174.01 CREATION; POLICY.

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Subdivision 1.Department created.

In order to provide an integrated transportation system of aeronautics, highways, motor carriers, ports, public transit, railroads, and pipelines, and including facilities for walking and bicycling, a Department of Transportation is created. The department is the principal agency of the state for development, implementation, administration, consolidation, and coordination of state transportation policies, plans, and programs. §

Subd. 2.Transportation goals.

The goals of the state transportation system are as follows:

(1) to minimize fatalities and injuries for transportation users throughout the state;

(2) to provide multimodal and intermodal transportation facilities and services to increase access for all persons and businesses and to ensure economic well-being and quality of life without undue burden placed on any community;

(3) to provide a reasonable travel time for commuters;

(4) to enhance economic development and provide for the economical, efficient, and safe movement of goods to and from markets by rail, highway, and waterway;

(5) to encourage tourism by providing appropriate transportation to Minnesota facilities designed to attract tourists and to enhance the appeal, through transportation investments, of tourist destinations across the state;

(6) to provide transit services to all counties in the state to meet the needs of transit users;

(7) to promote accountability through systematic management of system performance and productivity through the utilization of technological advancements;

(8) to maximize the long-term benefits received for each state transportation investment;

(9) to provide for and prioritize funding of transportation investments that ensures that the state’s transportation infrastructure is maintained in a state of good repair;

(10) to ensure that the planning and implementation of all modes of transportation are consistent with the environmental and energy goals of the state;

(11) to promote and increase the use of high-occupancy vehicles and low-emission vehicles;

(12) to provide an air transportation system sufficient to encourage economic growth and allow all regions of the state the ability to participate in the global economy;

(13) to increase use of transit as a percentage of all trips statewide by giving highest priority to the transportation modes with the greatest people-moving capacity and lowest long-term economic and environmental cost;

(14) to promote and increase bicycling and walking as a percentage of all trips as energy-efficient, nonpolluting, and healthy forms of transportation;

(15) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the state’s transportation sector; and

(16) to accomplish these goals with minimal impact on the environment. §

Subd. 3.Greenhouse gas emissions targets.

(a) In association with the goals under subdivision 2, clauses (10) and (13) to (16), the commissioner of transportation must establish targets for the statewide greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal under section 216H.02, subdivision 1.

(b) The targets must include:

(1) establishment of proportional emissions reduction performance targets for the transportation sector;

(2) specification of the performance targets on a five-year or more frequent basis; and

(3) allocation across the transportation sector, which:

(i) must provide for an allocation to the metropolitan area, as defined in section 473.121, subdivision 2;

(ii) must account for differences in the feasibility and extent of emissions reductions across forms of land use and across regions of the state; and

(iii) may include performance targets based on Department of Transportation district, geographic region, a per capita calculation, or transportation mode, or a combination.

[See Note.]

History:

1976 c 166 s 1; 1991 c 298 art 1 s 1; 2008 c 287 art 1 s 66; 2010 c 351 s 38,39; 2023 c 68 art 4 s 64

**NOTE: **Subdivision 3, as added by Laws 2023, chapter 68, article 4, section 64, is effective February 1, 2025. Laws 2023, chapter 68, article 4, section 64, the effective date.

History: History: 1976 c 166 s 1; 1991 c 298 art 1 s 1; 2008 c 287 art 1 s 66; 2010 c 351 s 38,39; 2023 c 68 art 4 s 64