1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to highways; amending requirements and appropriating money for the 
1.3 	local bridge replacement program; authorizing the sale and issuance of state bonds;
1.4 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 174.50, subdivision 7.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 174.50, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subd. 7.Bridge grant program; rulemaking. (a) The commissioner of transportation 
1.8 	shall develop rules, procedures for application for grants, conditions of grant administration, 
1.9 	standards, and criteria as provided under subdivision 6, including bridge specifications, in 
1.10 	cooperation with road authorities of political subdivisions, for use in the administration of 
1.11 	funds appropriated to the commissioner and for the administration of grants to subdivisions. 
1.12 	Grants under this section are subject to the procedures and criteria established in this 
1.13 	subdivision and in subdivisions 5 and 6.
1.14 	(b) The maximum use of standardized bridges is encouraged. Regardless of the size of 
1.15 	the existing bridge, a bridge or replacement bridge is eligible for assistance from the state 
1.16 	transportation fund if a hydrological survey indicates that the bridge or replacement bridge 
1.17 	must be ten feet or more in length.
1.18 	(c) As part of the standards or rules, the commissioner shall, in consultation with local 
1.19 	road authorities, establish a minimum distance between any two bridges that cross over the 
1.20 	same river, stream, or waterway, so that only one of the bridges is eligible for a grant under 
1.21 	this section. As appropriate, the commissioner may establish exceptions from the minimum 
1.22 	distance requirement or procedures for obtaining a variance.
2.1 	(d) Political subdivisions may use grants made under this section to construct or 
2.2 	reconstruct bridges, including but not limited to:
2.3 	(1) matching federal aid grants to construct or reconstruct key bridges;
2.4 	(2) paying the costs to abandon an existing bridge that is deficient and in need of 
2.5 	replacement but where no replacement will be made; and
2.6 	(3) paying the costs to construct a road or street to facilitate the abandonment of an 
2.7 	existing bridge if the commissioner determines that the bridge is deficient, and that 
2.8 	construction of the road or street is more economical than replacement of the existing bridge.
2.9 	(e) Funds appropriated to the commissioner from the Minnesota state transportation 
2.10 	fund shall be segregated from the highway tax user distribution fund and other funds created 
2.11 	by article XIV of the Minnesota Constitution.
2.12 	(f) Except as provided in subdivision 6d, the commissioner is prohibited from awarding 
2.13 	a grant under this section for a local bridge replacement or rehabilitation project with a total 
2.14 	project cost estimate of $7,000,000 or more.
2.15 	(g) Notwithstanding paragraph (f), the commissioner may award a grant under this 
2.16 	section for a portion of a local bridge replacement or rehabilitation project with a total 
2.17 	project cost estimate of $7,000,000 or more if every other local bridge replacement or 
2.18 	rehabilitation project on the commissioner's priority list with a total project cost estimate 
2.19 	of less than $7,000,000 has been fully funded.
2.20 	(f) The commissioner is prohibited from awarding a grant of $7,000,000 or more under 
2.21 	this section for a local bridge replacement or rehabilitation project, except:
2.22 	(1) for major local bridges as provided in subdivision 6d; or
2.23 	(2) if every other local bridge replacement or rehabilitation project on the commissioner's 
2.24 	priority list with a requested grant amount of less than $7,000,000 has been fully funded.

2.25 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

2.26 	Sec. 2. LOCAL BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROGRAM; APPROPRIATION AND 
2.27 	BOND SALE AUTHORIZATION.
 2.28 		Subdivision 1.Appropriation. $30,000,000 is appropriated from the bond proceeds 
2.29 	account in the state transportation fund to the commissioner of transportation for a match 
2.30 	of federal money and replacement or rehabilitation of local deficient bridges as provided 
2.31 	in Minnesota Statutes, section 174.50.
3.1 		Subd. 2.Bond sale. To provide the money appropriated in subdivision 1 from the bond 
3.2 	proceeds account in the state transportation fund, the commissioner of management and 
3.3 	budget shall sell and issue bonds of the state in an amount up to $30,000,000 in the manner, 
3.4 	upon the terms, and with the effect prescribed by Minnesota Statutes, sections 16A.631 to 
3.5 	16A.675, and by the Minnesota Constitution, article XI, sections 4 to 7. The proceeds of 
3.6 	the bonds, except accrued interest and any premium received on the sale of the bonds, must 
3.7 	be credited to the bond proceeds account in the state transportation fund.

3.8 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.