1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to transportation; changing composition of 
  1.3             county state-aid screening board; increasing rate of 
  1.4             excise tax on gasoline and special fuel; allocating 25 
  1.5             percent of receipts from motor vehicle sales tax to 
  1.6             transit assistance fund; proposing constitutional 
  1.7             amendment by adding a section to article XIV, to 
  1.8             dedicate at least 25 percent of motor vehicle sales 
  1.9             tax receipts to transit assistance; amending Minnesota 
  1.10            Statutes 1996, sections 162.07, subdivision 5; 296.02, 
  1.11            subdivision 1b; 296.025, subdivision 1b; and 297B.09, 
  1.12            subdivision 1. 
  1.13  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.14     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 162.07, 
  1.15  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.16     Subd. 5.  [SCREENING BOARD.] On or before September 1 of 
  1.17  each year the county engineer of each county shall forward to 
  1.18  the commissioner, on forms prepared by the commissioner, all 
  1.19  information relating to the mileage, in lane-miles, of the 
  1.20  county state-aid highway system in the county, and the money 
  1.21  needs of the county that the commissioner deems necessary in 
  1.22  order to apportion the county state-aid highway fund in 
  1.23  accordance with the formula heretofore set forth.  Upon receipt 
  1.24  of the information the commissioner shall appoint a board 
  1.25  consisting of ~~the following county engineers:~~ 
  1.26     ~~(1) two county engineers from the metropolitan highway~~ 
  1.27  ~~construction district;~~ 
  1.28     ~~(2)~~ one county engineer from each ~~nonmetropolitan highway~~ 
  1.29  ~~district; and~~ 
  2.1      ~~(3) one additional county engineer from each county with a~~ 
  2.2   ~~population of 175,000 or more~~ state highway construction 
  2.3   district plus three additional engineers from the highway 
  2.4   construction district that includes Anoka, Carver, Chisago, 
  2.5   Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington counties.  Of 
  2.6   the four county engineers appointed from this district, two must 
  2.7   be appointed from Anoka, Hennepin, Carver, and Scott counties 
  2.8   and two must be appointed from Chisago, Dakota, Ramsey, and 
  2.9   Washington counties.  
  2.10     No county engineer shall be appointed ~~under clause (1) or~~ 
  2.11  ~~(2)~~ so as to serve consecutively for more than ~~four~~ two years.  
  2.12  The board shall investigate and review the information submitted 
  2.13  by each county and shall on or before the first day of November 
  2.14  of each year submit its findings and recommendations in writing 
  2.15  as to each county's lane-mileage and money needs to the 
  2.16  commissioner on a form prepared by the commissioner.  Final 
  2.17  determination of the lane-mileage of each system and the money 
  2.18  needs of each county shall be made by the commissioner.  
  2.19     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 296.02, 
  2.20  subdivision 1b, is amended to read: 
  2.21     Subd. 1b.  [RATES IMPOSED.] The gasoline excise tax is 
  2.22  imposed at the following rates: 
  2.23     (1) E85 is taxed at the rate of ~~14.2~~ 17.7 cents per gallon; 
  2.24     (2) M85 is taxed at the rate of ~~11.4~~ 14.2 cents per gallon; 
  2.25  and 
  2.26     (3) all other gasoline is taxed at the rate of ~~20~~ 25 cents 
  2.27  per gallon.  
  2.28     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 296.025, 
  2.29  subdivision 1b, is amended to read: 
  2.30     Subd. 1b.  [TAX RATES.] The special fuel excise tax is 
  2.31  imposed at the following rates: 
  2.32     (1) Liquefied petroleum gas or propane is taxed at the rate 
  2.33  of ~~15~~ 18.7 cents per gallon. 
  2.34     (2) Liquefied natural gas is taxed at the rate of ~~12~~ 15 
  2.35  cents per gallon. 
  2.36     (3) Compressed natural gas is taxed at the rate 
  3.1   of ~~$1.739~~ $2.174 per thousand cubic feet; or ~~20~~ 25 cents per 
  3.2   gasoline equivalent, as defined by the National Conference on 
  3.3   Weights and Measures, which is 5.66 pounds of natural gas. 
  3.4      (4) All other special fuel is taxed at the same rate as the 
  3.5   gasoline excise tax. 
  3.6      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 297B.09, 
  3.7   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.8      Subdivision 1.  [~~GENERAL FUND SHARE~~ ALLOCATION OF 
  3.9   RECEIPTS.] ~~(a) Money collected and received under this chapter~~ 
  3.10  ~~must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the~~ 
  3.11  ~~general fund.  The amounts collected and received shall be~~ 
  3.12  ~~credited as provided in this subdivision, and transferred from~~ 
  3.13  ~~the general fund on July 15 and February 15 of each fiscal~~ 
  3.14  ~~year.  The commissioner of finance must make each transfer based~~ 
  3.15  ~~upon the actual receipts of the preceding six calendar months~~ 
  3.16  ~~and include the interest earned during that six-month period.~~  
  3.17  ~~The commissioner of finance may establish a quarterly or other~~ 
  3.18  ~~schedule providing for more frequent payments to the transit~~ 
  3.19  ~~assistance fund if the commissioner determines it is necessary~~ 
  3.20  ~~or desirable to provide for the cash flow needs of the~~ 
  3.21  ~~recipients of money from the transit assistance fund.~~  
  3.22     ~~(b) Twenty-five percent of the money collected and received~~ 
  3.23  ~~under this chapter after June 30, 1990, and before July 1, 1991,~~ 
  3.24  ~~must be transferred to the highway user tax distribution fund~~ 
  3.25  ~~and the transit assistance fund for apportionment as follows:~~  
  3.26  ~~75 percent must be transferred to the highway user tax~~ 
  3.27  ~~distribution fund for apportionment in the same manner and for~~ 
  3.28  ~~the same purposes as other money in that fund, and the remaining~~ 
  3.29  ~~25 percent of the money must be transferred to the transit~~ 
  3.30  ~~assistance fund to be appropriated to the commissioner of~~ 
  3.31  ~~transportation for transit assistance within the state and to~~ 
  3.32  ~~the metropolitan council.~~  
  3.33     ~~(c) The distributions under this subdivision to the highway~~ 
  3.34  ~~user tax distribution fund until June 30, 1991, and to the trunk~~ 
  3.35  ~~highway fund thereafter, must be reduced by the amount necessary~~ 
  3.36  ~~to fund the appropriation under section 41A.09, subdivision 1.~~  
  4.1   ~~For the fiscal years ending June 30, 1988, and June 30, 1989,~~ 
  4.2   ~~the commissioner of finance, before making the transfers~~ 
  4.3   ~~required on July 15 and January 15 of each year, shall estimate~~ 
  4.4   ~~the amount required to fund the appropriation under section~~ 
  4.5   ~~41A.09, subdivision 1, for the six-month period for which the~~ 
  4.6   ~~transfer is being made.  The commissioner shall then reduce the~~ 
  4.7   ~~amount transferred to the highway user tax distribution fund by~~ 
  4.8   ~~the amount of that estimate.  The commissioner shall reduce the~~ 
  4.9   ~~estimate for any six-month period by the amount by which the~~ 
  4.10  ~~estimate for the previous six-month period exceeded the amount~~ 
  4.11  ~~needed to fund the appropriation under section 41A.09,~~ 
  4.12  ~~subdivision 1, for that previous six-month period.  If at any~~ 
  4.13  ~~time during a six-month period in those fiscal years the amount~~ 
  4.14  ~~of reduction in the transfer to the highway user tax~~ 
  4.15  ~~distribution fund is insufficient to fund the appropriation~~ 
  4.16  ~~under section 41A.09, subdivision 1, for that period, the~~ 
  4.17  ~~commissioner shall transfer to the general fund from the highway~~ 
  4.18  ~~user tax distribution fund an additional amount sufficient to~~ 
  4.19  ~~fund the appropriation for that period, but the additional~~ 
  4.20  ~~amount so transferred to the general fund in a six-month period~~ 
  4.21  ~~may not exceed the amount transferred to the highway user tax~~ 
  4.22  ~~distribution fund for that six-month period~~ Receipts from the 
  4.23  tax imposed under this chapter must be deposited in the state 
  4.24  treasury and credited as follows: 
  4.25     (1) 25 percent to the transit assistance fund established 
  4.26  under section 174.32; and 
  4.27     (2) the remainder to the general fund. 
  4.28     Sec. 5.  [CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROPOSED.] 
  4.29     An amendment is proposed to the Minnesota Constitution, 
  4.30  article XIV.  If the amendment is adopted, the title of article 
  4.31  XIV will be "TRANSPORTATION" and article XIV will be amended by 
  4.32  adding a section to read: 
  4.33     Sec. 12.  The legislature shall appropriate in each fiscal 
  4.34  year for assistance to transit, as defined by law, an amount 
  4.35  equal to not less than 25 percent of the net proceeds from a 
  4.36  sales and excise tax imposed by law on the purchase price of new 
  5.1   and used vehicles. 
  5.2      Sec. 6.  [SUBMISSION TO VOTERS.] 
  5.3      The constitutional amendment proposed in section 5 must be 
  5.4   submitted to the people at the 1998 general election.  The 
  5.5   question submitted must be: 
  5.6      "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require 
  5.7   that the legislature must appropriate for transit assistance an 
  5.8   amount equal to at least 25 percent of net proceeds from a sales 
  5.9   or excise tax on new and used motor vehicles? 
  5.10                                     Yes .......
  5.11                                     No ........"
  5.12     Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.13     Section 1 is effective July 1, 1997.  Sections 2 and 3 are 
  5.14  effective July 1, 1997.  Section 2 applies to all gasoline in 
  5.15  distributor storage on July 1, 1997.  Section 4 is effective 
  5.16  July 1, 1999.