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H.F. No. 2490 - Capital Investment, The Third Engrossment
 
Author: Senator LeRoy A. Stumpf
 
Prepared By: Stephanie James, Senate Counsel (651/296-0103)
 
Date: May 16, 2014



 

Article 1:  Appropriations of Bond Proceeds

Section 1 [Capital Improvement Appropriations] specifies that appropriations are from the bond proceeds fund, unless otherwise specified. Constrains the use of these appropriations to those permitted by the constitution to acquire and better public land; permits the appropriation to be used until the project is completed or abandoned, subject to a four-year limit; and precludes use of the funds for projects that could be financed through the state energy improvement program or the guaranteed energy-savings program. Summarizes the appropriations by agency.

Sections 2-25 appropriate money for capital projects and bond sale expenses.  See the spreadsheet for details.

Section 26 [Bond Sale Authorizations] authorizes the Commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) to authorize the sale of bonds for the projects in this bill.

Section 27 [Cancellations; Bond Sale Authorization Reductions] cancels appropriations in earlier bonding bills that have not been spent within four years of authorization and have not been extended.

Section 28 [Bond Sale Schedule] lowers the capped amount that MMB is permitted to move from the general fund to make principal and interest payments on bonds coming due.

Section 29 [Appropriations Given Effect Once] is a safeguard against a project receiving appropriations in more than one bill in this legislative session. Only one appropriation will be effective, if an appropriation is enacted more than once.

Section 30 [Effective Date] makes this article effective the day after enactment.

Article 2:  Miscellaneous

Section 1 [Negotiated Sales Authority] gives MMB the authority to sell bonds through negotiated sales until June 30, 2016. 

Section 2 [Reports] adds appropriation bonds to the cancellation report. Currently, MMB has to report to the chairs of the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means with a list of laws that authorized the issuance of bonds or appropriations of general fund money that were enacted more than four years earlier.  This is the so-called “cancellation report.” This section adds to that list of laws any law that authorizes bonds supported by a state appropriation (i.e. so-called “appropriation bonds”) that is enacted or amended after December 31, 2013.

Section 3 [Cancellations] add certain appropriation bonds to the commissioner’s cancellation authorization.  Current law permits the Commissioner of MMB to cancel remaining bond sale authorizations or appropriations if the commissioner determines that the purposes for which general obligation bonds were issued have been accomplished or abandoned.  This section permits the commissioner to cancel appropriation bond sale authorizations under the same circumstances and conditions, if the appropriation bond was authorized or amended after December 31, 2013. Requires reporting the cancellation to the chairs of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.

Section 4 [Construction and Major Remodeling], Section 5 [Other Projects] and Section 6 [Information Technology] adds the chair of the Senate Capital Investment Committee and the ranking members of the Senate and House capital Investment Committees to the list of legislators who receive certain reports and notifications that the chair of the House of Representatives Capital Investment Committee receives.

Section 7 [Qualification; Improvement Grant] allows grants under the library improvement program to be used to remediate conditions that are hazardous to health or safety.

Section 8 [Capital Projects] specifies that the list of factors, already in statute, that the University of Minnesota and MNSCU uses to set priorities for their capital projects, is not in priority order.

Sections 9 [State Trail Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Development] extends an earlier appropriation for the Stagecoach Trail until December 30, 2016.

Section 10 [Minnesota Valley Railroad Track Rehabilitation], Section 11 [Minnesota Valley Railroad Track Rehabilitation], and Section 12 [Minnesota Valley Railroad Track Rehabilitation] make adjustments to earlier appropriations for the Minnesota Valley Railroad Track Rehabilitation to allow the money to be used for bridges.

Section 13 [Minneapolis – Orchestra Hall] extends a 2010 appropriation for Peavey Plaza until December 31, 2018.

Section 14 [Hennepin County - MN African American History Museum] permits a prior appropriation to be used to acquire land and buildings.

Section 15 [Minneapolis Veterans Home Centralized Pharmacy] permits a prior appropriation to be used for additional building on the Minneapolis Veterans Campus.

Section 16 [Austin Port Authority] permits use of a prior appropriation to be used for a parking lot, for the Hormel Institute project.

Section 17 [Flood Hazard Mitigation, Stream Restoration Grants] permits a 2012 appropriation for flood hazard mitigation to be used for stream restoration in a specified disaster area (2012 Duluth area storm and flooding).

Section 18 [Reforestation] permits the use of a 2012 appropriation for reforestation to be used for reforestation in a specified disaster area (2011 storms, flooding and tornadoes in Kandiyohi, Lincoln, Lyon, McLeod, Meeker, Pine, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Stearns, and Yellow Medicine Counties).

Section 19 [Veterans Affairs] modifies a 2013 appropriation for renovations at the Minneapolis Veterans Home to permit a portion (up to $1,750,000) to be used to construct a new distribution and service tunnel between Building 17 North, Building 18, and the future 17 South, and to construct steam and electrical connections, infrastructure, site work, a canopy with vestibule, and required modification to Building 18’s drop-off and entry.

Section 20 [East Metro Integration District, Property Conveyance] permits the transfer of the Harambee School from the East Metro Integration District to the Roseville School District for operation of a multidistrict integration facility that serves students from early education through grade 12, and permits the transfer of the Crosswinds School from the East Metro Integration District to the Perpich Center for Arts Education for use as an east metropolitan area integration magnet school. 

Section 21 [Conveyance of Surplus State Land; Washington County] permits the Commissioner of Administration to convey certain surplus state land to the city of Bayport.  At least a portion of this land was purchased by the state with general obligation bonds.  This provision is the same as section 33 of S.F. No. 2449 (the “lands” bill) that passed in the Senate on a vote of 65-0 on April 23, 2014.

Section 22 [American-Made Steel] requires a public entity receiving an appropriation under this article to use American-made steel to the extent praacticable.

Section 23 [Effective Date] makes this article effective the day following final enactment.

 

 
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