1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to transportation; establishing a major 
  1.3             transportation projects account in the trunk highway 
  1.4             fund; authorizing issuance of $500,000,000 in trunk 
  1.5             highway bonds; appropriating money; proposing coding 
  1.6             for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 174. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [174.55] [MAJOR TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS 
  1.9   ACCOUNT.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [ACCOUNT CREATED.] A major transportation 
  1.11  projects account is created in the trunk highway fund.  The 
  1.12  account consists of money allocated to the account under 
  1.13  sections 3 and 4. 
  1.14     Subd. 2.  [USES OF ACCOUNT.] Money in the account may be 
  1.15  appropriated by law only for the construction, including final 
  1.16  design plans and acquisition of right-of-way, of major 
  1.17  transportation projects.  For purposes of this section, a "major 
  1.18  transportation project" is a project that: 
  1.19     (1) is part of the trunk highway system; 
  1.20     (2) has a completed final environmental impact statement or 
  1.21  is a project for which the department has determined that an 
  1.22  environmental impact statement is not required; 
  1.23     (3) has a total cost of at least $5,000,000; and 
  1.24     (4) in the case of a project located in the seven-county 
  1.25  metropolitan area, has been identified by the commissioner as a 
  1.26  freeway or expressway bottleneck, and in the case of a project 
  2.1   located elsewhere in the state, has been designated by the 
  2.2   commissioner on an interregional corridor. 
  2.3      Subd. 3.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] Each appropriation from the 
  2.4   major transportation projects account in the trunk highway fund 
  2.5   must specify the project for which the appropriation is made and 
  2.6   a date after which any part of the appropriation that has not 
  2.7   been spent for that project cancels to the major transportation 
  2.8   projects account.  Not less than one-half of the appropriations 
  2.9   under this section for any biennium must be for major 
  2.10  transportation projects located entirely or primarily outside 
  2.11  the seven-county metropolitan area.  The commissioner shall not 
  2.12  reduce the amount of state or federal funds allocated to a major 
  2.13  transportation project in the commissioner's statewide 
  2.14  transportation improvement program in any fiscal year for which 
  2.15  an appropriation for that project is made under this subdivision.
  2.16     Subd. 4.  [REPORTING CHANGE IN FUND ALLOCATION.] The 
  2.17  commissioner shall report to the chairs of the senate and house 
  2.18  of representatives committees with jurisdiction over 
  2.19  transportation policy and transportation finance each time the 
  2.20  commissioner changes the allocation of state or federal funds in 
  2.21  the commissioner's statewide transportation improvement program 
  2.22  or six-year highway work plan for a major transportation project 
  2.23  for which an appropriation has been made under subdivision 3. 
  2.24     Subd. 5.  [REPORT TO LEGISLATURE.] The commissioner shall 
  2.25  submit a report to the legislature by August 1 of each year that 
  2.26  identifies all projects being studied or developed by the 
  2.27  commissioner that meet the criteria of subdivision 2 or that the 
  2.28  commissioner expects will meet those criteria within the 
  2.29  following 12 months.  For each such project the report must 
  2.30  specify the estimated full cost, a schedule for completion, and 
  2.31  the project's current status, including the status of 
  2.32  right-of-way acquisition, environmental review, and the extent 
  2.33  to which the project has been included in the commissioner's 
  2.34  current statewide transportation improvement program. 
  2.35     Sec. 2.  [TRANSFER OF FUNDS.] 
  2.36     The commissioner of finance shall transfer $400,000,000 
  3.1   from the general fund to the major transportation projects 
  3.2   account in the trunk highway fund. 
  3.3      Sec. 3.  [BONDING AUTHORIZATION.] 
  3.4      On request of the commissioner of transportation, the 
  3.5   commissioner of finance shall issue and sell Minnesota state 
  3.6   trunk highway bonds for the purposes provided in Minnesota 
  3.7   Statutes, section 167.51, subdivision 1, in the aggregate 
  3.8   principal amount of $500,000,000 in the manner and on the 
  3.9   conditions prescribed in Minnesota Statutes, sections 167.50 and 
  3.10  167.51, and the Minnesota Constitution, article XIV, section 
  3.11  11.  The proceeds of the bonds must be deposited in the major 
  3.12  transportation projects account in the trunk highway fund. 
  3.13     Sec. 4.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.14     $900,000,000 is appropriated from the major transportation 
  3.15  projects account in the trunk highway fund to the commissioner 
  3.16  of transportation for fiscal year 2001.  The commissioner shall 
  3.17  spend this appropriation to construct major transportation 
  3.18  projects as defined in section 1, subdivision 2.  Of this 
  3.19  appropriation, not less than $450,000,000 must be spent for 
  3.20  major transportation projects located entirely or primarily 
  3.21  outside the seven-county metropolitan area.  This appropriation 
  3.22  is available until June 30, 2003. 
  3.23     Sec. 5.  [REPORT ON HIGHWAY PROJECTS.] 
  3.24     The report submitted by the commissioner by August 1, 2000, 
  3.25  under section 1, subdivision 5, must include information on the 
  3.26  status of planned construction projects on the following trunk 
  3.27  highways: 
  3.28     (1) marked trunk highway No. 14 between marked trunk 
  3.29  highway No. 60 and marked trunk highway No. 56; 
  3.30     (2) marked trunk highway No. 52, including its common 
  3.31  alignment with marked trunk highway No. 14, from Olmsted county 
  3.32  highway No. 4 to marked trunk highway No. 63; 
  3.33     (3) marked trunk highway No. 12 between marked trunk 
  3.34  highway No. 101 and marked trunk highway No. 25; 
  3.35     (4) marked trunk highway No. 212 between Cologne and 
  3.36  Hennepin county highway No. 4; and 
  4.1      (5) marked trunk highway No. 23 between Willmar and New 
  4.2   London. 
  4.3      Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.4      Sections 1 to 5 are effective the day following final 
  4.5   enactment.