Issue

How do we ensure that Minnesota’s transportation infrastructure meets the needs of Minnesota’s diverse economy and that Minnesota is getting the greatest value for its transportation dollars?

Policy

The Minnesota Chamber supports investment in the state transportation infrastructure to keep Minnesota competitive in the efficient movement of people and goods. An effective infrastructure must include a modern system of roads and bridges, transit, air, rail and waterways. The extent of the Chamber’s support was evident in the 2008 transportation funding increase. In addition to that new funding, the Chamber also wants to ensure that the state receives the greatest value for every transportation dollar invested in its infrastructure. Our focus in 2012 will be to ensure that efficiency, transparency and accountability are keys to the success and execution of the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s (MnDOT) Statewide Transportation Policy Plan. The primary objective will be to pass the reporting language that was drafted during the 2010-2011 legislative session.

Specifically, the Chamber will:

• Support the findings of the Transportation Strategic Management Task Force as detailed in the final report. In doing so, the Chamber should consider obtaining outside advice, if necessary, to accomplish more efficient use of resources and service delivery redesign including the following:

• Create a work group to assess the value in MnDOT’s regional structure and allocation process.

• Develop a continuous improvement process in MnDOT. The task force found evidence of resistance toward systemic change and that many key improvement projects became derailed.

• Establish and use best practices for business operations at MnDOT. Internal barriers prevent innovative approaches to project delivery now. Tools like an internal design/build group, pilot projects and reward mechanisms for public employees will create a controlled environment where new ideas can be tested in a lower risk environment.

• Provide financial accountability by addressing key gaps in the current system.

• Strengthen leadership in program management and development.

• Authorize MnDOT to implement pilot projects using different contracting methods and purchasing options.

• Support the ability of MnDOT to use design/build contracting and other innovative project delivery methods: In order to receive the greatest value for every transportation dollar, the department needs a variety of contracting tools. The Chamber supports the expansion of project delivery methods and opposes any attempt to limit the use of design/build and other innovative methods of contracting.

• Support the phase-in and ultimately the complete use of the sales tax on leased vehicles for transportation purposes: A portion of the leased vehicle taxes is currently spent on Greater Minnesota transit and county roads in the metropolitan areas excluding Hennepin and Ramsey counties. Greater Minnesota transit serves 75 of our 80 counties at a cost of $54 million in 2008 and a projected $147 million in 2020. County roads in the metropolitan area have rapidly become key corridors for both passengers and freight and will continue to need additional funding.

• Support preservation and/or expansion of local roads and bridges, transitways, port, rail, airport improvements and other transportation infrastructure in the capital bonding bill. Businesses of all kinds rely on local roads and bridges to move products in and out of their facilities. In addition, transit, ports and other transportation infrastructure projects are funded through bond sales and have direct benefits for the business community.

• Support greater flexibility in mandates included in the 2008 transportation funding bill and promote more balanced investment of new revenues: The Chamber is concerned that mandates associated with the new bridge program in the 2008 funding bill may be overly aggressive and will result in a disproportionate percentage of new revenues going to bridges and maintenance, thus leaving little or no new money available for new highway construction. The Chamber urges the Legislature to carefully review the new bridge program – and all mandates in the 2008 bill – and provide MnDOT the flexibility to allocate new funding resources to new highway construction projects.

• Support use of high occupancy toll lanes for new capacity. The Chamber supports the use of these managed lanes to create new system capacity if: a) it can be demonstrated that congestion can be positively affected in the proposed corridor, and b) that comparable open lanes are available. However, the Chamber opposes the use of tolling and congestion pricing on existing, general purpose lanes.

• Encourage private and municipal investment to leverage grant dollars as a tool for infrastructure acceleration. Recent projects completed by using private funds to leverage state and federal dollars resulted in accelerated completion with respect to MnDOT’s plan. These examples demonstrate that those most affected are willing to weigh costs against benefits and move forward with sound proposals. The Chamber supports creating increased opportunities and incentives to maximize the use of available grant dollars.

• Consider general fund dollars for highway projects. The Chamber should encourage legislators to consider general fund dollars for highway investment, especially when federal dollars can be leveraged and project delivery can be accelerated.

• Oppose increases in existing state or local transportation revenue sources. The 2008 Legislature significantly increased transportation funding. The fuel tax increase as a result of that legislation has placed Minnesota in a comparable range among neighboring states. Any additional increases in highway revenue streams or the metro sales tax, along with new state or local transportation revenue sources, will be detrimental to the competitiveness of our business climate and make Minnesota less attractive to new economic investment. Further, MnDOT should rely on existing revenue streams until the federal government changes its revenue collection system. At such time, stakeholders should analyze the system and make recommendations to the Legislature. The Chamber’s focus should include ensuring that the burden borne by the commercial fleet is not disproportionately higher than it is under the fuel tax system.

Business Impact

Growing congestion in the Twin Cities as well as safety issues on Greater Minnesota roads have created a significant problem for Minnesota businesses. The Minnesota Business Barometer Survey and the Minnesota Chamber member poll indicate that while transportation remains an important issue to businesses, the recent increase in transportation funding has made additional investment less pressing. The greater concern for the business community now is ensuring that transportation dollars are spent effectively and that the greatest value is received. Business cannot afford to have products or workers stuck in traffic, nor can it afford to invest the additional dollars inefficiently.