2022 Legislative Agenda
BikeMN’s 2022 Legislative Agenda
You can check the status of these bills and read the text here (Hint: use this format in your search HF1908 – leave no space)
The Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota (BikeMN) supports:
- Bike Policy Bill – HF 1908 (Lillie) and SF 2131 (Howe)
- Active Transportation Policy and Finance Bill – HF 1566 (Bernardy) and SF 2079 (Johnson Stewart)
- $10 million in bonding for Safe Routes to School infrastructure – HF 1108 (Murphy) and SF 1223 (Senjem)
- $50 million for Active Transportation in Minnesota – HF 2994 (Bernardy)
- HF 2994/SF 3074: This bill would simply appropriate 50 million dollars to the MnDOT Active Transportation Grant Program.
- HF 3426/SF 3757: This law would require youth to ride against traffic and is contrary to law in all 50 states, be extremely unsafe in cities big and small, and require parents riding with children to ride on opposite sides of the road! We strongly favor H.F. 1908 and S.F. 2131 (Lillie/Howe), our proposed operation of a bicycle updates, instead.
Bike Policy Bill – HF 1908 (Lillie) and SF 2131 (Howe)
This bill was introduced for the past few years in a row. It has passed the House each year but last year the Senate Transportation Committee did not schedule it for a hearing. There are several policy changes in House File 1908/Senate File 2131 that BikeMN feels will make things safer for people biking. It is exactly the same bill that passed the House 122-0 in 2019. Many of the changes were recommended as best practices by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the League of American Bicyclists. It makes the following changes:
- Centralizes and makes consistent the definition of Bikeway.
- Modifies the meaning of bicycle lanes so that all bike lanes are considered part of the roadway (that is, the main traveled portion of a road) and not a shoulder. This is necessary because not all traffic laws apply to those operating on the shoulder.
- Clarifies that traffic laws apply to those riding on the shoulder and that bicycles in a crosswalk have the rights and duties of a pedestrian.
- Resolves the differences between 169.18 Subdivisions 3 and 5 saying that the passing distance when overtaking bicycles requires at least three feet or half of a vehicle’s width when passing.
- Changes the poorly understood as far to the right as practicable language to as far to the right as the bicycle operator determines is safe.
- makes it legal for bicyclists to proceed straight through an intersection from a right-hand turn lane.
Active Transportation Policy and Finance Bill – HF 1566 (Bernardy) SF 2079 (Johnson Stewart)
HF 1566/SF2079 are omnibus bills (a bill comprising several items) that include language from many of the previous bills BikeMN supported. It will likely be picked apart with pieces included in the Omnibus Transportation Finance and Omnibus Transportation Policy bills.
- The Active Transportation Finance provisions include:
- Requires MnDOT to allocate at least 110% of the federal authorization for Transportation Alternatives to that program.
- Appropriates $10 million to safe routes to school infrastructure grants from a bonding bill.
- School Related Active Transportation
- Deletes the option for schools to provide bicycle and pedestrian safety education and requires them to provide Active Transportation Safety Training. It also describes the program and requires MnDOT to maintain a model program.
- Requires the Active Transportation Proram’s first $500,000 annually to be for a grant to develop, implement, and maintain an active transportation safety curriculum for youth ages 5-14.
- Article 4 – Active Transportation Policy
- Sections 1 & 6-11 are the same as HF 1908
- Requires the Active Transportation Advisory Committee (ATAC – the renamed Nonmotorized Transportation Advisory Committee that is reauthorized in Section 12) to advise MnDOT on the bikeway design guidelines and requires MnDOT to provide technical assistance to local governments.
- Adds ATAC to the list of those advising MnDOT of State Bicycle Routes.
- Designates the Mississippi River Trail bikeway as a State Bicycle Route.
- Designates the route known as the North Star bikeway as the Jim Oberstar Bikeway, a State Bicycle Route.
- Creates or reauthorizes the Nonmotorized Transportation Advisory Committee whose authorization expired a couple years ago and renames it the Active Transportation Advisory Committee.
Safe Routes to School Bonding HF 1108 (Murphy) and SF 1223 (Senjem) the stand-alone bonding bills for $10 million for SRTS.
The 2022 Minnesota Legislative session runs from January 31 to mid-May. Last year there was a special session in late June to pass the two-year state budget. Check the BikeMN Blog for updates these bills.
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[BikeMN’s] advocacy work has had a remarkable impact throughout the state! We need to push cities and towns to be more bicycle and pedestrian friendly – Minnesota could use more sidewalks in rural areas, more traffic calming strategies, more bike rail guards on city streets, bike and pedestrian plazas, and curb cuts! – BikeMN Advocacy Member