1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to highways; modifying formula for 
  1.3             distributing five percent of proceeds of highway user 
  1.4             tax distribution fund; creating flexible highway 
  1.5             account; creating a metropolitan town road account; 
  1.6             amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 161.081, 
  1.7             subdivision 1, and by adding a subdivision; and 
  1.8             161.082, subdivisions 1 and 2a; proposing coding for 
  1.9             new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 162. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 161.081, 
  1.12  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.13     Subdivision 1.  [DISTRIBUTION OF FIVE PERCENT.] Pursuant to 
  1.14  article 14, section 5, of the constitution, five percent of the 
  1.15  net highway user tax distribution fund is set aside, and 
  1.16  apportioned as follows: 
  1.17     (1) 28 percent to the trunk highway fund; 
  1.18     (2) 64 percent to a separate account in the county 
  1.19  state-aid highway fund to be known as the county turnback 
  1.20  account, which account in the state treasury is hereby created; 
  1.21     (3) 8 percent to a separate account in the municipal 
  1.22  state-aid street fund to be known as the municipal turnback 
  1.23  account, which account in the state treasury is hereby created. 
  1.24  That apportionment is further distributed as follows: 
  1.25     (1) 30.5 percent to the town road account created in 
  1.26  section 162.081; 
  1.27     (2) 16 percent to the town bridge account, which is created 
  2.1   in the state treasury; and 
  2.2      (3) 53.5 percent to the flexible highway account created in 
  2.3   subdivision 3. 
  2.4      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 161.081, is 
  2.5   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.6      Subd. 3.  [FLEXIBLE HIGHWAY ACCOUNT; TURNBACK ACCOUNTS.] (a)
  2.7   The flexible highway account is created in the state treasury.  
  2.8   Money in the account may be used either for the restoration of 
  2.9   former trunk highways that have reverted to counties or to 
  2.10  statutory or home rule charter cities or for regular trunk 
  2.11  highway purposes. 
  2.12     (b) Before January 20 of each year, the commissioner shall 
  2.13  transfer from the flexible account to the metropolitan town road 
  2.14  account established in section 162.082 an amount sufficient to 
  2.15  make all allocations from the account in that year. 
  2.16     (c) For purposes of this subdivision, "restoration" means 
  2.17  the level of effort required to improve the route that will be 
  2.18  turned back to an acceptable condition as determined by 
  2.19  agreement made between the commissioner and the county or city 
  2.20  before the route is turned back. 
  2.21     (d) The commissioner shall review the need for funds to 
  2.22  restore highways that have been or will be turned back and the 
  2.23  need for funds for the trunk highway system.  After making the 
  2.24  transfer required under paragraph (b), the commissioner shall 
  2.25  determine on a biennial basis, the percentage of this flexible 
  2.26  account to be used for county turnbacks, for municipal 
  2.27  turnbacks, and for regular trunk highway projects.  The 
  2.28  commissioner shall make this determination only after meeting 
  2.29  and holding discussions with committees selected by the 
  2.30  statewide associations of both county commissioners and 
  2.31  municipal officials. 
  2.32     (e) Money that will be used for the restoration of trunk 
  2.33  highways that have reverted or that will revert to cities must 
  2.34  be deposited in the municipal turnback account, which is created 
  2.35  in the state treasury.  
  2.36     (f) Money that will be used for the restoration of trunk 
  3.1   highways that have reverted or that will revert to counties must 
  3.2   be deposited in the county turnback account, which is created in 
  3.3   the state treasury. 
  3.4      (g) As part of the biennial budget submission to the 
  3.5   legislature, the commissioner shall describe how the money in 
  3.6   the flexible highway account will be apportioned among the 
  3.7   county turnback account, the municipal turnback account, and the 
  3.8   trunk highway fund.  
  3.9      (h) Money apportioned from the flexible highway account to 
  3.10  the trunk highway fund must be used for state road construction 
  3.11  and engineering costs. 
  3.12     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 161.082, 
  3.13  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.14     Subdivision 1.  [RULES.] Except as hereinafter provided in 
  3.15  this section and in section 161.081, all money accruing to the 
  3.16  county turnback account shall be expended in accordance with 
  3.17  rules of the commissioner of transportation in paying a county 
  3.18  for the restoration of former trunk highways, or portions 
  3.19  thereof, that have reverted to the county in accordance with 
  3.20  law, and have become a part of the county state-aid highway 
  3.21  system. 
  3.22     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 161.082, 
  3.23  subdivision 2a, is amended to read: 
  3.24     Subd. 2a.  [TOWN BRIDGES AND CULVERTS; TOWN ROAD ACCOUNT.] 
  3.25  An amount equal to 25 16 percent of the county turnback account 
  3.26  must be expended on town road bridge structures that are ten 
  3.27  feet or more in length and on town road culverts that replace 
  3.28  existing town road bridges.  In addition, if the present bridge 
  3.29  structure is less than ten feet in length but a hydrological 
  3.30  survey indicates that the replacement bridge structure or 
  3.31  culvert must be ten feet or more in length, then the bridge or 
  3.32  culvert is eligible for replacement funds.  In addition, if a 
  3.33  culvert that replaces a deficient bridge is in a county 
  3.34  comprehensive water plan approved by the board of water and soil 
  3.35  resources and the department of natural resources, the costs of 
  3.36  the culvert and roadway grading other than surfacing are 
  4.1   eligible for replacement funds up to the cost of constructing a 
  4.2   replacement bridge.  The expenditures on bridge structures and 
  4.3   culverts may be on a matching basis, and if on a matching basis, 
  4.4   not more than 90 percent of the cost of a bridge structure or 
  4.5   culvert may be paid from the county turnback account.  When 
  4.6   bridge approach construction work exceeds $10,000 in costs, or 
  4.7   when the county engineer determines that the cost of the 
  4.8   replacement culverts alone will not exceed $20,000, the town 
  4.9   shall be eligible for financial assistance from the town bridge 
  4.10  account.  Financial assistance shall be requested by resolution 
  4.11  of the county board and shall be limited to: 
  4.12     (1) 100 percent of the cost of the bridge approach work 
  4.13  that is in excess of $10,000; or 
  4.14     (2) 100 percent of the cost of the replacement culverts 
  4.15  when the cost does not exceed $20,000 and the town board agrees 
  4.16  to be responsible for all the other costs, which may include 
  4.17  costs for structural removal, installation, and permitting.  The 
  4.18  replacement structure design and costs shall be approved and 
  4.19  certified by the county engineer, but need not be subsequently 
  4.20  approved by the department of transportation. 
  4.21     An amount equal to 47.5 30.5 percent of the county turnback 
  4.22  account must be set aside as a town road account and distributed 
  4.23  as provided in section 162.081. 
  4.24     Sec. 5.  [162.082] [METROPOLITAN TOWN ROAD ACCOUNT.] 
  4.25     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this section:
  4.26     (a) "Eligible metropolitan town" means a town with a 
  4.27  population of at least 10,000, according to the most recent 
  4.28  federal census or, at the town's request, the most recent 
  4.29  population estimate of the metropolitan council or state 
  4.30  demographer, and that contains eligible town roads. 
  4.31     (b) "Eligible town road" means a town road within a 
  4.32  metropolitan town that has been turned back from county 
  4.33  jurisdiction. 
  4.34     Subd. 2.  [ACCOUNT ESTABLISHED.] A metropolitan town road 
  4.35  account is established in the county state-aid highway fund.  
  4.36  Money in the fund may be allocated only to an eligible 
  5.1   metropolitan town that contains an eligible town road. 
  5.2      Subd. 3.  [APPORTIONMENT TO COUNTIES.] Money in the 
  5.3   metropolitan town road account must be apportioned to each 
  5.4   county so that each county receives a sufficient amount to make 
  5.5   the distribution required under subdivision 5, paragraph (b).  
  5.6      Subd. 4.  [DETERMINATIONS; PAYMENTS.] On determining the 
  5.7   amount of money to be apportioned to each county under section 
  5.8   162.07, the commissioner shall also determine the amounts in the 
  5.9   metropolitan town road account to be apportioned under 
  5.10  subdivision 3.  The apportionment under subdivision 3 must be 
  5.11  included in the statement sent to the commissioner of finance 
  5.12  and the county auditor and county engineer of each county 
  5.13  receiving funds under subdivision 3.  The amounts so apportioned 
  5.14  to each county from the metropolitan town road account must be 
  5.15  paid by the state to the treasurer of each county receiving 
  5.16  those amounts at the same time that payments are made under 
  5.17  section 162.08, subdivision 2. 
  5.18     Subd. 5.  [ALLOCATION TO TOWNS.] (a) By January 20 of each 
  5.19  year, the commissioner shall determine the amount that would be 
  5.20  allocated to each eligible metropolitan town in that year from 
  5.21  the municipal state-aid street fund if the town were eligible to 
  5.22  receive an allocation from that fund.  For purposes of this 
  5.23  determination, each such town's total mileage of former county 
  5.24  highways that have been turned back to town jurisdiction, up to 
  5.25  a maximum of 20 percent of the town's total town road mileage, 
  5.26  constitutes the town's equivalent to municipal state-aid street 
  5.27  miles.  Money needs on that mileage shall be approved by the 
  5.28  commissioner after recommendation of the municipal state-aid 
  5.29  screening committee using the procedures provided in section 
  5.30  162.13, subdivision 3.  
  5.31     (b) A county containing an eligible metropolitan town shall 
  5.32  distribute money it receives from the metropolitan town road to 
  5.33  each eligible metropolitan town so that each year the town 
  5.34  receives the amount to which it is entitled under the 
  5.35  commissioner's determination under paragraph (a) for that year. 
  5.36     (c) An eligible metropolitan town may not receive an 
  6.1   allocation from the metropolitan town road account in 1999 that 
  6.2   exceeds the following limits per mile of eligible town road: 
  6.3      (1) for the calendar year 1999 apportionment, $30,500; and 
  6.4      (2) for calendar year 2000 and subsequent years, the 
  6.5   previous year's limit multiplied by the percentage change in 
  6.6   total revenue to the municipal state-aid street fund for the 
  6.7   previous fiscal year compared to the fiscal year immediately 
  6.8   prior. 
  6.9      (d) Money in the metropolitan town road account may only be 
  6.10  spent on eligible town roads. 
  6.11     Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  6.12     Sections 1 to 5 are effective July 1, 1999.