HF 2395

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to transportation; authorizing issuance of 
  1.3             $20,000,000 in state general obligation bonds; 
  1.4             appropriating proceeds to commissioner of 
  1.5             transportation for grants to political subdivisions or 
  1.6             a joint powers board for engineering, design, and 
  1.7             construction of personal rapid transit system; 
  1.8             appropriating money. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITION.] For purposes of this section 
  1.12  "personal rapid transit system" means a transportation system of 
  1.13  small, computer-controlled vehicles, transporting one to three 
  1.14  passengers on elevated guideways in a transportation network 
  1.15  operating on demand and nonstop directly to any stations in the 
  1.16  network. 
  1.17     Subd. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] $20,000,000 is appropriated from 
  1.18  the bond proceeds fund to the commissioner of transportation to 
  1.19  be spent as a grant to one or more political subdivisions or to 
  1.20  a joint powers board for the design and construction of a 
  1.21  personal rapid transit system.  This appropriation is available 
  1.22  until spent. 
  1.23     Subd. 3.  [COMPLETION AND TESTING OF PROTOTYPE SYSTEM.] The 
  1.24  commissioner shall not make a grant under this section until: 
  1.25     (1) the commissioner has determined that an amount equal to 
  1.26  the grant has been raised from nonstate sources; 
  1.27     (2) a personal rapid transit test track has been 
  2.1   constructed in Minnesota, including at least one station, of a 
  2.2   size that will allow testing of the system at a speed of at 
  2.3   least 40 miles per hour; 
  2.4      (3) the personal rapid transit system has been tested on 
  2.5   the test track; and 
  2.6      (4) an independent consultant retained by the commissioner 
  2.7   for the purpose has determined to the satisfaction of the 
  2.8   commissioner that the results of the testing indicate that the 
  2.9   system is feasible and safe. 
  2.10     Subd. 4.  [COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS.] The commissioner shall 
  2.11  not make a grant under this section until the commissioner has 
  2.12  performed a cost-benefit analysis on the personal rapid transit 
  2.13  system for which the grant will be made and the analysis shows a 
  2.14  positive benefit to the public. 
  2.15     Subd. 5.  [GRANT.] After making the determinations under 
  2.16  subdivisions 3 and 4, the commissioner shall make a grant under 
  2.17  this section to one or more political subdivisions, or a joint 
  2.18  powers board, that the commissioner determines is able to meet 
  2.19  the matching requirements of this subdivision and is able to 
  2.20  plan, design, construct, and operate a personal rapid transit 
  2.21  system safely and efficiently.  A grant under this section may 
  2.22  not be used for system operating costs. 
  2.23     Subd. 6.  [GRANT AGREEMENT.] (a) The commissioner may not 
  2.24  make a grant under this section unless the commissioner has made 
  2.25  a grant agreement with the recipient. 
  2.26     (b) The grant agreement must require the grant recipient to 
  2.27  ensure to the commissioner's satisfaction that: 
  2.28     (1) at least 50 percent of expenditures for components of 
  2.29  the system will be spent on components that are or will be 
  2.30  manufactured or assembled in greater Minnesota; 
  2.31     (2) at least 50 percent of the expenditure for components 
  2.32  manufactured in greater Minnesota be spent on components 
  2.33  manufactured in counties that contain no cities with a 
  2.34  population of 20,000 or more; and 
  2.35     (3) the system uses patents owned by the University of 
  2.36  Minnesota. 
  3.1      (c) As part of the grant agreement the grant recipient must 
  3.2   require the private corporation, partnership, firm, or other 
  3.3   contractor that is awarded the largest contract for the personal 
  3.4   rapid transit system project to: 
  3.5      (1) agree to have its corporate headquarters in Minnesota 
  3.6   and maintain those headquarters in Minnesota for at least 15 
  3.7   years after the system is opened for use; and 
  3.8      (2) ensure to the commissioner's satisfaction that, for 15 
  3.9   years after the system funded under this section is opened for 
  3.10  use, all contracts the contractor makes for construction of 
  3.11  personal rapid transit systems in other states or jurisdictions 
  3.12  that use substantially the same technology as was used in the 
  3.13  Minnesota system include a provision to require that the 
  3.14  contractor's expenditures for components for those systems 
  3.15  comply with the provisions of paragraph (b).  Failure by the 
  3.16  contractor to comply with any provision of this paragraph makes 
  3.17  the contractor liable for repayment to the state of any portion 
  3.18  of the grant the contractor has received. 
  3.19     Sec. 2.  [BOND SALE AUTHORIZATION.] 
  3.20     To provide the money appropriated by section 1 from the 
  3.21  bond proceeds fund, the commissioner of finance shall sell and 
  3.22  issue bonds of the state in an amount up to $20,000,000 in the 
  3.23  manner, on the terms, and with the effect prescribed by 
  3.24  Minnesota Statutes, sections 16A.631 to 16A.675, and by the 
  3.25  Minnesota Constitution, article XI, sections 4 to 7. 
  3.26     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.27     Sections 1 and 2 are effective July 1, 2004.