Minnesota Session Laws - 2022, Regular Session

CHAPTER 39--H.F.No. 3035

An act

relating to transit; requiring the legislative auditor to conduct a special review or program evaluation of the Southwest light rail transit project; appropriating money.

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

Section 1.

new text begin SOUTHWEST LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT PROJECT REVIEW OR EVALUATION. new text end

new text begin (a) The legislative auditor must conduct a special review, program evaluation, or a combination of the two, of the Southwest light rail transit project. new text end

new text begin (b) If the Legislative Audit Commission selects the Southwest light rail transit project for a program evaluation, the legislative auditor is encouraged to include examination of: the primary reasons for delays and cost increases in the project; whether the Metropolitan Council properly managed the project's schedule and costs; and whether there was sufficient Metropolitan Council scrutiny of the route decisions and design choices that have subsequently required substantive changes to project costs or plans. new text end

new text begin (c) As part of a special review or program evaluation of the Southwest light rail transit project, the legislative auditor is encouraged to: new text end

new text begin (1) evaluate whether current practices on project cost estimating, contracting, negotiations, management processes, and hiring result in cost overruns or cause schedule delays; new text end

new text begin (2) evaluate whether the Metropolitan Council's posting, interviewing, and hiring process for internal staff resulted in qualified and competent project management personnel; new text end

new text begin (3) evaluate whether the current practices on reviewing change orders, determining fair pricing, and establishing credits for lump-sum bid prices are reasonable and appropriate; new text end

new text begin (4) identify all changes to the project schedule and evaluate whether the changes were reasonable and appropriate and impacted the project completion date; new text end

new text begin (5) evaluate whether current practices on requiring, monitoring, and assuring quality of construction and materials is sufficient; new text end

new text begin (6) evaluate whether the methodology used by the Metropolitan Council to calculate the requests for additional public funding for the project is reasonable, appropriate, and aligned with standard engineering practice; new text end

new text begin (7) evaluate whether the use of contingency funds is reasonable and appropriate; new text end

new text begin (8) determine the balance in the contingency fund; new text end

new text begin (9) determine the balance of available funding currently committed by Hennepin County and other regional partners; new text end

new text begin (10) evaluate potential financial impacts on Hennepin County if the Metropolitan Council requests additional funding from the county beyond the existing contingency funding; new text end

new text begin (11) determine the revised total project budget and analyze the level of financial risk of any further changes to the project; new text end

new text begin (12) determine the current overall project timeline and any specific deadlines or benchmark dates, identify any currently proposed schedule changes, and determine whether project changes are on a critical path; new text end

new text begin (13) evaluate whether current penalties for missed deadlines or benchmarks are appropriate and, where applicable, if they have been imposed for previously missed deadlines or benchmarks; new text end

new text begin (14) make recommendations on how the Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County can best avoid additional cost overruns, minimize delays, manage risks, assure sufficient construction quality, effectively address further changes, and increase public transparency about the current cost and schedule for the project's completion; new text end

new text begin (15) review the January 2022 settlement between the Metropolitan Council and the project's prime construction contractor and evaluate whether the settlement was necessary and appropriate; new text end

new text begin (16) evaluate whether the Metropolitan Council, vendors, and contractors are adhering to established safety standards, practices, and protocols in construction, emergency response, operations, and maintenance; and new text end

new text begin (17) perform a cost-benefit analysis of the project. new text end

new text begin (d) The Metropolitan Council must not require any vendor or contractor to notify the council of any requests or inquiries received by the vendor or contractor from the legislative auditor pursuant to this section. The Metropolitan Council must not require any vendor or contractor to provide to the council information the vendor or contractor provided to the legislative auditor pursuant to this section. new text end

new text begin (e) The Metropolitan Council must not discharge, discipline, threaten, otherwise discriminate against, or penalize an employee of the council regarding the employee's compensation, terms, conditions, location, or privileges of employment because the employee participated in a special review or program evaluation described by this section. The protections provided under this paragraph are in addition to any remedies or employee protections otherwise provided by law. new text end

new text begin (f) The Metropolitan Council must not request or require the reassignment or removal of an employee of a contractor or vendor solely based on that employee's participation in the review described by this section. The Metropolitan Council must not retaliate or take adverse action against a vendor or contractor based solely on the fact that an employee of the vendor or contractor participated in a special review or program evaluation described by this section. 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 SOUTHWEST LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT; EXPENDITURES AND SCHEDULE. new text end

new text begin (a) Annually by January 1 and July 1, the Metropolitan Council must provide status updates on the Southwest light rail transit project to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over transportation policy and finance. Each status update must include: new text end

new text begin (1) total expenditures on the project during the previous six months as compared to projections; new text end

new text begin (2) total expenditures on the project anticipated over the next six months; and new text end

new text begin (3) any change in the date of anticipated project completion. new text end

new text begin (b) The Metropolitan Council must notify the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over transportation policy and finance within seven calendar days of making a determination that: new text end

new text begin (1) the anticipated Southwest light rail project completion date is delayed by six months or more beyond the estimated completion date determined as of the effective date of this section; new text end

new text begin (2) the anticipated Southwest light rail project completion date is delayed by six months or more beyond the most recent estimated completion date; new text end

new text begin (3) the total Southwest light rail project cost is anticipated to increase by five percent or more above the project cost estimate determined as of the effective date of this section; or new text end

new text begin (4) the total Southwest light rail project cost is anticipated to increase by five percent or more above the most recent cost estimate. new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin APPROPRIATION. new text end

new text begin $200,000 in fiscal year 2022 is appropriated from the general fund to the legislative auditor for the purposes of any special review or program evaluation related to the Metropolitan Council or to light rail construction, including hiring additional staff or contracting with any necessary third parties. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 2025. 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

Presented to the governor March 24, 2022

Signed by the governor March 24, 2022, 4:07 p.m.