Committee update - Minnesota State Legislature

Committee update
Leahy said that bus use has increased
and investments have been successful,
but that public transportation is
becoming crowded. Minnesotans do not
think of transit as an intimate experience,
he said, speaking of the need for
more capital investment. Director of
Transportation and Transit Development
Nacho Diaz said that the Metro
Area’s $55 per capita funding for
operating costs and $10 for capital are
below the peer average of $76 and
$22.22, respectfully.
Len Simich, of Southwest Metro
Transit, spoke on the status of opt-out
communities, communities that have
chosen not to use Metro Transit and
provide their own services. Simich said
that the five transit system program
began in 1995. Since then, he said,
ridership has been up 39 percent since
1995 and 14 percent since 1998.
Property taxes fund 88-90 percent of
the program, while bonding through the
Metro Council and fare boxes fund the
remaining portion, said Simich.
Hidden costs detailed
A report presented to the Transportation
Committee Wed., Feb 9, revealed
sizeable hidden costs to the state’s
transportation system. Sen Carol Flynn
(DFL-Mpls.) chaired the committee as
they reviewed reports from the Center
for Transportation Studies (CTS)
andfrom Senate Counsel and Research.
Barry Ryan, of CTS, explained the
findings of a study to investigate
transportation finance alternatives.
Questions that the report sought to
answer included how regional growth,
land value, and land use would be
affected by transportation financing
through an investigation of major
transportation growth.
The total cost of transportation, he
said, was $27.2 billion in 1998. The
figure is broken down into three components,
private costs such as vehicles at
$22.9 billion, government costs such as
roads at $2.4 billion, and external costs
such as congestion at $1.9 billion. The
total for 2020 is projected to be $41.6
billion dollars, with private costs at $35
billion, government costs at $3.6
billion, and external costs at $3 billion.
Ryan said revenue sources such as the
gasoline tax and motor vehicle registration
fees were assumed to fund the
majority of road projects. However, the
20
$835 million dollars for state and local
road funds in 1996 came from sources
not associated with transportation, Ryan
said. The report showed that property
taxes, special assessments, and state
general purpose aid composed 46
percent of the state’s $2.1 billion dollar
road revenue total.
Flynn took the opportunity to make a
comparison between the funding of light
rail transit and roads, stressing that the
report shows roads do not pay for
themselves.
Transportation Committee Legislative
Analyst Amy Vennewitz presented
a report on transportation funding and
the motor vehicle registration tax. The
Highway User Tax Distribution Fund
(HUTDF) receives its revenues from
motor fuel and registration taxes, which
are then distributed as 62 percent to
state trunk highways, 29 percent for
county state aid highways, and 9 percent
for municipal state streets. Of the $1.15
billion generated in fiscal year 1999,
Vennewitz said, 51 percent came from
the motor fuel tax, 48 percent from the
vehicle registration tax, and 1 percent
from miscellaneous sources.
Because the gas tax is collected on a
per gallon basis, Vennewitz said, the
revenues do not grow with inflation.
The tax is currently 20 cents per gallon,
the lowest tax in the five state area.
The HUTDF has not seen any real
growth in funds from the gas tax in the
last thirty years, according to the report.
Real growth in the HUTDF came from
the vehicle registration tax, Vennewitz
said, which is $10 plus an amount equal
to 1.25 percent of the vehicle’s base
value as depreciated over time. The
vehicle registration tax collected $555
million dollars in 1999, the report
showed. That year, Vennewitz said, the
minimum tax of $35 was paid by about
38 percent of all Minnesota’s 3.6 million
registered passenger vehicles.
Vennewitz explained options for
changing the motor vehicle excise tax
(MVET) and what implications those
changes would have on the overall
revenue of the HUTDF. Changing the
tax rate on vehicles from 1.25 percent
to one percent would result in a loss of
$83.1 million, or 15.8 percent of MVET
funds. The governor’s proposal of a $75
dollar maximum tax would result in a
$276.2 million dollar loss, or 52.5
percent of MVET funds.
Frequently called numbers
Secretary of the Senate
231 Capitol (651) 296-2344
Voice mail/order bills (651) 296-2343
Chief Clerk of the House
211 Capitol (651) 296-2314
House Index
211 Capitol (651) 296-6646
Senate Information
231 Capitol (651) 296-0504
Toll free 1-888-234-1112
House Information
175 State Office Building (651) 296-2146
Toll free 1-800-657-3550
Senate Committee Hotline (651) 296-8088
House Committee Hotline (651) 296-9283
Senate Sergeant at Arms
G-1 Capitol/Chamber (651) 296-1119
House Sergeant at Arms
45 State Office Building (651) 296-4860
Senate Counsel & Research
G-17 Capitol (651) 296-4791
House Research
600 State Office Building (651) 296-6753
Legislative Reference Library
645 State Office Building (651) 296-3398
Capitol Information Desk
1st Floor Capitol (651) 296-3962
Capitol Historic Site Tours
B-59 Capitol (651) 296-2881
TTY, Senate (651) 296-0250
Toll free 1-888-234-1216
TTY, House (651) 296-9896
Toll free 1-800-657-3550
Sign language interpreter services
The Minnesota Legislature has a
contract with the Interpretive Referral
Center of Doorways to provide sign
language interpreter services for people
who are deaf, deafblind or hard of
hearing. Interpretive services from
certified interpreters are available
throughout the year to facilitate
testimony at Legislative hearings and to
interpret for those attending hearings.
The service is also available for meetings
between Legislators and groups of
or individual constituents. In addition,
interpretive services are available for
legislative functions at the Capitol and
throughout the state.
If you need sign language interpretation
services, please contact the Interpretive
Referral Center of Doorways at
651-224-6548 (v/tty) as soon as
possible with the time and date you will
need the service. Residents of northern
Minnesota may call toll-free at 1-877-
456-3839 (v/tty), and residents of
southern Minnesota may call toll-free at
1-877-456-2021 (v/tty).