U.S. House approves measure taking aim at Met Council

Rep. Jason Lewis objects to powerful regional board being nonelected.

April 27, 2018 at 3:48AM
New Met Council Chair Adam Duininck held a news conference at the Metropolitan Council headquarters to address cost overruns of the Southwest metro light rail. ] GLEN STUBBE * gstubbe@startribune.com Monday, April 27, 2015 Cost overruns that put the Southwest metro light-rail line at nearly $2 billion are threatening the project and putting new Met Council Chair Adam Duininck in the hot seat. Duininck's confirmation hearing, coincidentally set for today ORG XMIT: MIN1504271525271134 ORG XMIT: MI
The Metropolitan Council would be stripped of its authority to distribute millions of federal transportation dollars if a provision approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday becomes law. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Metropolitan Council would be stripped of its authority to distribute millions of federal transportation dollars if a provision approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday becomes law.

The measure, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis, R-Minn., tackles long-simmering complaints about gubernatorial appointees, rather than elected officials, leading the powerful regional government.

The council's status as the Twin Cities' official transportation planning organization is grandfathered into federal law, which otherwise mandates that those boards must have local elected officials.

"We now have in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region the only board in the country that is entirely nonelected, the only [transportation planning organization] that has the authority to independently raise taxes and is nonelected," Lewis said during debate on his amendment, tacked onto the Federal Aviation Administration bill.

The measure's future is uncertain in the Senate, which has yet to vote on its own FAA reauthorization bill. In a letter to the state's congressional delegation Wednesday, Gov. Mark Dayton, a DFLer, warned that the change would "circumvent a long-standing and productive process at a time when transportation investment is critical to our region."

Met Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff also criticized the proposal.

"We cannot predict whether the region, and its many diverse interests, would be able to continue to find common ground on building a new [planning organization]," Tchourumoff said in a statement. "This uncertainty could paralyze our regional transportation planning and funding efforts, putting billions of dollars in federal funding at risk."

Lewis said the existing structure already breeds uncertainty.

"Uncertainty is a board that changes course every time there's a new election in the governor's mansion," Lewis said.

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said Lewis' amendment "is attempting to break apart the operating structure of a local [planning organization] seemingly to punish it."

The Met Council's structure has been controversial since its creation in the 1960s. Republican state legislators are advancing bills to replace the board with elected officials. Dayton vetoed a similar effort last year.

The federal government requires metro areas to have a planning organization to coordinate and plan for how the region doles out federal transportation funds. The law says they must include local elected officials, except for those operating under a state law passed before 1991.

A number of suburban counties hired a lobbyist in 2015 to argue that the Met Council was running afoul of those rules. They were rebuffed by federal transportation officials.

In its decisions on which projects to fund, the council seeks recommendations from a transportation advisory board made up partly of local elected officials. But that board is not the designated planning organization for the Twin Cities.

Eric Roper • 612-673-1732 Twitter: @StribRoper

House Budget Committee member Rep. Jason Lewis, R-Minn. questions Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Capitol Hill in Washington, during the committee's hearing on President Donald Trump's fiscal 2018 federal budget. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) ORG XMIT: DCJM113
Rep. Jason Lewis sponsored the House measure tackling long-simmering complaints about gubernatorial appointees, rather than elected officials, leading the Met Council. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Alene Tchourumoff was sworn in as chairwoman of the Metropolitan Council in August 2017.
Alene Tchourumoff of the Met Council said Lewis' amendment would create “uncertainty” for the region. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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about the writer

Eric Roper

Curious Minnesota Editor

Eric Roper oversees Curious Minnesota, the Star Tribune's community reporting project fueled by great reader questions. He also hosts the Curious Minnesota podcast. 

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