SF 3123

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 02/15/2022 08:37am

A bill for an act
relating to transportation; modifying selection process procedures for Corridors
of Commerce projects; amending Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 161.088,
subdivisions 1, 4; Minnesota Statutes 2021 Supplement, section 161.088,
subdivision 5.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 161.088, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
meanings given:

(1) "beyond the project limits" means any point that is located:

(i) outside of the project limits;

(ii) along the same trunk highway; and

(iii) within the same region of the state;

(2) "city" means a statutory or home rule charter city;

new text begin (3) "greater Minnesota area" means the counties outside the Department of
Transportation's Metro District;
new text end

new text begin (4) "metro area" means the eight counties within the Department of Transportation's
Metro District;
new text end

deleted text begin (3) deleted text end new text begin (5) new text end "program" means the corridors of commerce program established in this section;
deleted text begin and
deleted text end

deleted text begin (4) deleted text end new text begin (6) new text end "project limits" means the estimated construction limits of a project for trunk
highway construction, reconstruction, or maintenance, that is a candidate for selection under
the corridors of commerce program deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (7) "regional balance" means approximately 50 percent of program funding is used for
projects located in the metro area and approximately 50 percent of program funding is used
for projects located in the greater Minnesota area.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 161.088, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Project eligibility.

(a) The eligibility requirements for projects that can be
funded under the program are:

(1) consistency with the statewide multimodal transportation plan under section 174.03;

(2) location of the project on an interregional corridor, for a project located outside of
the Department of Transportation metropolitan district;

(3) placement into at least one project classification under subdivision 3;

(4) project construction work will commence within three years, or a longer length of
time as determined by the commissioner; and

(5) for each type of project classification under subdivision 3, a maximum allowable
amount for the total project cost estimate, as determined by the commissioner with available
data.

(b) A project whose construction is programmed in the state transportation improvement
program is not eligible for funding under the program. This paragraph does not apply to a
project that is programmed as result of selection under this section.

(c) A project may be, but is not required to be, identified in the 20-year state highway
investment plan under section 174.03.

(d) For each project, the commissioner must consider all of the eligibility requirements
under paragraph (a). The commissioner is prohibited from considering any eligibility
requirement not specified under paragraph (a).

new text begin (e) A project in the greater Minnesota area with a total project cost of more than
$10,000,000 is classified as a greater Minnesota large project. A project in the greater
Minnesota area with a total project cost of $10,000,000 or less is classified as a greater
Minnesota small project. All projects in the metro area are classified as metro projects,
regardless of the total project cost.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2021 Supplement, section 161.088, subdivision 5, is amended
to read:

Subd. 5.

Project selection process; criteria.

(a) The commissioner must establish a
process to identify, evaluate, and select projects under the program. The process must be
consistent with the requirements of this subdivision and must not include any additional
evaluation criteria.

(b) As part of the project selection process, the commissioner must annually accept
recommendations on candidate projects from area transportation partnerships and other
interested stakeholders in each Department of Transportation district. The commissioner
must determine the eligibility for each candidate project identified under this paragraph.
For each eligible project, the commissioner must classify and evaluate the project for the
program, using all of the criteria established under paragraph deleted text begin (c) deleted text end new text begin (d) new text end .

new text begin (c) Before proceeding to the evaluation required under paragraph (d), all project
recommendations submitted for consideration must be screened as follows:
new text end

new text begin (1) all projects must be grouped geographically according to within which area
transportation partnership (ATP) the majority of the project is located;
new text end

new text begin (2) for projects in ATPs in the greater Minnesota area:
new text end

new text begin (i) the local ATP must review all project recommendations from its area;
new text end

new text begin (ii) each ATP must select up to three projects from its area to recommend for advancement
to the evaluation process under paragraph (d). Each ATP may develop its own process to
determine which projects to recommend; and
new text end

new text begin (iii) only the projects recommended for evaluation may be developed by the department
and scored for selection under paragraph (d). All projects not recommended for evaluation
are disqualified from further consideration and must not be evaluated under paragraph (d);
new text end

new text begin (3) for projects in ATPs in the metro area, all projects located within the seven-county
metropolitan area, as defined in section 473.121, subdivision 2, must be reviewed by the
Metropolitan Council's Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) as follows:
new text end

new text begin (i) the TAB must review all project recommendations within the metropolitan area;
new text end

new text begin (ii) the TAB must select up to ten projects from the metropolitan area to recommend for
advancement to the evaluation process under paragraph (d). The TAB may develop its own
process to determine which projects to recommend; and
new text end

new text begin (iii) only the projects recommended for evaluation may be developed by the department
and scored for selection under paragraph (d). All projects not recommended for evaluation
are disqualified from further consideration and must not be evaluated under paragraph (d);
and
new text end

new text begin (4) for projects located in Chisago County:
new text end

new text begin (i) all projects located within Chisago County must be reviewed by the Chisago County
Board;
new text end

new text begin (ii) the county board must select up to one project to recommend for advancement to
the evaluation process under paragraph (d). The board may develop its own process to
determine which project to recommend; and
new text end

new text begin (iii) only the one recommended project may be developed by the department and scored
for selection under paragraph (d). All projects not recommended for evaluation are
disqualified from further consideration and must not be evaluated under paragraph (d).
new text end

deleted text begin (c) deleted text end new text begin (d) new text end Projects must be evaluated using all of the following criteria:

(1) a return on investment measure that provides for comparison across eligible projects;

(2) measurable impacts on commerce and economic competitiveness;

(3) efficiency in the movement of freight, including but not limited to:

(i) measures of annual average daily traffic and commercial vehicle miles traveled, which
may include data near the project location on that trunk highway or on connecting trunk
and local highways; and

(ii) measures of congestion or travel time reliability, which may be within or near the
project limits, or both;

(4) improvements to traffic safety;

(5) connections to regional trade centers, local highway systems, and other transportation
modes;

(6) the extent to which the project addresses multiple transportation system policy
objectives and principles;

(7) support and consensus for the project among members of the surrounding community;

(8) the time and work needed before construction may begin on the project; and

(9) regional balance throughout the state deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin , including:
new text end

new text begin (i) approximately 50 percent of the available funding must be used for projects in the
metro area and the other 50 percent must be used for projects in the greater Minnesota area;
and
new text end

new text begin (ii) of the 50 percent of available funding for greater Minnesota area projects, 25 percent
must be used for projects classified as greater Minnesota small projects as defined in
subdivision 4.
new text end

The commissioner must give the criteria in clauses (1) to (8) equal weight in the selection
process.

deleted text begin (d) deleted text end new text begin (e) new text end The list of all projects evaluated must be made public and must include the score
of each project.

deleted text begin (e) deleted text end new text begin (f) new text end As part of the project selection process, the commissioner may divide funding to
be separately available among projects within each classification under subdivision 3, and
may apply separate or modified criteria among those projects falling within each
classification.