Purpose

Clarify and update transportation-related laws in Minnesota. The bill aims to improve highway project reporting, ensure crossing bells at rail crossings stay active, expand and govern a new Rail Service Improvement Program (RSIP) to rehabilitate and upgrade rail lines, adjust airport funding rules (while maintaining Pine Creek), and repeal a historic highway designation (the Hiawatha Pioneer Trail) along with related highway naming provisions.

Main provisions

• Major highway project reporting

  • The commissioner of transportation must annually report by December 15 on:
  • the status of major highway projects (completed in the prior two years, under construction, or planned in the report year and the following 15 years),
  • expenditures from the trunk highway fund,
  • efficiencies achieved in the prior two fiscal years.
  • A “major highway project” is defined by cost thresholds that vary by district (metro versus nonmetro). The exact dollar thresholds are specified in the statute.

• Protection of crossing bells

  • Crossing bells at railroad crossings with an active warning system may not be silenced or ordered silenced.

• Rail Service Improvement Program (RSIP)

  • Creation and purpose: establish an RSIP to assist with rail service improvements in Minnesota.
  • Identify deteriorating rail lines: the commissioner must identify lines that are deteriorating or at risk of deteriorating to the point that they cannot handle needed speeds and weights.
  • Priorities and eligibility: the commissioner sets priorities for money or in-kind contributions, develops eligibility criteria, and assesses economic and social benefits and project viability.
  • Contracts and funding: the commissioner can negotiate contracts for rail line rehabilitation or other rail service improvements, disburse state and federal funds, and adopt rules to govern RSIP (covering sections 222.46 to 222.54).
  • Stakeholders and voluntary participation: railroads, rail users, the department, and possibly local governments or the federal government can participate; participation is voluntary. Some funds may come from the RSIP account.
  • Contractual conditions: contracts may require minimum operating standards, a portion of assistance to be loaned to the railroad (repaid from revenues or use), and repayment terms. Reimbursements may be deposited into the RSIP account (bond proceeds fund if using general obligation bonds; other funds into the special revenue RSIP account). Reimbursements must be used exclusively for rehabilitating other rail lines in Minnesota.
  • Wages and contract standards: when a railroad contracts rehabilitation work, the railroad must hire experienced contractors, recruit local workers, and pay wages at least equal to those the railroad pays its own workers for similar work, and not less than twice the state minimum wage.
  • Grants and expenditures: RSIP money can fund grants for freight rail improvements, planning studies, and various capital projects to improve rail capacity or safety, as well as related activities like right-of-way management and aerial surveying.
  • Use of funds: expenditures support capital improvements, rehabilitation, rail planning, right-of-way management, and rail yard improvements; funds come from the RSIP account in the state’s special revenue fund, and related revenue from rail property disposition.

• Airport and air navigation facilities

  • The commissioner has authority to acquire, establish, construct, operate, regulate, and police air navigation facilities and restricted landing areas, and to maintain and operate airports (within or outside the state), as an essential public service.
  • Funding and zoning: the commissioner may fund airport safety projects to maintain existing infrastructure even if a zoning ordinance is not yet completed; the commissioner may withhold funding from the airport subject to the proposed zoning ordinance.
  • Pine Creek airport carve-out: the bill preserves the state’s ability to continue maintaining the state-owned airport at Pine Creek, despite restrictions on other airport expenditures or zoning actions.

• Repeals and highway designations

  • Repeals Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 161.14 subdivisions 12 and 12a, which previously named the Hiawatha Pioneer Trail along a long route through multiple highways.
  • The section effectively removes those highway-name designations for the Hiawatha Pioneer Trail from the state statutes (the Appendix shows the repealed route naming and designations).

Notable changes to existing law

• Strengthened protection for crossing bells at railroad crossings with active warning systems.
• Expanded and formalized the Rail Service Improvement Program, including:
  • a formal mechanism for prioritizing rail projects,
  • requirements to recruit local workers and pay prevailing or higher wages for contracted work,
  • loan-style financing components with repayment terms,
  • explicit use of fund accounts and clarity on fund sources and destinations.
• Revised airport funding framework with emphasis on safety projects and local zoning considerations, while explicitly allowing continued state support for Pine Creek.
• Repeal of the long-standing Hiawatha Pioneer Trail highway naming, removing a named designation from the state highway system.

Section highlights (for quick reference)

• Section addressing major highway project reporting thresholds and annual reporting.
• Section prohibiting silencing of crossing bells at crossings with active warning systems.
• Main RSIP section (creation, administration, contracts, and funding mechanisms including wage standards and local hiring).
• RSIP expenditures and eligible activities (capital improvements, rail yard work, aerial surveys, rights-of-way, and rail planning).
• Airport funding and zoning-related constraints, plus Pine Creek exception.
• Repeal of Hiawatha Pioneer Trail naming and related highway designations.

Relevant terms section follows.

Relevant Terms - major highway project - metropolitan (metro) highway construction district - nonmetropolitan highway construction district - trunk highway fund expenditures - annual report - crossing bells - active warning system - Rail Service Improvement Program (RSIP) - rail service improvement account - deteriorating rail line - rail line rehabilitation - railroads - rail users - contracts - federal grants - repayment - wage requirements - regional railroad authority (chapter 398A) - rail bank program - aerial photography survey - right-of-way - rail yards - capital improvement projects - rail planning studies - Pine Creek airport - restricted landing areas - air navigation facilities - airport zoning ordinance - Hiawatha Pioneer Trail - repeal of highway designations - Roseau County