1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to highway construction; increasing the 
  1.3             gasoline and special fuel excise tax rates; allocating 
  1.4             funds for repair and reconstruction of highways and 
  1.5             roads damaged by 1997 spring flooding; appropriating 
  1.6             money. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8                              ARTICLE 1
  1.9                    GASOLINE AND SPECIAL FUELS TAX
  1.10     Section 1.  [ADDITIONAL GASOLINE EXCISE TAX.] 
  1.11     Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 296.02, or any 
  1.12  other contrary provision of law, from July 1, 1997, through June 
  1.13  30, 1998, a gasoline excise tax, which is in addition to any 
  1.14  other gasoline tax imposed by law, is imposed at the following 
  1.15  rates: 
  1.16     (1) E85 is taxed at the rate of .7 cents per gallon; 
  1.17     (2) M85 is taxed at the rate of .6 cents per gallon; and 
  1.18     (3) all other gasoline is taxed at the rate of one cent per 
  1.19  gallon. 
  1.20     Sec. 2.  [ADDITIONAL SPECIAL FUELS EXCISE TAX.] 
  1.21     Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 296.025 or any 
  1.22  other contrary provision of law, from July 1, 1997, through June 
  1.23  30, 1998, a special fuel excise tax, which is in addition to any 
  1.24  special fuel excise tax imposed by law, is imposed at the 
  1.25  following rates: 
  1.26     (1) liquefied petroleum gas or propane is taxed at the rate 
  2.1   of .8 cents per gallon; 
  2.2      (2) liquefied natural gas is taxed at the rate of .6 cents 
  2.3   per gallon; 
  2.4      (3) compressed natural gas is taxed at the rate of 8.7 
  2.5   cents per thousand cubic feet; or one cent per gasoline 
  2.6   equivalent, as defined by the National Conference on Weights and 
  2.7   Measures, which is .3 pounds of natural gas; and 
  2.8      (4) all other special fuel is taxed at the same rate as the 
  2.9   gasoline excise tax. 
  2.10     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.11     Article 1 is effective July 1, 1997, and applies to 
  2.12  gasoline and undyed diesel fuel in distributor storage on that 
  2.13  date. 
  2.14                             ARTICLE 2
  2.15                           APPROPRIATIONS
  2.16     Section 1.  [USE OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.] 
  2.17     Subdivision 1.  [DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.] The appropriations 
  2.18  in this article must be distributed according to this section, 
  2.19  notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, sections 162.07, 162.08, 
  2.20  162.081, 162.13, or any law providing for a method of allocation 
  2.21  or apportionment other than as specified herein. 
  2.22     Subd. 2.  [COORDINATION WITH AGENCIES.] In distributing the 
  2.23  money appropriated in this article, the commissioner of 
  2.24  transportation shall cooperate and coordinate with the federal 
  2.25  Highway Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and 
  2.26  department of public safety, division of emergency management. 
  2.27     Subd. 3.  [MATCHING FUNDS.] The appropriations in this 
  2.28  article must first be used to provide a match for federal funds 
  2.29  applied to the repair and reconstruction of highways, streets, 
  2.30  roads, and bridges due to damage caused by 1997 spring flooding. 
  2.31     Subd. 4.  [REPAIR AND RECONSTRUCTION.] Any amounts not 
  2.32  expended under subdivision 3 must be applied to projects for the 
  2.33  repair and reconstruction of highways, streets, roads, and 
  2.34  bridges damaged by 1997 spring flooding, which projects are not 
  2.35  financed, in whole or in part, by federal funds.  The 
  2.36  commissioner of transportation shall allocate available amounts, 
  3.1   within each specific appropriation, among counties, cities, and 
  3.2   towns that request aid and submit supporting documentation 
  3.3   requested by the commissioner.  The commissioner may consult 
  3.4   with the county screening board and municipal screening 
  3.5   committee in making the allocations. 
  3.6      Subd. 5.  [REVERSION OF UNSPENT FUNDS.] Any amounts which 
  3.7   the commissioner of transportation determines are not needed for 
  3.8   the purposes specified in subdivisions 3 and 4 shall revert to 
  3.9   the funds from which they were appropriated to be distributed 
  3.10  according to the appropriate statutory formulas. 
  3.11     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  3.12     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITION.] The appropriations in this 
  3.13  article are available until expended, except as otherwise 
  3.14  provided in section 1, subdivision 5, and are in addition to any 
  3.15  other appropriations made in law. 
  3.16     Subd. 2.  [TRUNK HIGHWAY FUND APPROPRIATION.] $16,281,000 
  3.17  is appropriated from the trunk highway fund to the commissioner 
  3.18  of transportation to be used as provided in section 1 for repair 
  3.19  and reconstruction of trunk highways due to damage caused by 
  3.20  1997 spring flooding. 
  3.21     Subd. 3.  [COUNTY STATE-AID HIGHWAY FUND APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.22  $7,439,000 is appropriated from the county state-aid highway 
  3.23  fund to the commissioner of transportation to be used as 
  3.24  provided in section 1 for repair and reconstruction of county 
  3.25  state-aid highways due to damage caused by 1997 spring flooding. 
  3.26     Subd. 4.  [COUNTY TURNBACK ACCOUNT APPROPRIATION.] $864,000 
  3.27  is appropriated from the county turnback account in the county 
  3.28  state-aid highway fund to the commissioner of transportation to 
  3.29  be used as provided in section 1 for repairs and reconstruction 
  3.30  purposes due to damage caused by the 1997 spring flooding.  Of 
  3.31  this amount, $410,000 shall be used for township roads, $216,000 
  3.32  shall be used for township bridges, and $238,000 is added to the 
  3.33  amount appropriated in subdivision 3 and shall be used on county 
  3.34  state-aid highways. 
  3.35     Subd. 5.  [TOWN ROAD ACCOUNT APPROPRIATION.] $621,000 is 
  3.36  appropriated from the town road account in the county state-aid 
  4.1   highway fund to the commissioner of transportation to be used as 
  4.2   provided in section 1 for repairs and reconstruction of town 
  4.3   roads and bridges due to damage caused by 1997 spring flooding. 
  4.4      Subd. 6.  [MUNICIPAL STATE-AID STREET FUND APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.5   $2,309,000 is appropriated from the municipal state-aid street 
  4.6   fund to the commissioner of transportation to be used as 
  4.7   provided in section 1 for repair and reconstruction of municipal 
  4.8   state-aid streets due to damage caused by 1997 spring flooding. 
  4.9      Subd. 7.  [MUNICIPAL TURNBACK ACCOUNT 
  4.10  APPROPRIATION.] $108,000 is appropriated from the municipal 
  4.11  turnback account in the municipal state-aid street fund to the 
  4.12  commissioner of transportation to be used as provided in section 
  4.13  1 for repair and reconstruction purposes due to damage caused by 
  4.14  the 1997 spring flooding.  This amount is added to the amount 
  4.15  appropriated in subdivision 6 and shall be used on municipal 
  4.16  state-aid streets. 
  4.17     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.18     Article 2 is effective the day following final enactment.