Program to make all pedestrian crossings in the state compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act established, rulemaking required, report required, and money appropriated.

A bill for an act

relating to transportation; establishing a program to make all pedestrian crossings

in the state compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act; requiring

rulemaking; requiring a report; appropriating money; authorizing the sale and

issuance of state bonds; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,

chapter 174.

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

Section 1.

new text begin

[174.77] INVENTORY OF PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS.

new text end

new text begin

Subdivision 1.

new text end

new text begin

Definitions.

new text end

new text begin

(a) For purposes of sections 174.77 and 174.78, the following

terms have the meanings given.

new text end

new text begin

(b) "Americans with Disabilities Act" or "ADA" means the Americans with Disabilities

Act of 1990, as amended, United States Code, title 42, sections 12101 to 12117.

new text end

new text begin

(c) "City" means a statutory or home rule charter city.

new text end

new text begin

(d) "Eligible recipient" means a road authority, as defined in section 160.02, subdivision

25.

new text end

new text begin

(e) "Pedestrian crossing point" means the portion of a curb on a public roadway adjacent

to a crosswalk, as defined in section 169.011, subdivision 20.

new text end

new text begin

(f) "Noncompliant crossing" means a pedestrian crossing point that is not in compliance

with current ADA requirements.

new text end

new text begin

Subd. 2.

new text end

new text begin

Statewide pedestrian crossing inventory.

new text end

new text begin

(a) The commissioner of

transportation must establish a program to inventory every pedestrian crossing point in the

state to determine compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

new text end

new text begin

(b) The commissioner must adopt rules consistent with this section that establish a

process to:

new text end

new text begin

(1) compile all existing ADA transition plan inventories from cities, counties, towns,

the Metropolitan Council, and the department;

new text end

new text begin

(2) categorize each pedestrian crossing point as fully compliant, partially compliant,

noncompliant, or requiring inspection;

new text end

new text begin

(3) work with local entities to inspect any pedestrian crossing point that requires

inspection;

new text end

new text begin

(4) identify pedestrian crossing points for inspection by the department;

new text end

new text begin

(5) provide an expedited process for a city, town, or county to apply for and receive a

grant to inspect pedestrian crossing points; and

new text end

new text begin

(6) prioritize and disburse grants to eligible recipients.

new text end

new text begin

(c) In establishing criteria for awarding grants under this section, the commissioner must

prioritize eligible recipients:

new text end

new text begin

(1) with populations under 5,000;

new text end

new text begin

(2) with a relatively high percentage of pedestrian crossing points that require inspection;

and

new text end

new text begin

(3) that are targeting areas for inspection that include lower-income residents and other

disadvantaged communities.

new text end

new text begin

(d) The commissioner must maintain a database that tracks the compliance status of

pedestrian crossing points across the state. The commissioner must make the database

accessible to the public on the department website.

new text end

new text begin

Subd. 3.

new text end

new text begin

Eligible uses.

new text end

new text begin

An eligible recipient may use a grant provided under this program

to:

new text end

new text begin

(1) conduct an expedited survey of pedestrian crossing points that require inspection

within the recipient's jurisdiction to determine compliance;

new text end

new text begin

(2) contract with a third party to perform the work described in clause (1); and

new text end

new text begin

(3) repay debt incurred for the purposes described in clauses (1) and (2).

new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin

[174.78] ACCESSIBLE PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS.

new text end

new text begin

Subdivision 1.

new text end

new text begin

Establishment.

new text end

new text begin

(a) The commissioner of transportation must establish

a program to bring every pedestrian crossing point in the state into compliance with the

Americans with Disabilities Act by December 31, 2035.

new text end

new text begin

(b) The commissioner must adopt rules consistent with this section that establish a

process to:

new text end

new text begin

(1) determine whether modifications to each noncompliant crossing will be performed

by regional master contract, as described in subdivision 4, or directly by the department or

a local road authority;

new text end

new text begin

(2) request proposals for regional, multiyear contracts to perform the work required by

the program; and

new text end

new text begin

(3) provide grants to eligible recipients to perform necessary modifications to

noncompliant crossings.

new text end

new text begin

Subd. 2.

new text end

new text begin

Eligible uses.

new text end

new text begin

(a) An eligible recipient may use a grant provided under this

program:

new text end

new text begin

(1) to design, construct, and fully scope the work required to bring noncompliant crossings

in its jurisdiction into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; or

new text end

new text begin

(2) to repay debt incurred for the purposes described in clause (1).

new text end

new text begin

(b) A grant received under this section must not be used to contract with a third party

to perform the work described in paragraph (a), clause (1), except that the commissioner

may permit an eligible entity to use a grant provided under this program to expand the scope

of an existing project to include modifications to a noncompliant crossing.

new text end

new text begin

Subd. 3.

new text end

new text begin

Planning and prioritization.

new text end

new text begin

(a) The commissioner must establish a process

to determine whether the work required to bring each noncompliant crossing into compliance

will be performed by the local road authority or as part of a regional multiyear master

contract. The commissioner must coordinate with local road authorities to make this

determination.

new text end

new text begin

(b) Within each region or jurisdiction, the commissioner must prioritize work on

noncompliant crossings that are in close proximity to:

new text end

new text begin

(1) transit routes;

new text end

new text begin

(2) school zones;

new text end

new text begin

(3) senior housing;

new text end

new text begin

(4) areas with high pedestrian-vehicle conflict; and

new text end

new text begin

(5) areas with a high concentration of residents with disabilities.

new text end

new text begin

Subd. 4.

new text end

new text begin

Regional projects.

new text end

new text begin

(a) The commissioner must establish a process to request

proposals for regional multiyear contracts to perform the work required under this section.

A contract under this subdivision is a regional master contract.

new text end

new text begin

(b) The commissioner must divide the state into regions that align with department

districts. A district may have multiple regions.

new text end

new text begin

(c) A request for proposals under this subdivision must be issued for each region identified

under paragraph (b) and must be designed to maximize efficient work and use of resources,

including by:

new text end

new text begin

(1) using standardized design templates and materials;

new text end

new text begin

(2) addressing a minimum number of noncompliant crossings with each deployment;

new text end

new text begin

(3) permitting performance over multiple years; and

new text end

new text begin

(4) clustering work to reduce costs.

new text end

new text begin

(d) The commissioner must provide a local road authority with the option to include

some or all of its noncompliant crossings in a regional master contract that encompasses

the local road authority's jurisdiction. The process required under this subdivision must

provide guidance for local road authorities that intend to participate, including:

new text end

new text begin

(1) relevant deadlines to participate in a regional master contract; and

new text end

new text begin

(2) any cost participation requirements.

new text end

new text begin

(e) The commissioner must reduce costs for a city or town with a population under 5,000

by eliminating any cost participation requirement for a project required under this section.

new text end

new text begin

(f) The commissioner must reduce costs for a city or town with a population between

5,000 and 10,000 by reducing cost participation requirements for a project required under

this section.

new text end

new text begin

Subd. 5.

new text end

new text begin

Public sector road authority projects.

new text end

new text begin

(a) The commissioner must establish

a process to provide a grant to an eligible entity that uses its own maintenance capacity to

perform some or all of the work required under this section within the eligible entity's

jurisdiction.

new text end

new text begin

(b) To participate in the program under this subdivision, an eligible entity must have

maintenance capacity to perform the work on noncompliant crossings required under this

section by December 31, 2035.

new text end

new text begin

(c) A local road authority may participate in the program under this subdivision and

subdivisions 4 and 6.

new text end

new text begin

Subd. 6.

new text end

new text begin

Existing projects.

new text end

new text begin

The commissioner must establish a process to provide a

grant to a local road authority to expand the scope of an existing project to perform the work

required under this section on a noncompliant crossing when a project expansion would be

more efficient than performing the work under subdivision 4 or 5.

new text end

new text begin

Subd. 7.

new text end

new text begin

Workforce plan.

new text end

new text begin

Any contractor bidding for a regional contract must submit

a workforce plan as part of the contractor's application. The workforce plan must include a

description of how the applicant will maximize the use of registered apprentices and other

steps the applicant will take to develop a sustainable workforce in the region covered by

the contract.

new text end

new text begin

Subd. 8.

new text end

new text begin

Prevailing wage.

new text end

new text begin

Laborers and mechanics performing work on a project funded

by a grant under this section must be paid the prevailing wage rate for the work as defined

in section 177.42, subdivision 6. Projects under this section are subject to the requirements

and enforcement provisions under sections 177.27, 177.30, 177.32, 177.41 to 177.435, and

177.45.

new text end

new text begin

Subd. 9.

new text end

new text begin

Accountability and reporting.

new text end

new text begin

By September 15 each year, the commissioner

must report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with

jurisdiction over transportation policy and finance on the operation of the program during

the previous fiscal year. The report must include:

new text end

new text begin

(1) an estimate of the total cost to bring all pedestrian crossing points into compliance

with the ADA, by region, and a computation of the amount the estimate changed since the

program was created. If the cost estimate changed since the most recent previous report was

submitted, the report must include an explanation of the reasons the estimate changed;

new text end

new text begin

(2) the number of noncompliant crossings that the commissioner has identified;

new text end

new text begin

(3) the number of pedestrian crossing points that require inspection in each region;

new text end

new text begin

(4) the number of pedestrian crossing points brought into compliance in the last year

and whether the work was performed under subdivision 4, 5, or 6;

new text end

new text begin

(5) the average cost to bring a noncompliant crossing into compliance, reported statewide,

by region, and by approach;

new text end

new text begin

(6) the status of any requests for proposals or master contracts in effect in each region,

including the contract cost, how many noncompliant crossings will be serviced under the

contract, whether any local road authorities are participating in the contract, and the time

period for performance of the contract;

new text end

new text begin

(7) any amounts appropriated for the grant program that remain unspent;

new text end

new text begin

(8) a list of the eligible recipients that submitted an application under this section or

section 174.77; and

new text end

new text begin

(9) a list of the eligible recipients that received a grant under this section or section

174.77.

new text end

Sec. 3.
new text begin
APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin

$....... in fiscal year 2027 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of

transportation to provide pedestrian crossing inventory grants to eligible recipients under

Minnesota Statutes, section 174.77. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until

June 30, 2029.

new text end

Sec. 4.
new text begin
BOND APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin

Subdivision 1.

new text end

new text begin

Appropriation.

new text end

new text begin

$....... is appropriated from the bond proceeds account

in the state transportation fund to the commissioner of transportation for grants for accessible

pedestrian crossing points under Minnesota Statutes, section 174.78. This appropriation

may be used for regional master contracts and for grants to eligible recipients.

new text end

new text begin

Subd. 2.

new text end

new text begin

Bond sale.

new text end

new text begin

To provide the money appropriated in this section from the bond

proceeds fund, the commissioner of management and budget shall sell and issue bonds of

the state in an amount up to $....... in the manner, upon the terms, and with the effect

prescribed by Minnesota Statutes, sections 16A.631 to 16A.675, and by the Minnesota

Constitution, article XI, sections 4 to 7.

new text end