SF 2414

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 04/15/2021 07:44am

A bill for an act
relating to highways; amending requirements and appropriating money for the
local bridge replacement program; authorizing the sale and issuance of state bonds;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 174.50, subdivision 7.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 174.50, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Bridge grant program; rulemaking.

(a) The commissioner of transportation
shall develop rules, procedures for application for grants, conditions of grant administration,
standards, and criteria as provided under subdivision 6, including bridge specifications, in
cooperation with road authorities of political subdivisions, for use in the administration of
funds appropriated to the commissioner and for the administration of grants to subdivisions.
Grants under this section are subject to the procedures and criteria established in this
subdivision and in subdivisions 5 and 6.

(b) The maximum use of standardized bridges is encouraged. Regardless of the size of
the existing bridge, a bridge or replacement bridge is eligible for assistance from the state
transportation fund if a hydrological survey indicates that the bridge or replacement bridge
must be ten feet or more in length.

(c) As part of the standards or rules, the commissioner shall, in consultation with local
road authorities, establish a minimum distance between any two bridges that cross over the
same river, stream, or waterway, so that only one of the bridges is eligible for a grant under
this section. As appropriate, the commissioner may establish exceptions from the minimum
distance requirement or procedures for obtaining a variance.

(d) Political subdivisions may use grants made under this section to construct or
reconstruct bridges, including but not limited to:

(1) matching federal aid grants to construct or reconstruct key bridges;

(2) paying the costs to abandon an existing bridge that is deficient and in need of
replacement but where no replacement will be made; and

(3) paying the costs to construct a road or street to facilitate the abandonment of an
existing bridge if the commissioner determines that the bridge is deficient, and that
construction of the road or street is more economical than replacement of the existing bridge.

(e) Funds appropriated to the commissioner from the Minnesota state transportation
fund shall be segregated from the highway tax user distribution fund and other funds created
by article XIV of the Minnesota Constitution.

deleted text begin (f) Except as provided in subdivision 6d, the commissioner is prohibited from awarding
a grant under this section for a local bridge replacement or rehabilitation project with a total
project cost estimate of $7,000,000 or more.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (g) Notwithstanding paragraph (f), the commissioner may award a grant under this
section for a portion of a local bridge replacement or rehabilitation project with a total
project cost estimate of $7,000,000 or more if every other local bridge replacement or
rehabilitation project on the commissioner's priority list with a total project cost estimate
of less than $7,000,000 has been fully funded.
deleted text end

new text begin (f) The commissioner is prohibited from awarding a grant of $7,000,000 or more under
this section for a local bridge replacement or rehabilitation project, except:
new text end

new text begin (1) for major local bridges as provided in subdivision 6d; or
new text end

new text begin (2) if every other local bridge replacement or rehabilitation project on the commissioner's
priority list with a requested grant amount of less than $7,000,000 has been fully funded.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

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

Sec. 2. new text begin LOCAL BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROGRAM; APPROPRIATION AND
BOND SALE AUTHORIZATION.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Appropriation. new text end

new text begin $30,000,000 is appropriated from the bond proceeds
account in the state transportation fund to the commissioner of transportation for a match
of federal money and replacement or rehabilitation of local deficient bridges as provided
in Minnesota Statutes, section 174.50.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Bond sale. new text end

new text begin To provide the money appropriated in subdivision 1 from the bond
proceeds account in the state transportation fund, the commissioner of management and
budget shall sell and issue bonds of the state in an amount up to $30,000,000 in the manner,
upon the terms, and with the effect prescribed by Minnesota Statutes, sections 16A.631 to
16A.675, and by the Minnesota Constitution, article XI, sections 4 to 7. The proceeds of
the bonds, except accrued interest and any premium received on the sale of the bonds, must
be credited to the bond proceeds account in the state transportation fund.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

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