1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to the metropolitan council; providing for an 
  1.3             economic analysis of nonhighway alternatives for 
  1.4             commuters in the transportation department's 
  1.5             metropolitan district; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.6             1996, section 174.03, by adding a subdivision. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 174.03, is 
  1.9   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 6a.  [ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF NONHIGHWAY ALTERNATIVES.] 
  1.11  If the commissioner considers congestion pricing, tolls, mileage 
  1.12  pricing, or public-private partnerships in order to meet the 
  1.13  transportation needs of commuters in the department's 
  1.14  metropolitan district between 2001 and 2020, the commissioner 
  1.15  shall, in cooperation with the metropolitan council and the 
  1.16  regional railroad authorities in the district, compare the 
  1.17  economics of these financing methods with the economics of 
  1.18  nonhighway alternatives for moving commuters.  The commissioner 
  1.19  shall analyze the economics as they relate to both individuals 
  1.20  and to the transportation system.