1997 Minnesota Statutes

     174.24 Public transit subsidy program. 

    Subdivision 1.    Establishment; purpose.  A public 
 transit participation program is established to carry out the 
 objectives stated in section 174.21 by providing financial 
 assistance from the state to eligible recipients outside of the 
 metropolitan area.  

    Subd. 2.    Eligibility; applications.  Any 
 legislatively established public transit commission or 
 authority, any county or statutory or home rule charter city 
 providing financial assistance to or operating public transit, 
 any private operator of public transit, or any combination 
 thereof is eligible to receive financial assistance through the 
 public transit participation program.  Eligible recipients must 
 be located outside of the metropolitan area.  

    Subd. 2a.    Eligible activities.  Activities eligible 
 for assistance under the program include but are not limited to: 

    (1) planning and engineering design for transit services 
 and facilities; 

    (2) capital assistance to purchase or refurbish transit 
 vehicles and other capital expenditures necessary to provide a 
 transit service; 

    (3) operating assistance as provided under subdivision 3b; 
 and 

    (4) other assistance for public transit services that 
 furthers the purposes of section 174.21. 

    Subd. 3.    Financial assistance.  Payment of financial 
 assistance shall be by contract between the commissioner and an 
 eligible recipient.  

    Subd. 3a.  Repealed, 1984 c 654 art 3 s 153 subd 1 

    Subd. 3b.    Operating assistance.  The commissioner 
 shall determine the total operating cost of any public transit 
 system receiving or applying for assistance in accordance with 
 generally accepted accounting principles.  To be eligible for 
 financial assistance, an applicant or recipient shall provide to 
 the commissioner all financial records and other information and 
 shall permit any inspection reasonably necessary to determine 
 total operating cost and correspondingly the amount of 
 assistance which may be paid to the applicant or recipient.  
 Where more than one county or municipality contributes 
 assistance to the operation of a public transit system, the 
 commissioner shall identify one as lead agency for the purpose 
 of receiving moneys under this section.  

    Prior to distributing operating assistance to eligible 
 recipients for any contract period, the commissioner shall place 
 all recipients into one of the following classifications:  large 
 urbanized area service, urbanized area service, small urban area 
 service, rural area service, and elderly and handicapped 
 service.  The commissioner shall distribute funds under this 
 section so that the percentage of total operating cost paid by 
 any recipient from local sources will not exceed the percentage 
 for that recipient's classification, except as provided in an 
 undue hardship case.  The percentages shall be:  for large 
 urbanized area service, 55 percent; for urbanized area service 
 and small urban area service, 40 percent; for rural area 
 service, 35 percent; and for elderly and handicapped service, 35 
 percent.  The remainder of the total operating cost will be paid 
 from state funds less any assistance received by the recipient 
 from any federal source.  For purposes of this subdivision 
 "local sources" means all local sources of funds and includes 
 all operating revenue, tax levies, and contributions from public 
 funds, except that the commissioner may exclude from the total 
 assistance contract revenues derived from operations the cost of 
 which is excluded from the computation of total operating cost.  

    If a recipient informs the commissioner in writing after 
 the establishment of these percentages but prior to the 
 distribution of financial assistance for any year that paying 
 its designated percentage of total operating cost from local 
 sources will cause undue hardship, the commissioner may reduce 
 the percentage to be paid from local sources by the recipient 
 and increase the percentage to be paid from local sources by one 
 or more other recipients inside or outside the classification, 
 provided that no recipient shall have its percentage thus 
 reduced or increased for more than two years successively.  If 
 for any year the funds appropriated to the commissioner to carry 
 out the purposes of this section are insufficient to allow the 
 commissioner to pay the state share of total operating cost as 
 provided in this paragraph, the commissioner shall reduce the 
 state share in each classification to the extent necessary. 

    Subd. 3c.    Nonoperating assistance.  The commissioner 
 shall determine the total cost of any planning and engineering 
 design, capital assistance, other capital expenditures, and 
 other assistance for public transit services that furthers the 
 purposes of section 174.21 for any public transit system 
 receiving or applying for the assistance in accordance with 
 generally accepted accounting principles.  To be eligible for 
 non-operating-cost financial assistance, an applicant or 
 recipient shall provide to the commissioner all financial 
 records and other information and shall permit any inspection 
 reasonably necessary to determine total cost and the amount of 
 assistance that may be paid to the applicant or recipient.  When 
 more than one county or municipality contributes assistance to 
 the operation of a public transit system, the commissioner shall 
 identify one as a lead agency for the purpose of receiving money 
 under this section.  The commissioner has the sole discretion to 
 determine the amount of state funds distributed to any recipient 
 for non-operating-cost assistance. 

    Subd. 4.  Repealed, 1984 c 654 art 3 s 153 subd 1 

    Subd. 5.    Method of payment, operating assistance.  
 Payments for operating assistance under this section shall be 
 made in the following manner:  

    50 percent of the total contract amount in the first month 
 of operation; 

    40 percent of the total contract amount in the seventh 
 month of operation; 

    9 percent of the total contract amount in the twelfth month 
 of operation; and 

    1 percent of the total contract amount after the final 
 audit.  

    Subd. 5a.    Method of payment, nonoperating assistance. 
  Payments for planning and engineering design, eligible 
 capital assistance, and other eligible assistance for public 
 transit services furthering the purposes of section 174.21, 
 excluding operating assistance, shall be made in an appropriate 
 manner as determined by the commissioner. 

    Subd. 6.    Service contracts.  (a) Any legislatively 
 established public transit commission or authority, county, or 
 statutory or home rule charter city that (1) is located outside 
 the metropolitan area, and (2) provides financial assistance to 
 or operates public transit, may provide paratransit as a 
 complement to fixed route service as required in United States 
 Code, title 42, section 12143, as amended through December 31, 
 1994, outside its jurisdictional boundaries. 

    (b) Service described in paragraph (a) may be provided only 
 if (1) the commission, authority, county, or city enters into a 
 contract for the service with a political subdivision, 
 individual, or private entity for the service, and (2) the 
 contract requires full or partial payment to the commission, 
 authority, county, or city for the cost of the service. 

    HIST: 1977 c 454 s 21; Ex1979 c 1 s 19-21; 1981 c 363 s 42,43; 
 3Sp1981 c 2 art 1 s 17; 1982 c 424 s 130; 1982 c 586 s 5-8; 1983 
 c 293 s 75; 1984 c 654 art 3 s 69-72; 1991 c 233 s 62; 1992 c 
 394 s 1-4; 1995 c 101 s 1