1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to metropolitan government; clarifying 
  1.3             language and changing obsolete references; allowing 
  1.4             additional communities in the metropolitan area to 
  1.5             operate their own transit programs; defining available 
  1.6             local transit funds; establishing conditions for use 
  1.7             of funds by communities providing replacement service; 
  1.8             providing application procedure; establishing reserve 
  1.9             accounts; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 
  1.10            473.388. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473.388, is 
  1.13  amended to read: 
  1.14     473.388 [REPLACEMENT SERVICE PROGRAM.] 
  1.15     Subdivision 1.  [PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.] A replacement 
  1.16  service program is established to continue the metropolitan 
  1.17  transit service demonstration program established in Minnesota 
  1.18  Statutes 1982, section 174.265, as provided in this section.  
  1.19     Subd. 2.  [REPLACEMENT SERVICE; ELIGIBILITY.] (a) The 
  1.20  council may shall provide assistance available local transit 
  1.21  funds under the program to a statutory or home rule charter city 
  1.22  or town or combination thereof, that:  
  1.23     (a) (1) is located in the metropolitan transit taxing 
  1.24  district; 
  1.25     (b) (2) is not served by the council bus service or is 
  1.26  served only with council bus routes which begin or end within 
  1.27  the applying city or town or combination thereof; and 
  1.28     (c) (3) has fewer than four scheduled runs of council bus 
  2.1   service during off-peak hours defined in section 473.408, 
  2.2   subdivision 1.  
  2.3      (b) Eligible cities or towns or combinations thereof may 
  2.4   apply on behalf of a transit operator with whom they propose to 
  2.5   contract for service. 
  2.6      (c) The council may not provide assistance available local 
  2.7   transit funds under this section to a statutory or home rule 
  2.8   charter city or town unless the city or town,: 
  2.9      (i) (1) was receiving assistance under Minnesota Statutes 
  2.10  1982, section 174.265 by July 1, 1984, (ii) had submitted funds 
  2.11  on July 1, 1995; or 
  2.12     (2) after July 1, 1995, submits an initial application for 
  2.13  assistance under that section by July 1, 1984, or 
  2.14     (iii) had submitted a letter of intent to apply for 
  2.15  assistance under that section by July 1, 1984, and submits an 
  2.16  application for assistance under this section by July 1, 1988.  
  2.17  A statutory or home rule charter city or town has an additional 
  2.18  12-month extension if it notified the former regional transit 
  2.19  board before July 1, 1988, that the city or town is in the 
  2.20  process of completing to use available local transit funds and a 
  2.21  transportation evaluation study that includes an assessment of 
  2.22  the local transit needs of the city or town. 
  2.23     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION FOR ASSISTANCE USE OF LOCAL TRANSIT 
  2.24  FUNDS.] An application for assistance the use of local transit 
  2.25  funds under this section must be submitted annually and must:  
  2.26     (a) (1) in an initial application, describe the any 
  2.27  existing transit service provided to the applicant by the 
  2.28  council, including the estimated number of passengers carried 
  2.29  and the routes, schedules, and fares, if any; 
  2.30     (b) (2) describe the transit service proposed for funding 
  2.31  under the demonstration this program, including the anticipated 
  2.32  number of passengers and the routes, schedules, and fares; and 
  2.33     (c) (3) indicate the total amount of available local 
  2.34  transit funds, the portion of the available local transit funds 
  2.35  proposed to be used to subsidize provide replacement transit 
  2.36  services, any amount requested from the applicant's reserve 
  3.1   account in subdivision 6, and the amount of other assistance 
  3.2   requested from the council for the replacement services.  
  3.3      Subd. 4.  [FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROVISION OF FUNDS.] (a) 
  3.4   The council may grant shall provide the requested financial 
  3.5   assistance available local transit funds for capital and 
  3.6   operating costs if it determines that the proposed service is 
  3.7   intended to replace the service, if any, to the applying city or 
  3.8   town or combination thereof by the council and that the proposed 
  3.9   service will meet the needs of the applicant at least as 
  3.10  efficiently and effectively as the existing service minimum 
  3.11  performance standards that are regional and equitable and 
  3.12  established in agreement by and between the local transit 
  3.13  providers and the council pursuant to section 473.375, 
  3.14  subdivision 15. 
  3.15     (b) The amount of assistance local transit funds which the 
  3.16  council may shall provide under this section may must not exceed 
  3.17  the sum of:  
  3.18     (a) (1) the portion of the available local transit funds 
  3.19  which the applicant proposes to use to subsidize provide the 
  3.20  proposed service; and 
  3.21     (b) an amount of financial assistance bearing an identical 
  3.22  proportional relationship to the amount under clause (a) as the 
  3.23  total amount of financial assistance to the council bears to the 
  3.24  total amount of taxes collected by the council under section 
  3.25  473.446.  The council shall pay the amount to be provided to the 
  3.26  recipient from the assistance the council would otherwise pay to 
  3.27  the council (2) an amount which the applicant proposes to use 
  3.28  from its reserve account under subdivision 6.  
  3.29     (c) For purposes of this section, "available local transit 
  3.30  funds" means 90 percent of the tax revenues which would accrue 
  3.31  to the council from the tax it levies under section 473.446 in 
  3.32  the applicant city or town or combination thereof.  
  3.33     (d) For purposes of this section, "tax revenues" in the 
  3.34  city or town means the sum of the following: 
  3.35     (1) the nondebt spread levy, which is the total of the 
  3.36  taxes extended by application of the local tax rate for nondebt 
  4.1   purposes on the taxable net tax capacity; 
  4.2      (2) the portion of the fiscal disparity distribution levy 
  4.3   under section 473F.08, subdivision 3, attributable to nondebt 
  4.4   purposes; and 
  4.5      (3) the portion of the homestead credit and agricultural 
  4.6   credit aid and disparity reduction aid amounts under section 
  4.7   273.1398, subdivisions 2 and 3, attributable to nondebt purposes.
  4.8      Tax revenues do not include the state feathering 
  4.9   reimbursement under section 473.446. 
  4.10     Subd. 5.  [OTHER ASSISTANCE.] A city or town receiving 
  4.11  assistance local transit funds under this section may also 
  4.12  receive assistance from the council under section 473.384.  In 
  4.13  applying for assistance under that section, an applicant must 
  4.14  describe the portion of the available local transit funds which 
  4.15  are not obligated to subsidize provide replacement service and 
  4.16  which the applicant proposes to use to subsidize provide 
  4.17  additional service.  An applicant which has exhausted its 
  4.18  available local transit funds may use any other local subsidy 
  4.19  funds to complete the required local share. 
  4.20     Subd. 6.  [RESERVE ACCOUNT.] (a) If a city or town submits 
  4.21  an application requesting less than the full amount of available 
  4.22  local transit funds, the council shall deposit an amount equal 
  4.23  to the difference between the requested amount and the available 
  4.24  amount in a reserve account for future use by the city or town.  
  4.25  A city or town may claim an amount from the reserve account for 
  4.26  use in replacement transit services in its annual application to 
  4.27  the council for use of local transit funds. 
  4.28     (b) The amount held in reserve for a city or town must not 
  4.29  exceed two times the total amount of local transit funds 
  4.30  available at the time an application for use of funds is 
  4.31  submitted. 
  4.32     (c) The council may use any reserve funds in excess of the 
  4.33  maximum allowable amount specified in paragraph (b) for transit 
  4.34  services in the metropolitan area. 
  4.35     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.] 
  4.36     Section 1 is effective July 1, 1995, and applies in the 
  5.1   counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and 
  5.2   Washington.