1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to transportation; dedicating proceeds of 
  1.3             sales tax on motor vehicles to newly created 
  1.4             transportation improvement fund; increasing motor 
  1.5             fuels tax; proposing constitutional amendment to 
  1.6             dedicate vehicle sales tax proceeds to transportation 
  1.7             improvement fund; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
  1.8             sections 296.02, subdivision 1b; 296.025, subdivision 
  1.9             1b; 297B.031; and 297B.09, subdivision 1; proposing 
  1.10            coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 174. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  [174.55] [TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT FUND.] 
  1.13     Subdivision 1.  [FUND CREATED.] A transportation 
  1.14  improvement fund is created in the state treasury.  The fund 
  1.15  consists of all money appropriated or credited to the fund by 
  1.16  law or pursuant to the Minnesota Constitution, article XIV, 
  1.17  section 12. 
  1.18     Subd. 2.  [EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.] Money in the 
  1.19  transportation improvement fund may be expended by legislative 
  1.20  appropriation for costs related to any state surface 
  1.21  transportation system, mode, or purpose that encourages and 
  1.22  improves the efficient, expeditious movement of people and goods.
  1.23     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 296.02, 
  1.24  subdivision 1b, is amended to read: 
  1.25     Subd. 1b.  [RATES IMPOSED.] The gasoline excise tax is 
  1.26  imposed at the following rates: 
  1.27     (1) E85 is taxed at the rate of 14.2 17.8 cents per gallon; 
  1.28     (2) M85 is taxed at the rate of 11.4 14.3 cents per gallon; 
  2.1   and 
  2.2      (3) all other gasoline is taxed at the rate of 20 25 cents 
  2.3   per gallon.  
  2.4      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 296.025, 
  2.5   subdivision 1b, is amended to read: 
  2.6      Subd. 1b.  [TAX RATES.] The special fuel excise tax is 
  2.7   imposed at the following rates: 
  2.8      (1) Liquefied petroleum gas or propane is taxed at the rate 
  2.9   of 15 18.8 cents per gallon. 
  2.10     (2) Liquefied natural gas is taxed at the rate of 12 15 
  2.11  cents per gallon. 
  2.12     (3) Compressed natural gas is taxed at the rate 
  2.13  of $1.739 $2.174 per thousand cubic feet; or 20 25 cents per 
  2.14  gasoline equivalent, as defined by the National Conference on 
  2.15  Weights and Measures, which is 5.66 pounds of natural gas. 
  2.16     (4) All other special fuel is taxed at the same rate as the 
  2.17  gasoline excise tax. 
  2.18     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 297B.031, is 
  2.19  amended to read: 
  2.20     297B.031 [TAX REFUNDS.] 
  2.21     If a manufacturer of motor vehicles is required by a court 
  2.22  order under section 325F.665 or a decision of an informal 
  2.23  dispute settlement mechanism as defined in section 325F.665, or 
  2.24  a dealer or lessor of motor vehicles is required by section 
  2.25  325F.662, to pay the consumer the tax imposed by this chapter, a 
  2.26  portion of the tax so paid must be refunded to the manufacturer, 
  2.27  dealer, or lessor.  The amount of the refund is the tax paid by 
  2.28  the purchaser less an amount equal to the tax paid multiplied by 
  2.29  a fraction, the denominator of which is the purchase price of 
  2.30  the vehicle and the numerator of which is the allowance deducted 
  2.31  from the refund for the consumer's use of the vehicle.  The 
  2.32  refund must be paid to the manufacturer, dealer, or lessor only 
  2.33  upon filing of a written application, in a form and providing 
  2.34  information as prescribed by the commissioner.  Payment of a 
  2.35  refund pursuant to this section must be made out of the general 
  2.36  and highway user funds in the same proportion provided for 
  3.1   deposit of tax proceeds for the fiscal year pursuant to section 
  3.2   297B.09, subdivision 1 transportation improvement fund.  The 
  3.3   amounts necessary to pay the refunds are appropriated out of the 
  3.4   respective funds transportation improvement fund. 
  3.5      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 297B.09, 
  3.6   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.7      Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL FUND SHARE.] (a) Money collected 
  3.8   and received under this chapter must be deposited in the state 
  3.9   treasury and credited to the general transportation improvement 
  3.10  fund.  The amounts collected and received shall be credited as 
  3.11  provided in this subdivision, and transferred from the general 
  3.12  fund on July 15 and February 15 of each fiscal year.  The 
  3.13  commissioner of finance must make each transfer based upon the 
  3.14  actual receipts of the preceding six calendar months and include 
  3.15  the interest earned during that six-month period.  The 
  3.16  commissioner of finance may establish a quarterly or other 
  3.17  schedule providing for more frequent payments to the transit 
  3.18  assistance fund if the commissioner determines it is necessary 
  3.19  or desirable to provide for the cash flow needs of the 
  3.20  recipients of money from the transit assistance fund.  
  3.21     (b) Twenty-five percent of the money collected and received 
  3.22  under this chapter after June 30, 1990, and before July 1, 1991, 
  3.23  must be transferred to the highway user tax distribution fund 
  3.24  and the transit assistance fund for apportionment as follows:  
  3.25  75 percent must be transferred to the highway user tax 
  3.26  distribution fund for apportionment in the same manner and for 
  3.27  the same purposes as other money in that fund, and the remaining 
  3.28  25 percent of the money must be transferred to the transit 
  3.29  assistance fund to be appropriated to the commissioner of 
  3.30  transportation for transit assistance within the state and to 
  3.31  the metropolitan council.  
  3.32     (c) The distributions under this subdivision to the highway 
  3.33  user tax distribution fund until June 30, 1991, and to the trunk 
  3.34  highway fund thereafter, must be reduced by the amount necessary 
  3.35  to fund the appropriation under section 41A.09, subdivision 1.  
  3.36  For the fiscal years ending June 30, 1988, and June 30, 1989, 
  4.1   the commissioner of finance, before making the transfers 
  4.2   required on July 15 and January 15 of each year, shall estimate 
  4.3   the amount required to fund the appropriation under section 
  4.4   41A.09, subdivision 1, for the six-month period for which the 
  4.5   transfer is being made.  The commissioner shall then reduce the 
  4.6   amount transferred to the highway user tax distribution fund by 
  4.7   the amount of that estimate.  The commissioner shall reduce the 
  4.8   estimate for any six-month period by the amount by which the 
  4.9   estimate for the previous six-month period exceeded the amount 
  4.10  needed to fund the appropriation under section 41A.09, 
  4.11  subdivision 1, for that previous six-month period.  If at any 
  4.12  time during a six-month period in those fiscal years the amount 
  4.13  of reduction in the transfer to the highway user tax 
  4.14  distribution fund is insufficient to fund the appropriation 
  4.15  under section 41A.09, subdivision 1, for that period, the 
  4.16  commissioner shall transfer to the general fund from the highway 
  4.17  user tax distribution fund an additional amount sufficient to 
  4.18  fund the appropriation for that period, but the additional 
  4.19  amount so transferred to the general fund in a six-month period 
  4.20  may not exceed the amount transferred to the highway user tax 
  4.21  distribution fund for that six-month period. 
  4.22     Sec. 6.  [CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROPOSED.] 
  4.23     An amendment is proposed to the Minnesota Constitution, 
  4.24  article XIV.  If the amendment is adopted, the title of article 
  4.25  XIV shall be "TRANSPORTATION" and article XIV shall be amended 
  4.26  by adding a section to read: 
  4.27     Sec. 12.  There is hereby created a transportation 
  4.28  improvement fund to be used for surface transportation systems 
  4.29  and purposes.  The fund consists of the proceeds of any sales or 
  4.30  excise tax on the purchase price of new and used vehicles. 
  4.31     Sec. 7.  [SUBMISSION TO VOTERS.] 
  4.32     The constitutional amendment proposed in section 6 must be 
  4.33  submitted to the people at the 1998 general election.  The 
  4.34  question submitted must be: 
  4.35     "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require 
  4.36  that the proceeds from any sales or excise tax on new and used 
  5.1   motor vehicles be deposited in a transportation improvement fund 
  5.2   and used for transportation purposes? 
  5.3                                      Yes .......
  5.4                                      No ........"
  5.5      Sec. 8.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.6      If the constitutional question submitted in section 7 is 
  5.7   passed at the general election, sections 1 to 5 are effective 
  5.8   the same date that section 6 becomes effective.  If the 
  5.9   constitutional question submitted in section 7 does not pass, 
  5.10  sections 1 to 5 are effective January 1, 1999.  Sections 2 and 3 
  5.11  apply to all gasoline and undyed diesel fuel in distributor 
  5.12  storage on their effective date.