HF 4085

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to transportation; requiring comparison of 
  1.3             light rail transit and enhanced bus services before 
  1.4             funding light rail transit; amending Laws 1999, 
  1.5             chapter 240, article 1, section 9, subdivision 5. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Laws 1999, chapter 240, article 1, section 9, 
  1.8   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.9   Subd. 5.  Light Rail Transit                         60,000,000
  1.10  This appropriation is to match federal 
  1.11  money to construct light rail transit 
  1.12  in the Hiawatha Avenue corridor, as 
  1.13  provided in Laws 1998, chapter 404, 
  1.14  section 17, subdivision 3, paragraph 
  1.15  (b), and is added to that 
  1.16  appropriation, as amended by article 
  1.17  2.  This is the final state 
  1.18  appropriation for the total 
  1.19  construction of this project. 
  1.20  The commissioner may not spend this 
  1.21  appropriation until: 
  1.22  (1) the Hiawatha Avenue corridor 
  1.23  project has received a "final design" 
  1.24  designation by the Federal Transit 
  1.25  Administration and a full-funding grant 
  1.26  agreement has been executed with the 
  1.27  Federal Transit Administration for 
  1.28  funding the planning and capital costs 
  1.29  of light rail transit in the Hiawatha 
  1.30  Avenue corridor that provides funding 
  1.31  of not less than $223,000,000 by the 
  1.32  federal government and that includes 
  1.33  any required local contribution from 
  1.34  Hennepin county regional railroad 
  1.35  authority, the city of Minneapolis and 
  1.36  the Metropolitan Airports Commission; 
  1.37  and 
  1.38  (2) the commissioner has determined 
  2.1   that no part of the construction costs 
  2.2   of light rail transit in the Hiawatha 
  2.3   Avenue corridor will be paid from 
  2.4   property tax revenues of the 
  2.5   metropolitan council or of any county 
  2.6   or regional rail authority other than 
  2.7   the Hennepin county regional rail 
  2.8   authority.; and 
  2.9   (3) the commissioner has completed and 
  2.10  submitted to the legislature a study 
  2.11  comparing cost benefit analyses, 
  2.12  assuming substantially equivalent 
  2.13  funding, of (i) light rail transit 
  2.14  systems and (ii) enhanced bus services, 
  2.15  including additional dedicated bus 
  2.16  lanes, high-speed bus service, and 
  2.17  other enhanced bus service alternatives.
  2.18  The commissioner shall incorporate in 
  2.19  the study any recent, previously 
  2.20  conducted cost benefit analysis of 
  2.21  light rail transit in the Hiawatha 
  2.22  Avenue corridor. 
  2.23  The commissioner shall submit the 
  2.24  comparison study, with findings and 
  2.25  recommendations, to the legislature on 
  2.26  January 2, 2001. 
  2.27  The commissioner and the chair of the 
  2.28  metropolitan council shall jointly 
  2.29  submit a report to the legislature by 
  2.30  February 1, 2000, that sets forth a 
  2.31  financial plan for paying the operating 
  2.32  costs of light rail transit in the 
  2.33  Hiawatha Avenue corridor for at least 
  2.34  the first five years of operation. 
  2.35  If the requirements of paragraph (1) 
  2.36  are not met by May 1, 2000, for the 
  2.37  "final design" designation or by 
  2.38  January 31, 2001, for the full-funding 
  2.39  agreement, this appropriation, any 
  2.40  unspent portion of the $40,000,000 
  2.41  appropriated by Laws 1998, chapter 404, 
  2.42  section 17, subdivision 3, paragraph 
  2.43  (b), as amended by article 2, and all 
  2.44  state bond sale authorizations for the 
  2.45  Hiawatha Avenue corridor, are canceled.