Purpose

The bill aims to ensure transportation projects align with climate and mobility goals. Before a project or group of projects is added to Minnesota’s approved transportation plans, an impact assessment must be done to check whether the project meets specified greenhouse gas and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reduction targets. If it does not, the plan must be adjusted to try to meet those targets, or projects can be added to or removed from the portfolio, or halted altogether.

Main Provisions

• Before inclusion in the state transportation improvement program (STIP) or metropolitan transportation improvement program (MTIP), the responsible entity must perform an impact assessment of the project or portfolio.
• The assessment must determine if the project or portfolio is in conformance with:
  • greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, as defined in Minnesota Statutes section 174.01, subdivision 3; and
  • vehicle miles traveled reduction targets, established in the statewide multimodal transportation plan under section 174.03, subdivision 1a.
• If the project/portfolio is not in conformance, the entity must attempt to fix it by one or more of the following:
  • alter the scope or design of the project or any number of projects in the portfolio;
  • add or remove one or more projects from the portfolio;
  • or a combination of these steps, followed by a revised assessment to try to meet the requirements.
• If needed, the plan must include sufficient impact mitigation as described in subdivision 4, or else halt project development and disallow inclusion of the project or portfolio in the STIP/MTIP.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• The bill amends Minnesota Statutes 2024 in sections 161.178, subdivision 2 (and related cross-referenced sections 174.01 and 174.03) to add a formal requirement for impact assessments and conformance with greenhouse gas and VMT targets before projects can be included in the STIP or MTIP.
• It introduces a mandatory decision framework that allows project scope/design changes, project removals/additions, and revised assessments to achieve conformance, with the possibility of halting inclusion if targets cannot be met.

How It Works (Process)

• An “applicable entity” (such as a transportation department or regional planning organization) must conduct the impact assessment before inclusion in the STIP/MTIP.
• The entity evaluates conformance against specified GHG and VMT targets and, if not in conformance, must adjust projects or portfolios and re-assess.
• The assessment and mitigation requirements guide whether projects proceed or are halted.

Potential Impacts

• Increased emphasis on climate and mobility outcomes in planning and project design.
• Possible redesign, delay, or removal of projects to meet GHG and VMT targets.
• Greater use of mitigation measures to offset transportation impacts.
• A shift in how projects are grouped and approved within state and regional plans.

Implementation Considerations

• The exact process for calculating conformance and the specifics of “subdivision 4” mitigation are defined elsewhere in the statutes; the bill references those provisions as part of the required approach.
• No explicit timeline is provided in the summary, but the requirement applies before project inclusion in the STIP/MTIP.

Relevant Terms - impact assessment - state transportation improvement program (STIP) - metropolitan transportation improvement program (MTIP) - greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets - vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reduction targets - statewide multimodal transportation plan - conformance - alter the scope or design - add or remove projects - revised assessment - interlink sufficient impact mitigation - subdivision 4 (mitigation) - halt project development - disallow inclusion - Minnesota Statutes 2024 - sections 161.178, 174.01, 174.03