SF 4480

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 04/20/2022 08:28am

A bill for an act
relating to transportation; providing for local match funds and technical assistance
on federal grants; requiring a report; appropriating money; proposing coding for
new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 174.

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

Section 1.

new text begin [174.125] FEDERAL FUNDS LOCAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
the meaning given.
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new text begin (b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of transportation.
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new text begin (c) "Program" means the federal funds local assistance program established in this
section.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Program established. new text end

new text begin The commissioner must implement a federal funds local
assistance program to provide local match aid in an application for federal discretionary or
competitive grants.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Program administration. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner must establish program
requirements, including but not limited to: eligibility of projects; solicitation procedures;
an application process that is designed to minimize requirements and applicant burdens and
to align with federal application requirements; criteria to evaluate applications and select
aid recipients subject to subdivision 6; procedures to commit and pay financial assistance;
and a schedule that allows for application, evaluation, and awards of aid on a biannual or
more frequent basis.
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new text begin (b) The commissioner must make reasonable efforts to publicize each solicitation among
all eligible grant recipients. The commissioner must assist applicants to create and submit
applications.
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new text begin (c) The commissioner may expend up to five percent of available funds in a fiscal year
under this section on program administration.
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new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Local match aid. new text end

new text begin (a) From funds made available under the program, the
commissioner must provide aid to an eligible recipient as provided under subdivision 5.
The aid may be provided as direct financial assistance or as a commitment to provide a
specific amount of financial assistance contingent on an award of a federal grant to the
eligible grant recipient.
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new text begin (b) Aid under the program:
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new text begin (1) must provide for a match requirement under a federal discretionary or competitive
grant in a manner that meets federal requirements;
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new text begin (2) must be for a transportation-related project, program, or expenditure;
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new text begin (3) may equal a portion or the entire amount necessary for the federal match requirement;
and
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new text begin (4) may exceed the amount necessary for the federal match requirement if the
commissioner determines that an additional local match is:
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new text begin (i) materially likely to increase the competitiveness of the federal application; and
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new text begin (ii) anticipated to be generally comparable to competing applications for the federal
grant.
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new text begin (c) If a federal grant award amount differs from the amount anticipated at the time of
application for aid under the program, the commissioner may adjust the aid amount provided
for the project or leave the aid amount unchanged.
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new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Aid recipient eligibility. new text end

new text begin The following are eligible aid recipients under the
program:
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new text begin (1) a local unit of government, including but not limited to metropolitan planning
organizations;
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new text begin (2) a Tribal government of a Tribe recognized by the United States Department of the
Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs;
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new text begin (3) a partnership of entities identified in clauses (1) and (2); and
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new text begin (4) the commissioner on behalf of or acting as the agent of a local unit of government
or a Tribal government.
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new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Project evaluation. new text end

new text begin The commissioner must establish criteria to evaluate
projects for aid under the program. At a minimum, the criteria must provide for prioritization
and project selection based on:
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new text begin (1) the extent to which the project provides an identifiable impact in the following:
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new text begin (i) improvements to traffic safety;
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new text begin (ii) improvements to pedestrian and bicyclist safety;
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new text begin (iii) reduction in vehicle miles traveled;
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new text begin (iv) providing for increased use of low-emission or zero-emission vehicles;
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new text begin (v) reduction in greenhouse gas emissions; and
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new text begin (vi) increases in equity for transportation facilities or programs in communities that are
historically or currently underrepresented in local or regional transportation planning or
projects, including indigenous communities, communities of color, low-income households,
people with disabilities, and people with limited English proficiency;
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new text begin (2) anticipated competitiveness of the project for a federal grant or the existence of a
federal grant award for the project;
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new text begin (3) measurable benefits with respect to transportation system performance targets or
system plans; and
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new text begin (4) alignment with the transportation system goal under section 174.01, subdivision 2,
clause (9).
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new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Allocation categories. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner must categorize projects into one
of the allocation categories under paragraph (b). For a project that may be reasonably
categorized into more than one of the allocation categories, the commissioner must determine
the allocation category that reflects the predominant purpose of the project.
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new text begin (b) In each fiscal year in which local match aid is provided under the program, the
commissioner must apportion the aid among the following allocation categories:
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new text begin (1) 15 percent for local road and bridge projects;
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new text begin (2) ten percent for transit projects outside the metropolitan area, as defined in section
473.121, subdivision 2;
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new text begin (3) five percent for active transportation projects;
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new text begin (4) three percent for electric vehicle infrastructure projects; and
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new text begin (5) 67 percent on a flexible basis, which includes projects that are not otherwise
categorized under this paragraph and projects that are categorized under clauses (1) to (4).
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new text begin (c) The commissioner may reallocate funds that remain in an allocation category under
paragraph (b) following the conclusion of aid awards in a fiscal year.
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new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Legislative report. new text end

new text begin (a) Annually by December 15, the commissioner must
submit a report on the program to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over
transportation policy and finance. At a minimum, the report must include:
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new text begin (1) an overview of program implementation;
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new text begin (2) a review of the project evaluation criteria established under subdivision 6;
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new text begin (3) a fiscal review that includes a summary of aid awarded under the program with a
breakout by allocation category under subdivision 7 and the associated federal grants;
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new text begin (4) an amount that is recommended to appropriate for the program in each of the
upcoming two fiscal years, including an analysis of development of the recommended
amount and an estimated breakout of aid by transportation mode or similar categorization;
and
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new text begin (5) any recommendations for legislative changes to the program.
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new text begin (b) This subdivision expires June 30, 2026.
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Sec. 2.

new text begin [174.127] FEDERAL GRANTS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
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new text begin (a) Subject to funds made available for purposes of this section, the commissioner must
establish a process that provides for technical assistance to a requesting local unit of
government or Tribal government that seeks to evaluate or submit an application for a
federal discretionary grant for a transportation project, program, or expenditure.
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new text begin (b) As necessary, the commissioner must prioritize requests for technical assistance
based on applicant capacity to effectively complete a competitive federal grant application
and history of prior federal grant applications.
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new text begin (c) Technical assistance includes but is not limited to:
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new text begin (1) providing support for grant writing, analysis, technical review, application finalization,
or similar activities;
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new text begin (2) providing general programmatic or legal information necessary to complete an
application; and
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new text begin (3) making information available on general actions to enhance the competitiveness of
federal applications.
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Sec. 3. new text begin APPROPRIATIONS; FEDERAL FUNDS ASSISTANCE.
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new text begin (a) $38,000,000 in fiscal year 2023 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of transportation for the federal funds local assistance program under
Minnesota Statutes, section 174.125. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until
June 30, 2026.
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new text begin (b) $350,000 in fiscal year 2023 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of transportation for federal grants technical assistance under Minnesota Statutes, section
174.127. This amount is added to the annual base for the agency services budget activity.
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