| 1998 Fiscal Review Appropriations - Transportation |
The 1998 Legislature appropriated approximately $52 million in additional funds for FY 1999 and $200,000 for FY 1998 for transportation purposes. Most of this amount, approximately $51.1 million, was from the trunk highway fund to the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Safety as described below. When added to the appropriations from the 1997 session, total transportation spending for the 1997-1999 biennium will be nearly $3 billion.
Department of Transportation
The Legislature appropriated an additional $46.9 million for FY 1999 to the Department of Transportation, including $40 million for state road construction, $6.8 million for design and construction engineering, and $61,000 for aeronautics. Total state road construction spending for FY 1999 is now expected to be over $485 million, the highest annual road construction program ever in the state.
In addition to the supplemental appropriations, the Transportation Supplemental Budget Bill (Chapter 372) also changed the 5 percent set-aside formula. Article 14 of the Minnesota Constitution allows 5 percent of the net highway user tax distribution fund revenues to be set aside and apportioned under a formula determined by the Legislature no more frequently than once every six years. The formula was last changed in 1989. Under the new formula, 30.5 percent of the revenues will be distributed to the town road account, 16 percent to the town bridge account, and 53.5 percent to a newly created flexible highway account. The flexible highway account revenues will be used to restore former trunk highways that have been turned back to either the county state aid highway system or the municipal state aid highway system. Money in the account not needed for county and municipal turnbacks will be used for state road construction and engineering.
Department of Public Safety
The Legislature appropriated an additional $200,000 for FY 1998 and $4.5 million for FY 1999 to the Department of Public Safety. Most of the FY 1999 amount was appropriated to the state patrol for the following purposes:
• $2.697 million from the trunk highway fund for 29 additional state troopers and seven support staff;
• $50,000 from the highway user tax distribution fund for a vehicle registration and insurance study;
• $294,000 from the General Fund for additional capitol complex security staff;
• $200,000 from the trunk highway fund for ad-ditional state patrol helicopter flight time; and
• $694,000 from the trunk highway fund for the replacement and maintenance of state patrol communications equipment.
Driver and vehicle services received the remaining amount of the Department of Public Safety's supplemental appropriations including $200,000 in FY 1998 and $235,000 in FY 1999 for the increased costs of producing Minnesota drivers' licenses and identification cards; $295,000 in FY 1999 to establish youth-oriented driver improvement clinics and a graduated driver licensing system; and $7,700 in FY 1999 to make a firearms safety designation available on drivers' licenses.
The Transportation Supplemental Budget Bill also required the state patrol to assign four troopers to a dealer licensing and motor vehicle registration enforcement task force. This task force will investigate activity by persons in violation of the dealer licensing and vehicle registration laws. The Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety was directed to undertake a study using this task force to determine the incidence of private passenger vehicles domiciled in this state but registered in another state and the potential revenue loss, and the number of uninsured motorists in this state.
Chapter 388 contained the appropriations for the driver improvement clinics and the graduated driver licensing system. Youth-oriented driver improvement clinics are designed to assist traffic violators age 18 and under in correcting improper driving practices. The graduated licensing system requires drivers age 16 and 17 to hold a provisional license for 12 months before obtaining a full driver's license. In order to obtain the full license, the provisional license holder must avoid crash-related and alcohol-related violations and must drive at least 10 hours under supervision of a licensed driver 21 years of age or older.