1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to transportation; establishing and appropriating money for a safe routes 
1.3 	to school program; authorizing the sale and issuance of state bonds;proposing 
1.4 	coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 174.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [174.40] SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM.
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms 
1.8 	have the meanings given them.
1.9 	(b) "Bond eligible cost" means expenditures under this section for acquisition of 
1.10 	land or permanent easements, predesign, design, preliminary and final engineering, 
1.11 	environmental analysis, construction, and reconstruction of publicly owned infrastructure 
1.12 	in this state with a useful life of at least ten years that provides for nonmotorized 
1.13 	transportation to and from a school; preparation of land for which a route to school 
1.14 	is established, including demolition of structures and remediation of any hazardous 
1.15 	conditions on the land; and the unpaid principal on debt issued by a political subdivision 
1.16 	for a safe routes to school project.
1.17 	(c) "Federal program" means the safe routes to school program under Title I, section 
1.18 	1404 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 
1.19 	for Users (SAFETEA-LU) of 2005, Public Law 109-59.
1.20 	(d) "School" means a school, as defined in section 120A.22, subdivision 4, excluding 
1.21 	a home school.
1.22 		Subd. 2.Program creation. (a) A safe routes to school program is established 
1.23 	to provide assistance in capital investments for safe and appealing nonmotorized 
1.24 	transportation to and from a school. The commissioner shall develop and implement the 
2.1 	safe routes to school program as provided in this section. Financial assistance under 
2.2 	this section is to supplement or replace aid for infrastructure projects under the federal 
2.3 	program.
2.4 	(b) The commissioner may provide grants or other financial assistance for a safe 
2.5 	routes to school project at the commissioner's discretion, subject to the requirements 
2.6 	of this section.
2.7 		Subd. 3.Safe routes to school accounts. (a) A safe routes to school account is 
2.8 	established in the bond proceeds fund. The account consists of state bond proceeds 
2.9 	appropriated to the commissioner. Money in the account may only be expended on 
2.10 	bond-eligible costs of a project receiving financial assistance as provided under this 
2.11 	section. All uses of funds from the account must be for publicly owned property.
2.12 	(b) A safe routes to school account is established in the general fund. The account 
2.13 	consists of funds as provided by law, and any other money donated, allotted, transferred, 
2.14 	or otherwise provided to the account. Money in the account may only be expended on a 
2.15 	project receiving financial assistance as provided under this section.
2.16 		Subd. 4.State general obligation bond funds. Minnesota Constitution, article XI, 
2.17 	section 5, clause (a), requires that state general obligation bonds be issued to finance only 
2.18 	the acquisition or betterment of public land, buildings, and other public improvements 
2.19 	of a capital nature. The legislature has determined that many school transportation 
2.20 	infrastructure projects will constitute betterments and capital improvements within the 
2.21 	meaning of the Minnesota Constitution and capital expenditures under generally accepted 
2.22 	accounting principles, and will be financed more efficiently and economically under this 
2.23 	section than by direct appropriations for specific projects.
2.24 		Subd. 5.Program administration. (a) The commissioner shall establish general 
2.25 	program requirements and a competitive process for financial assistance, including but 
2.26 	not limited to eligibility requirements for grant recipients and projects; procedures for 
2.27 	solicitation of grants; application requirements; procedures for payment of financial 
2.28 	assistance awards; and a schedule for application, evaluation, and award of financial 
2.29 	assistance.
2.30 	(b) An application must include:
2.31 	(1) a detailed and specific description of the project;
2.32 	(2) an estimate, along with necessary supporting evidence, of the total costs for the 
2.33 	project and the allocation of identified and proposed funding sources for the project;
2.34 	(3) an assessment of the need for and benefits of the project;
2.35 	(4) a resolution adopted by the governing body of the school for which a safe routes 
2.36 	to school grant is requested, certifying that (i) the governing body of the school supports 
3.1 	the project, and (ii) funds, if any, required to be supplied by the school to complete the 
3.2 	project are available and committed;
3.3 	(5) a timeline indicating the major milestones of the project and their anticipated 
3.4 	completion dates; and
3.5 	(6) any additional information or material the commissioner prescribes.
3.6 	(c) The commissioner shall make reasonable efforts to (1) publicize each solicitation 
3.7 	for applications among all eligible recipients, and (2) provide technical and informational 
3.8 	assistance in creating and submitting applications.
3.9 	(d) By January 1, 2013, the commissioner of transportation shall publish and 
3.10 	maintain a manual on the safe routes to school program that assists applicants for and 
3.11 	recipients of financial assistance. The manual must include identification of eligibility 
3.12 	and general program requirements, explanation of the application process, and review of 
3.13 	criteria for evaluation of projects.
3.14 		Subd. 6.Evaluation criteria. The commissioner shall establish criteria for 
3.15 	evaluation of applications and selection of projects. The criteria must include:
3.16 	(1) establishment or capital improvement of transportation infrastructure that 
3.17 	improves safety and encourages nonmotorized transportation to and from a school;
3.18 	(2) compliance with all applicable requirements for capital infrastructure projects 
3.19 	established by the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of 
3.20 	Transportation, for the federal program; and
3.21 	(3) other components as determined by the commissioner.
3.22 		Subd. 7.Grant cancellation. If, five years after execution of a grant agreement, 
3.23 	the commissioner determines that the grantee has not proceeded in a timely manner 
3.24 	with implementation of the project funded, the commissioner must cancel the grant 
3.25 	and the grantee must repay to the commissioner all grant money paid to the grantee. 
3.26 	Section 16A.642 applies to any appropriations made from the bond proceeds fund to the 
3.27 	commissioner under this section that have not been awarded as financial assistance.
3.28 		Subd. 8.Legislative report. By November 1 annually, the commissioner shall 
3.29 	submit a report on the safe routes to school program to the chairs and ranking minority 
3.30 	members of the house of representatives and senate committees with jurisdiction over 
3.31 	transportation policy and finance. The report must at a minimum:
3.32 	(1) summarize program implementation;
3.33 	(2) provide an overview of grant evaluation and criteria used in project selection;
3.34 	(3) provide a brief description of each project funded in the previous fiscal year, 
3.35 	including the amount of money provided from each safe routes to school account under 
3.36 	this section and the amount provided under the federal program;
4.1 	(4) summarize the status of the federal program or successor legislation; and
4.2 	(5) identify any recommendations for legislative changes, including proposals to 
4.3 	improve program effectiveness.

4.4 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

4.5 	Sec. 2. GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS; SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL.
 4.6 		Subdivision 1.Appropriation. $3,000,000 is appropriated from the bond proceeds 
4.7 	fund to the commissioner of transportation for grants under the safe routes to school 
4.8 	program in Minnesota Statutes, section 174.40.
4.9 		Subd. 2.Bond sale. To provide the money appropriated in subdivision 1 from the 
4.10 	bond proceeds fund, the commissioner of management and budget shall sell and issue 
4.11 	bonds of the state in an amount up to $3,000,000 in the manner, upon the terms, and with 
4.12 	the effect prescribed by Minnesota Statutes, sections 16A.631 to 16A.675, and by the 
4.13 	Minnesota Constitution, article XI, sections 4 to 7.

4.14 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.