SF 583

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 08/04/2021 03:26pm

A bill for an act
relating to transportation; prohibiting use of the highway user tax distribution fund
or the trunk highway fund for specified purposes; appropriating money; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2020, sections 16E.15, subdivision 2; 161.11, subdivision 2;
161.167; 161.19; 161.20, subdivision 3; 161.465; 167.45; 168.381, subdivision 4;
168.63, subdivision 5; 169.864, subdivision 4; 169.866, subdivision 3; 174.03,
subdivision 8; 221.83; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 16A.60.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 16E.15, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Software sale fund.

(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c), proceeds
from the sale or licensing of software products or services by the chief information officer
must be credited to the MN.IT services revolving fund. If a state agency other than the
Office of MN.IT Services has contributed to the development of software sold or licensed
under this section, the chief information officer may reimburse the agency by discounting
computer services provided to that agency.

(b) Proceeds from the sale or licensing of software products or services developed by
the Pollution Control Agency, or custom developed by a vendor for the agency, must be
credited to the environmental fund.

(c) If the Department of Transportation develops software products or services using
trunk highway funds, proceeds from the subsequent sale or licensing of the software products
or services must be credited to the trunk highway fund. This paragraph also applies to
software products or services custom developed by a vendor for the department using trunk
highway funds. This paragraph does not authorize the use of trunk highway funds for
development of software products or services in violation of section 161.20.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 161.11, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Payment of premium and reimbursement.

The commissioner may pay the
premiums for any said policy of insurance out of the trunk highway fund. The political
subdivision or agency of the state for whom work is performed by employees of the
Department of Transportation pursuant to any agreement therefor made with the
commissioner shall pay to the trunk highway fund that portion of the premium for said
policy of insurance directly attributable to the work performed for it. The commissioner
may pay the premiums of any said policy of insurance out of the trunk highway fund only
in the amount deposited into the fund by the political subdivision or agency. If any additional
amount is due on said policy, the remaining amount must not be paid out of the trunk
highway fund.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 161.167, is amended to read:

161.167 REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES.

Members of the appeal board shall submit to the commissioner an itemized list of the
expenses incurred in disposing of matters presented to them. The appeal board members
shall be reimbursed for all reasonable expenses incurred by them in the performance of their
duties. The commissioner shall pay these costs out of the trunk highway fund. An amount
sufficient to make reimbursements required under this section is appropriated from the
general fund to the commissioner for this purpose.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 161.19, is amended to read:

161.19 CERTAIN RECORDS OBTAINED AND FILED.

Upon the written request of the commissioner the court administrator of any court, the
auditor of any county, the clerk of any town, or the recorder or clerk of any city shall furnish
a copy of the proceedings, documents, and plats, if any, relating to the establishment of any
road or the procuring of the right-of-way of any road which has been or may be taken over
by the state of Minnesota as a trunk highway. The copy shall be filed in the records of the
commissioner and shall be prima facie evidence of the existence of the road as described
therein. The legal fee for the copies shall must not be paid from the trunk highway fund.
An amount sufficient to pay the legal fee for the copies is appropriated from the general
fund to the commissioner for these costs.

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 161.20, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Highway user tax distribution fund appropriations; trunk highway fund
appropriations.

The commissioner may expend highway user tax distribution funds only
for highway purposes and may expend trunk highway funds only for trunk highway purposes.
Payment of expenses related to The following must not be funded out of the highway user
tax distribution fund or the trunk highway fund:

(1) Bureau of Criminal Apprehension laboratory,;

(2) Explore Minnesota Tourism kiosks,;

(3) tourist information centers;

(4) Minnesota Safety Council,;

(5) driver education programs,;

(6) Emergency Medical Services Board,;

(7) Mississippi River Parkway Commission,;

(8) payments to MN.IT Services in excess of actual costs incurred for trunk highway
purposes, and;

(9) personnel costs incurred on behalf of the Governor's Office do not further a highway
purpose and do not aid in the construction, improvement, or maintenance of the highway
system;

(10) parades, events, or sponsorships of events;

(11) the creation, construction, expansion, or maintenance of bikeways;

(12) administration and related services for the Department of Public Safety, the
commissioner's office, fiscal services, human resources, communications, and technology
services;

(13) the statewide notification center for excavation services pursuant to chapter 216D;

(14) rent and utility expenses for the department's central office building;

(15) the cost of manufacturing license plates;

(16) the cost of collecting highway user taxes;

(17) the installation, construction, expansion, or maintenance of public electric vehicle
infrastructure; and

(18) the following entities within the department: site development unit; labor compliance
efforts in the Office of Project Management and Technical Support; Environmental
Stewardship Office; Office of Transit; Office of Aeronautics; Passenger Rail Office; Modal
Planning & Program Management Division; Statewide Radio Communications within the
department's state aid division; Corporate Services Division; Office of Financial Management;
Human Resources; commissioner's staff offices; Office of Audit; Office of Chief Counsel;
Office of Civil Rights; Transportation Ombudsman; Communications Office; Office of
Customer Relations; Office of Equity and Diversity; Government Affairs Office; Public
Engagement and Constituent Service; and within the department's Office of Freight and
Commercial Vehicle Operations, the following programs: motor carrier credentials, safety
evaluations, and education; oversize/overweight truck permits; freight planning and
development; rail-related trunk highway project coordination; and weight enforcement
program support.

The prohibition on funding includes all expenses for the named entity or program, including
but not limited to payroll, purchased services, supplies, repairs, and equipment. This
prohibition on spending applies to any successor entities or programs that are substantially
similar to the entity or program named here.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 161.465, is amended to read:

161.465 REIMBURSEMENT FOR FIRE SERVICES.

(a) Ordinary expenses incurred by a municipal or volunteer fire department in
extinguishing a grass fire within the right-of-way of a trunk highway must be reimbursed
upon certification to the commissioner of transportation from the trunk highway fund. In
addition, ordinary expenses incurred by a municipal or volunteer fire department in
extinguishing a fire outside the right-of-way of any trunk highway if the fire originated
within the right-of-way, upon approval of a police officer or an officer or employee of the
Department of Public Safety must, upon certification to the commissioner of transportation
by the proper official of the municipality or fire department within 60 days after the
completion of the service, be reimbursed to the municipality or fire department from funds
in the trunk highway fund. The commissioner must not make reimbursements authorized
by this section from the trunk highway fund. An amount sufficient to pay the reimbursement
costs is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner for this purpose. The
commissioner of transportation shall take action practicable to secure reimbursement to the
trunk highway general fund of money expended under this section from the person, firm,
or corporation responsible for the fire or danger of fire.

(b) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to admit state liability for damage
or destruction to private property or for injury to persons resulting from a fire originating
within a trunk highway right-of-way.

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 167.45, is amended to read:

167.45 OPERATION COSTS FOR CENTRAL OFFICE BUILDING, PAYMENT.

The cost of operation and maintenance of the new central office building for the
Department of Transportation, or so much thereof as is properly attributable to the
Department of Transportation, shall must not be paid out of the trunk highway fund. An
amount sufficient to pay these costs is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
for this purpose.

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 168.381, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Appropriations.

(a) Money appropriated to the Department of Public Safety
to procure the plates for any fiscal year or years is available for allotment, encumbrance,
and expenditure from and after the date of the enactment of the appropriation. Materials
and equipment used in the manufacture of plates are subject only to the approval of the
commissioner.

(b) This section contemplates that money to be appropriated to the Department of Public
Safety to carry out the terms and provisions of this section will be appropriated by the
legislature from the highway user tax distribution fund An amount sufficient to carry out
the terms and provisions of this section is appropriated to the commissioner from the general
fund.

(c) A sum sufficient is appropriated annually from the vehicle services operating account
in the special revenue fund to the commissioner to pay the costs of purchasing, delivering,
and mailing plates, registration stickers, and registration notices.

Sec. 9.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 168.63, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Annual recomputation and tax adjustment.

At the close of each calendar
year and not later than February 15th of the next succeeding year, beginning with 1959, the
registrar of motor vehicles shall recompute and redetermine the number of intercity buses
required to have been registered in Minnesota for the prior year and the actual amount of
tax liability for such previous year shall likewise be redetermined. Any additional tax which
may be due by any owner or operator of intercity buses shall be paid forthwith. If it is
determined as a result of such recomputation that there has been an overpayment of tax, the
amount of such overpayment shall be credited to the amount of tax which may be due by
the owner or operator of intercity buses in any subsequent year. In the event any owner or
operator of intercity buses discontinues operations in Minnesota and has a tax credit due as
a result of overpayment of motor vehicle taxes for any year, the amount of such overpayment
shall be refunded. Such sums as are necessary to make the refunds herein are hereby
appropriated annually from the highway user tax distribution general fund.

Sec. 10.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 169.864, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Permit fee; appropriation.

Vehicle permits issued under subdivision 1, clause
(1), must be annual permits. The fee is $850 for each vehicle combination and must be
deposited in the trunk highway fund. The fee for annual permits issued under subdivision
2 is $300 for a 90,000-pound vehicle combination or $500 for a 97,000-pound vehicle
combination. The fee for annual permits issued under subdivision 2a is $850. An amount
sufficient to administer the permit program is appropriated from the trunk highway general
fund to the commissioner for the costs of administering the permit program.

Sec. 11.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 169.866, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Permit fee; appropriation.

Vehicle permits issued under subdivision 1 must
be annual permits. The fee is $850 for each vehicle, or a proportional amount as provided
in section 169.86, subdivision 5, and must be deposited in the trunk highway fund. An
amount sufficient to administer the permit program is appropriated from the trunk highway
general fund to the commissioner for the costs of administering the permit program.

Sec. 12.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 174.03, subdivision 8, is amended to read:

Subd. 8.

Salaries and expenses.

Salaries and expenses of the department relating to
highway purposes shall be paid from moneys available in the trunk highway fund, except
as provided in section 161.20, subdivision 3. The funds provided in sections 360.011 to
360.076 and 360.305 to 360.91 shall be expended by the commissioner of transportation in
accordance with the purposes prescribed by those sections. Funds appropriated pursuant to
the authority conferred by any constitutional article shall be expended in conformity with
the purposes and uses authorized thereby.

Sec. 13.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 221.83, is amended to read:

221.83 COSTS PAID FROM TRUNK HIGHWAY FUND.

The costs of administering the provisions of this chapter shall must not be paid from the
trunk highway fund.

Sec. 14. REPEALER.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 16A.60, is repealed.

Sec. 15. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This act is effective July 1, 2021.

APPENDIX

Repealed Minnesota Statutes: 21-02288

16A.60 COST TO COLLECT HIGHWAY TAXES TO GENERAL FUND.

The commissioner, when authorized from time to time by law, shall transfer money from the highway user tax distribution fund to the general fund. The transfer is to reimburse the general fund for the cost of collecting the taxes mentioned in the constitution, article XIV.