Transportation; various provisions modified, silencing of railroad crossing bells prohibited, rail service improvement program accounts modified, town roads and private roads provisions modified, authorization for maintenance of Piney-Pinecreek Border Airport in Roseau County removed, highway designations repealed for the Hiawatha Pioneer Trail, and technical corrections made.

A bill for an act

relating to transportation; modifying various transportation-related provisions;

prohibiting silencing of railroad crossing bells; modifying rail service improvement

program accounts; modifying provisions related to town roads and private roads;

removing authorization for maintenance of Piney-Pinecreek Border Airport in

Roseau County; repealing highway designations for the Hiawatha Pioneer Trail;

making technical corrections; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 160.05;

160.09, by adding a subdivision; 164.07, subdivision 7; 219.14, by adding a

subdivision; 222.50; 360.021, subdivision 1; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2024,

section 161.14, subdivisions 12, 12a.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 160.05, is amended to read:

160.05 DEDICATION OF ROADS.

Subdivision 1.

Six years.

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(a)
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When any road or portion of a road has been used and kept

in repair and worked for at least six years continuously as a public highway by a road

authority, it shall be deemed dedicated to the public to the width of the actual use and be

and remain, until lawfully vacated, a public highway whether it has ever been established

as a public highway or not. Nothing contained in this subdivision shall impair the right,

title, or interest of the water department of any city of the first class secured under Special

Laws 1885, chapter 110. This subdivision shall apply to roads and streets except platted

streets within cities.
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If a road authority fails to give the notice required by paragraph (b),

this subdivision does not apply.
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(b) Before a road authority may make any repairs or conduct any work on a private road

as defined by section
169.011, subdivision 57
, the road authority must notify the owner of

the road of the intent to make repairs or conduct work on the private road. The notice must

be sent to the owner by certified mail. The notice must specify the segment of road that is

the subject of the notice and state the duration of the repairs or work. The notice must include

the following: "Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section
160.05
, your private road may be

deemed to be dedicated to the public if the following conditions are met for six continuous

years: (1) the road is used by the public; and (2) the road is repaired or worked on by a road

authority. This means that the road will no longer be a private road but will be a public road.

You will not receive compensation from the road authority when the road is dedicated to

the public."

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Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 160.09, is amended by adding a subdivision to

read:

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Subd. 4.

new text end

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Other means of access.

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new text begin

For purposes of this section, "other means of access"

includes but is not limited to establishment of a cartway under section 163.11, subdivision

4a, or 164.08.

new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 164.07, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Appeal.

Within 40 days after the filing of the award of damages any owner or

occupant may appeal from the award by filing a notice of appeal with the court administrator

of the district court of the county where the lands lie. However, the owner or occupant must

file the notice of appeal within ten days in order to delay the opening, construction, alteration,

change, or other improvement in or to the road pursuant to subdivision 10. The notice of

appeal
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shall
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must
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be accompanied by a bond of not less than
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$250
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$1,500
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, with sufficient

surety approved by the judge or the county auditor conditioned to pay all costs arising from

the appeal in case the award is sustained. A copy of the notice
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shall
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must
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be mailed by

registered or certified mail to the town clerk or any member of the town board. The notice

of appeal
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shall
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must
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specify the award or failure to award appealed from, the land to which

it relates, the nature and amount of the claim of appellant, and the grounds of the appeal,

which may include a challenge to the public purpose or necessity of the proposed road or

condemnation.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 219.14, is amended by adding a subdivision to

read:

new text begin

Subd. 1a.

new text end

new text begin

Crossing bells.

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new text begin

Notwithstanding this section or any other law or rule to the

contrary, the commissioner must not order or allow crossing bells to be silenced at any

railroad crossing equipped with an active warning system.

new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 222.50, is amended to read:

222.50 RAIL SERVICE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

Subdivision 1.

Creation.

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There is created
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The rail service improvement program
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is

created
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to provide assistance for improvement of rail service in the state.

Subd. 2.

Identifying deteriorating rail line.

The commissioner
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shall
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must
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identify those

rail lines that have deteriorated or are in danger of deteriorating so as to be unable to carry

the speeds and weights necessary to efficiently transport the goods and products moved or

sought to be moved on the lines.

Subd. 3.

Commissioner's powers; rules.

The commissioner
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shall have
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has
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the power

to:

(1) set priorities for the allocation and expenditure of money or in kind contributions

authorized under the rail service improvement program and develop criteria for eligibility

and approval of projects under the program. The criteria
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shall
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must
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include the anticipated

economic and social benefits to the state and to the area being served and the economic

viability of the project;

(2) negotiate and enter into contracts for rail line rehabilitation or other rail service

improvement;

(3) disburse state and federal money for rail service improvements; and

(4) adopt rules necessary to carry out the purposes of sections
222.46
to
222.54
.

Subd. 4.

Contract.

The commissioner may negotiate and enter into contracts for the

purpose of rail service improvement and may incorporate funds available from the federal

government. The participants in these contracts
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shall
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must
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be railroads, rail users, and the

department, and may be political subdivisions of the state and the federal government.
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In

such contracts,
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Participation by all parties
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shall
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in these contracts must
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be voluntary. The

commissioner may provide a portion of the money required to carry out the terms of
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any

such contract
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these contracts
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by expenditure from
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the
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a
new text end
rail service improvement account.

Subd. 5.

Contractual conditions.

In making any contract pursuant to subdivision 4
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,
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the

commissioner may:

(1) stipulate minimum operating standards for rail lines designed to achieve reasonable

transportation service for shippers and to achieve best use of funds invested in rail line

rehabilitation;

(2) require a portion of the total assistance for improving a rail line to be loaned to the

railroad by rail users and require the railroad to reimburse rail users for any loan on the

basis of use of the line and the revenues produced when the line has been improved;

(3) determine the terms and conditions under which all or any portion of state funds

allocated
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shall
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must
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be repaid to the department by the railroads. Reimbursement may be

made as a portion of the increased revenue derived from the improved rail line. Any
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loan
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reimbursement received by the department pursuant to this clause
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shall
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for any project

financed with state general obligation bond funds must
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be deposited in the rail service

improvement account
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in the bond proceeds fund
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and
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shall
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any loan reimbursement received

by the department pursuant to this clause for any other projects must be deposited in the

rail service improvement account in the special revenue fund. Reimbursements received

under this clause must
new text end
be appropriated exclusively for rehabilitating other rail lines in the

state pursuant to subdivision 4; and

(4) to the extent not prohibited by federal law or regulation, require that when the railroad

elects to contract for portions of the rehabilitation work or rail service improvement, the

railroad must select a contractor who is experienced in rail rehabilitation work
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,
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and must

require the contractor to:

(i) recruit any new workers from the area where the work is to be done; and

(ii) pay workers under the contract wages that are equal to or greater than the wages the

railroad pays its own workers for similar work, but not less than twice the state minimum

wage that state-covered employers are required to pay under section
177.24, subdivision 1
,

paragraph (a).

Subd. 6.

Grants.

The commissioner may approve grants from
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the
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a
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rail service

improvement account for freight rail service improvements that support economic

development.

Subd. 7.

Expenditures.

(a) The commissioner may expend money from
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the
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a
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rail service

improvement account for the following purposes:

(1) to make transfers as provided under section
222.57
or to pay interest adjustments on

loans guaranteed under the state rail user and rail carrier loan guarantee program;

(2) to pay a portion of the costs of capital improvement projects designed to improve

rail service of a rail user or a rail carrier;

(3) to pay a portion of the costs of rehabilitation projects designed to improve rail service

of a rail user or a rail carrier;

(4) to acquire, maintain, manage, and dispose of railroad right-of-way pursuant to the

state rail bank program;

(5) to provide for aerial photography survey of proposed and abandoned railroad tracks

for the purpose of recording and reestablishing by analytical triangulation the existing

alignment of the inplace track;

(6) to pay a portion of the costs of acquiring a rail line by a regional railroad authority

established pursuant to chapter 398A;

(7) to pay the state matching portion of federal grants for rail-highway grade crossing

improvement projects;

(8) to pay the nonfederal matching portion of federal grants for freight rail projects that

support economic development;

(9) to fund rail planning studies; and

(10) to pay a portion of the costs of capital improvement projects designed to improve

capacity or safety at rail yards.

(b) All money derived by the commissioner from the disposition of railroad right-of-way

or of any other property acquired pursuant to sections
222.46
to
222.62

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shall
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must
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be

deposited in the rail service improvement account
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in the special revenue fund
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.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 360.021, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Authority to establish.

The commissioner is authorized and empowered,

on behalf of and in the name of this state, within the limitation of available appropriations,

to acquire, by purchase, gift, devise, lease, condemnation proceedings, or otherwise, property,

real or personal, for the purpose of establishing and constructing restricted landing areas

and other air navigation facilities and to acquire in like manner, own, control, establish,

construct, enlarge, improve, maintain, equip, operate, regulate, and police such restricted

landing areas and other air navigation facilities, either within or without this state; and to

make, prior to any such acquisition, investigations, surveys, and plans. The commissioner

may maintain, equip, operate, regulate, and police airports, either within or without this

state. The operation and maintenance of airports is an essential public service. The

commissioner may maintain at such airports facilities for the servicing of aircraft and for

the comfort and accommodation of air travelers. The commissioner may dispose of any

such property, airport, restricted landing area, or any other air navigation facility, by sale,

lease, or otherwise, in accordance with the laws of this state governing the disposition of

other like property of the state. The commissioner may not acquire or take over any restricted

landing area, or other air navigation facility without the consent of the owner. The

commissioner shall not acquire any additional state airports nor establish any additional

state-owned airports. The commissioner may erect, equip, operate, and maintain on any

airport buildings and equipment necessary and proper to maintain, and conduct such airport

and air navigation facilities connected therewith. The commissioner shall not expend money

for land acquisition, or for the construction, improvement, or maintenance of airports, or

for air navigation facilities for an airport, unless the municipality, county, or joint airport

zoning board involved has or is establishing a zoning authority for that airport, and the

authority has made a good-faith showing that it is in the process of and will complete with

due diligence, an airport zoning ordinance in accordance with sections
360.061
to
360.074
.

The commissioner may provide funds to support airport safety projects that maintain existing

infrastructure, regardless of a zoning authority's efforts to complete a zoning regulation.

The commissioner may withhold funding from only the airport subject to the proposed

zoning ordinance.
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Notwithstanding the foregoing prohibition, the commissioner may continue

to maintain the state-owned airport at Pine Creek.
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Sec. 7.
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REPEALER.
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new text begin

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 161.14, subdivisions 12 and 12a,

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are repealed.

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APPENDIX

Repealed Minnesota Statutes: H3926-1

161.14 NAMES AND DESIGNATIONS OF CERTAIN HIGHWAYS.

Subd. 12.

Hiawatha Pioneer Trail.

(a) The following route is named and designated the "Hiawatha Pioneer Trail":

Beginning at Trunk Highway No. 61 on the boundary line between the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin; thence northwesterly on Trunk Highway No. 61 to junction with Trunk Highway No. 12 in St. Paul; thence westerly and southwesterly on Trunk Highways No. 12 and No. 5 to Fort Snelling; thence southwesterly on Trunk Highway No. 3 to Faribault; thence westerly on Trunk Highway No. 99 to St. Peter; thence southerly on Trunk Highway No. 22 to Mankato; thence westerly on Trunk Highway No. 68 to Sleepy Eye; thence northerly on Trunk Highway No. 4 to Fairfax; thence westerly on Trunk Highway No. 19 to junction with Trunk Highway No. 67; thence northerly on Trunk Highway No. 67 to Granite Falls; thence southwesterly on Trunk Highway No. 23 to junction with Trunk Highway No. 14; thence westerly on Trunk Highway No. 14 to Lake Benton; thence southerly on Trunk Highway No. 75 to Pipestone; thence easterly on Trunk Highway No. 30 to Slayton; thence southerly on Trunk Highway No. 59 to Worthington; thence easterly on Trunk Highway No. 16 to Jackson; thence southerly on Trunk Highway No. 71 to the boundary line between the states of Minnesota and Iowa.

(b) The route of the "Hiawatha Pioneer Trail" designated in paragraph (a) of this subdivision is the main route of the trail. The following routes are named and designated as the alternate southern route and the alternate northern route of the "Hiawatha Pioneer Trail."

(c) The alternate southern route is described as follows:

Commencing at the junction of Trunk Highway No. 61, on the main route, and Trunk Highway No. 14, north and west of Winona, thence westerly on Trunk Highway No. 14 to Owatonna; thence northerly on Trunk Highway No. 3 to Faribault, and connecting to the main route.

(d) The alternate northern route is described as follows:

Commencing at the junction of Trunk Highway No. 12, on the main route, and Trunk Highway No. 10 in the city of St. Paul; thence northerly on Trunk Highway No. 10 to Little Falls, to junction Trunk Highway No. 371; thence northerly on Trunk Highway No. 371 to Brainerd and junction with Trunk Highway No. 18; thence easterly on Trunk Highway No. 18 to Garrison and junction with Trunk Highway No. 169; thence southerly on Trunk Highway No. 169 to junction with Trunk Highway No. 65; thence northerly on Trunk Highway No. 65 to Jacobsen, and junction with Trunk Highway No. 34; thence easterly on Trunk Highway No. 34 to junction with Trunk Highway No. 2; thence easterly and southerly on Trunk Highway No. 2 to Duluth and junction with Trunk Highway No. 23; thence southerly and westerly on Trunk Highway No. 23 to Sandstone and junction of Trunk Highway No. 61, thence southerly on Trunk Highway No. 61 to North Branch and junction with Trunk Highway No. 95; thence easterly and southerly on Trunk Highway No. 95 to Stillwater and junction with Trunk Highway No. 212; thence southerly and westerly to Trunk Highway No. 12 on the main route in the city of St. Paul.

(e) The commissioner of transportation shall adopt a suitable marking design with which the commissioner shall mark or blaze the highways heretofore described over which the "Hiawatha Pioneer Trail" is located.

Subd. 12a.

Hiawatha Pioneer Trail; alternate route.

The following route is designated as an alternate route of the "Hiawatha Pioneer Trail":

Commencing at the junction of Trunk Highway No. 61, on the main route, and Trunk Highway No. 58, at Red Wing, thence southwesterly on Trunk Highway No. 58, to its junction with Trunk Highway No. 52, at Zumbrota. The commissioner shall mark the route as provided in subdivision 12.