
  3.28  region to exercise the planning 
  3.29  functions of a regional development 
  3.30  commission, and (3) in regions where no 
  3.31  regional development commission or 
  3.32  joint powers board is functioning, the 
  3.33  department's district office for that 
  3.34  region. 
  3.35  $266,000 the first year and $266,000 
  3.36  the second year are available for 
  3.37  grants to metropolitan planning 
  3.38  organizations outside the seven-county 
  3.39  metropolitan area, including the 
  3.40  Mankato area. 
  3.41  $200,000 the first year is for an 
  3.42  update of the statewide transportation 
  3.43  plan.  This is a onetime appropriation 
  3.44  and may not be added to the agency's 
  3.45  budget base. 
  3.46  $75,000 the first year and $75,000 the 
  3.47  second year are for a transportation 
  3.48  research contingent account to finance 
  3.49  research projects that are reimbursable 
  3.50  from the federal government or from 
  3.51  other sources.  If the appropriation 
  3.52  for either year is insufficient, the 
  3.53  appropriation for the other year is 
  3.54  available for it. 
  3.55  $100,000 in the first year is for a 
  3.56  study of the feasibility and 
  3.57  desirability of allowing all vehicles 
  3.58  to use lanes on marked interstate 
  3.59  highways No. 394 and No. 35W presently 
  3.60  restricted to high-occupancy vehicles 
  3.61  only.  The commissioner shall determine 
  3.62  a time during which such use shall be 
  3.63  allowed, and take all necessary steps 
  4.1   to permit such use for the period of 
  4.2   the study.  The commissioner shall 
  4.3   contract with an independent consultant 
  4.4   to study the effects of opening the 
  4.5   lanes to all vehicles on traffic flow, 
  4.6   traffic congestion, transit and 
  4.7   high-occupancy vehicle use, and highway 
  4.8   safety on interstate highways No. 394 
  4.9   and No. 35W and other affected 
  4.10  highways.  The commissioner shall 
  4.11  report to the legislature on the 
  4.12  results of the study by February 1, 
  4.13  2002.  The commissioner shall take no 
  4.14  actions with respect to this study that 
  4.15  would result in a loss of federal funds 
  4.16  to the state or significant delay to a 
  4.17  state or local transportation project 
  4.18  financed partly with federal funds. 
  4.19  (d) Central Engineering Services
  4.20      65,031,000     66,338,000
  4.21  (e) Design and Construction Engineering
  4.22      89,335,000     91,046,000
  4.23  $500,000 the first year is for 
  4.24  planning, environmental studies, and 
  4.25  preliminary engineering for major river 
  4.26  crossings, other than rail, on the 
  4.27  trunk highway system.  
  4.28  (f) State Road Operations
  4.29     219,863,000    224,602,000
  4.30  $2,750,000 the first year and 
  4.31  $2,750,000 the second year are for 
  4.32  facilities' maintenance. 
  4.33  $2,000,000 the first year and 
  4.34  $2,000,000 the second year are for 
  4.35  improved highway striping. 
  4.36  $3,000,000 the first year and 
  4.37  $3,000,000 the second year are for road 
  4.38  equipment and fabrication of auxiliary 
  4.39  equipment for snowplow trucks. 
  4.40  $875,000 the first year and $875,000 
  4.41  the second year are to support highway 
  4.42  signal and lighting maintenance 
  4.43  activities. 
  4.44  The commissioner shall spend all money 
  4.45  available to the department of 
  4.46  transportation under Public Law Number 
  4.47  105-206, section 164 (repeat offender 
  4.48  transfer program), for hazard 
  4.49  elimination activities under United 
  4.50  States Code, title 23, section 152, and 
  4.51  shall not transfer any part of these 
  4.52  funds to any other agency. 
  4.53  (g) Electronic Communications
  4.54       5,617,000      5,746,000
  4.55                Summary by Fund
  5.1   General                   9,000         9,000
  5.2   Trunk Highway         5,608,000     5,737,000
  5.3   $9,000 the first year and $9,000 the 
  5.4   second year are from the general fund 
  5.5   for equipment and operation of the 
  5.6   Roosevelt signal tower for Lake of the 
  5.7   Woods weather broadcasting. 
  5.8      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  5.9   following final enactment.