1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to metropolitan government; metropolitan area 
  1.3             transit; providing for the financing of metropolitan 
  1.4             area transit and paratransit capital expenditures; 
  1.5             authorizing employer sales of discount bus passes; 
  1.6             deleting obsolete and duplicative language; 
  1.7             authorizing a demonstration program for changes in 
  1.8             eligibility for transit tax-feathering; amending 
  1.9             Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 473.39, by adding a 
  1.10            subdivision; 473.408, subdivision 7; and 473.446, 
  1.11            subdivision 1a; repealing Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
  1.12            section 473.384, subdivision 6. 
  1.13  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.14     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 473.39, is 
  1.15  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.16     Subd. 1d.  [OBLIGATIONS; 1998-2000.] In addition to the 
  1.17  authority in subdivisions 1a, 1b, and 1c, the council may issue 
  1.18  certificates of indebtedness, bonds, or other obligations under 
  1.19  this section in an amount not exceeding $46,000,000, which may 
  1.20  be used for capital expenditures as prescribed in the council's 
  1.21  transit capital improvement program and for related costs, 
  1.22  including the costs of issuance and sale of the obligations. 
  1.23     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 473.408, 
  1.24  subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  1.25     Subd. 7.  [EMPLOYEE PLAN DISCOUNT PASSES.] The council may 
  1.26  offer monthly passes for regular route bus service for sale to 
  1.27  employers at a special discount subject to the provisions of 
  1.28  this subdivision.  An employer may be eligible to purchase 
  1.29  passes at a special discount if the employer agrees to establish 
  2.1   a payroll deduction plan as a means for its employees to 
  2.2   purchase the passes at a price at or below the amount charged by 
  2.3   the council.  The special discount on passes sold pursuant to 
  2.4   this subdivision shall be determined by the council. 
  2.5      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 473.446, 
  2.6   subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
  2.7      Subd. 1a.  [TAXATION WITHIN TRANSIT AREA.] For the purposes 
  2.8   of sections 473.405 to 473.449, and the metropolitan transit 
  2.9   system, the metropolitan council shall levy upon all taxable 
  2.10  property within the metropolitan transit area but outside of the 
  2.11  metropolitan transit taxing district, defined in subdivision 2, 
  2.12  a transit tax, which shall be equal to ten percent of the sum of 
  2.13  the levies provided in subdivision 1, clauses (a) to (c).  The 
  2.14  proceeds of this tax shall be used only for paratransit services 
  2.15  or ride sharing programs designed to serve persons located 
  2.16  within the transit area but outside of the transit taxing 
  2.17  district.  
  2.18     The regional transit board shall annually determine which 
  2.19  cities and towns qualify for the 0.510 or 0.765 tax capacity 
  2.20  rate reduction and certify this list to the county auditor on or 
  2.21  before September 15.  No changes shall be made to the list after 
  2.22  September 15 of the same levy year. 
  2.23     Sec. 4.  [DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.] 
  2.24     Notwithstanding the definitions of "full-peak and limited 
  2.25  off-peak service" and "limited peak period service" in Minnesota 
  2.26  Statutes, section 473.446, subdivision 1, until December 31, 
  2.27  2001, for purposes of tax-feathering, "limited peak period 
  2.28  service" includes paratransit service available 50 or fewer 
  2.29  hours per week, and "full-peak and limited off-peak service" 
  2.30  includes paratransit service available 100 or fewer hours per 
  2.31  week but more than 50 hours per week.  Until December 31, 2001, 
  2.32  cities and towns in the metropolitan transit taxing district 
  2.33  that have paratransit service available more than 100 hours per 
  2.34  week do not qualify for the 0.510 percent or 0.765 percent tax 
  2.35  capacity rate reduction in Minnesota Statutes, section 473.446, 
  2.36  subdivision 1.  For purposes of this subdivision, "paratransit" 
  3.1   is defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 174.22.  For taxes 
  3.2   payable in 1998 through 2001, the state tax-feathering payment 
  3.3   paid each year to the metropolitan council and to the 
  3.4   municipalities levying under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  3.5   473.388, subdivision 7, by the commissioner of revenue pursuant 
  3.6   to Minnesota Statutes, section 473.446, subdivision 1, must not 
  3.7   be less than the 1997 state tax-feathering payment paid by the 
  3.8   commissioner of revenue. 
  3.9      Sec. 5.  [REPEALER.] 
  3.10     Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 473.384, subdivision 6, is 
  3.11  repealed. 
  3.12     Sec. 6.  [APPLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.13     Sections 1 to 4 are effective in the counties of Anoka, 
  3.14  Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.