2006 Minnesota Statutes

473.388 REPLACEMENT SERVICE PROGRAM.
    Subdivision 1. Program established. A replacement service program is established to
continue the metropolitan transit service demonstration program established in Minnesota Statutes
1982, section 174.265, as provided in this section.
    Subd. 2. Replacement service; eligibility. The council may provide assistance under the
program to a statutory or home rule charter city or town or combination thereof, that:
(a) is located in the metropolitan transit taxing district;
(b) is not served by the council bus service or is served only with council bus routes which
begin or end within the applying city or town or combination thereof; and
(c) has fewer than four scheduled runs of council bus service during off-peak hours defined
in section 473.408, subdivision 1.
Eligible cities or towns or combinations thereof may apply on behalf of a transit operator
with whom they propose to contract for service.
The council may not provide assistance under this section to a statutory or home rule charter
city or town unless the city or town,
(i) was receiving assistance under Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 174.265 by July 1, 1984,
(ii) had submitted an application for assistance under that section by July 1, 1984, or
(iii) had submitted a letter of intent to apply for assistance under that section by July 1,
1984, and submits an application for assistance under this section by July 1, 1988. A statutory
or home rule charter city or town has an additional 12-month extension if it notified the former
regional transit board before July 1, 1988, that the city or town is in the process of completing
a transportation evaluation study that includes an assessment of the local transit needs of the
city or town.
    Subd. 3. Application for assistance. An application for assistance under this section must:
(a) describe the existing service provided to the applicant by the council, including the
estimated number of passengers carried and the routes, schedules, and fares;
(b) describe the transit service proposed for funding under the demonstration program,
including the anticipated number of passengers and the routes, schedules, and fares; and
(c) indicate the total amount of available local transit funds, the portion of the available local
transit funds proposed to be used to subsidize replacement services, and the amount of assistance
requested for the replacement services.
    Subd. 4. Financial assistance. (a) The council must grant the requested financial assistance
if it determines that the proposed service is intended to replace the service to the applying city or
town or combination thereof by the council and that the proposed service will meet the needs of
the applicant at least as efficiently and effectively as the existing service.
(b) The amount of assistance which the council must provide to a system under this section
may not be less than the sum of the amounts determined for each municipality comprising the
system as follows:
(1) the transit operating assistance grants received under this subdivision by the municipality
in calendar year 2001 or the tax revenues for transit services levied by the municipality for
taxes payable in 2001, including that portion of the levy derived from the areawide pool under
section 473F.08, subdivision 3, clause (a), plus the portion of the municipality's aid under section
273.1398, subdivision 2, attributable to the transit levy; times
(2) the ratio of (i) the appropriation from the transit fund to the council for nondebt transit
operations for the current fiscal year to (ii) the total levy certified by the council under section
473.446 and the opt-out municipalities under this section for taxes payable in 2001, including
the portion of homestead and agricultural credit aid under section 273.1398, subdivision 2,
attributable to nondebt transit levies, times
(3) the ratio of (i) the municipality's total taxable market value for taxes payable in the most
recent year for which data is available divided by the municipality's total taxable market value for
taxes payable in 2001, to (ii) the total taxable market value of all property in the metropolitan area
for taxes payable in the most recent year for which data is available divided by the total taxable
market value of all property in the metropolitan area for taxes payable in 2001.
(c) The council shall pay the amount to be provided to the recipient from the funds the
council would otherwise use to fund its transit operations.
    Subd. 5. Other assistance. A city or town receiving assistance or levying a transit tax under
this section may also receive assistance from the council under section 473.384. In applying for
assistance under that section an applicant must describe the portion of its available local transit
funds or local transit taxes which are not obligated to subsidize its replacement transit service
and which the applicant proposes to use to subsidize additional service. An applicant which has
exhausted its available local transit funds or local transit taxes may use any other local subsidy
funds to complete the required local share.
    Subd. 6.[Repealed, 1994 c 628 art 3 s 209]
    Subd. 7. Local levy option. (a) A statutory or home rule charter city or town that is
eligible for assistance under this section may levy a tax for payment of obligations issued by the
municipality for capital expenditures for transit and other related activities, provided that property
taxes were pledged to satisfy the obligations, and provided that legislative appropriations are
insufficient to satisfy the obligations.
(b) This subdivision is consistent with the transit redesign plan. Eligible municipalities
opting to operate under this subdivision shall continue to meet the regional performance standards
established by the council.
(c) Within the designated Americans with Disabilities Act area, metro mobility remains
the obligation of the state.
    Subd. 8. Service incentive. A replacement transit service shall receive an additional two
percent of available local transit funds, as defined in subdivision 4, if the service increased its
ridership for trips that originate outside of the replacement transit service's member communities
and serve the employment centers in those communities by at least five percent from the previous
year, provided the service operates within regional performance standards. A replacement transit
service that is receiving the maximum amount of available local transit funds may receive up to
two percent over the maximum amount set in subdivision 4 if it increases its ridership as provided
in this subdivision. The additional funding received under this subdivision may be reserved by
the replacement transit service for future use.
History: 1984 c 654 art 3 s 123; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 278 s 16; 1992 c 511 art 2 s 36; 1994 c
628 art 3 s 87-90; 1995 c 236 s 13; 1996 c 455 art 5 s 3,4; 1996 c 464 art 2 s 4; 1997 c 31 art
3 s 17; 1Sp2001 c 5 art 3 s 70,71