HF 3035

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 02/17/2022 03:59pm

A bill for an act
relating to transit; requiring the legislative auditor to conduct a special review of
specified aspects of the Southwest light rail transit project; appropriating money.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. new text begin SOUTHWEST LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT PROJECT AUDIT.
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new text begin (a) The legislative auditor must conduct a special review of the Southwest light rail
transit project costs, cost overruns, scope changes, delays, personnel qualifications,
construction quality, and management. At a minimum, the auditor must:
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new text begin (1) evaluate whether current practices on project cost estimating, contracting, negotiations,
management processes, and hiring result in cost overruns or cause schedule delays;
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new text begin (2) evaluate whether the Metropolitan Council's posting, interviewing, and hiring process
for internal staff resulted in qualified and competent project management personnel;
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new text begin (3) evaluate whether the current practices on reviewing change orders, determining fair
pricing, and establishing credits for lump-sum bid prices are reasonable and appropriate;
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new text begin (4) identify all changes to the project schedule and evaluate whether the changes were
reasonable, appropriate, and impact the project completion date;
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new text begin (5) evaluate whether current practices on requiring, monitoring, and assuring quality of
construction and materials is sufficient;
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new text begin (6) evaluate whether the methodology used by the Metropolitan Council to calculate the
requests for additional public funding for the project is reasonable, appropriate, and aligned
with standard engineering practice;
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new text begin (7) evaluate whether the use of contingency funds is reasonable and appropriate;
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new text begin (8) determine the balance in the contingency fund;
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new text begin (9) determine the balance of available funding currently committed by Hennepin County
and other regional partners;
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new text begin (10) evaluate potential financial impacts on Hennepin County if the Metropolitan Council
requests additional funding from the county beyond the existing contingency funding;
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new text begin (11) determine the revised total project budget and analyze the level of financial risk of
any further changes to the project;
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new text begin (12) determine the current overall project timeline and any specific deadlines or
benchmark dates, identify any currently proposed schedule changes, and determine whether
project changes are on a critical path;
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new text begin (13) evaluate whether current penalties for missed deadlines or benchmarks are
appropriate and, where applicable, if they have been imposed for previously missed deadlines
or benchmarks; and
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new text begin (14) make recommendations on how the Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County
can best avoid additional cost overruns, minimize delays, manage risks, assure sufficient
construction quality, effectively address further changes, and increase public transparency
about the current cost and schedule for the project's completion.
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new text begin (b) The legislative auditor must complete the special review by ... and must provide the
findings of the review to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative
committees with jurisdiction over transportation finance and policy.
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new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
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Sec. 2. new text begin APPROPRIATION.
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new text begin $....... in fiscal year 2022 is appropriated from the general fund to the Office of the
Legislative Auditor for the purposes of conducting the audit required by section 1. This is
a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 2023.
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new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end