Senate committee advances bill letting cities, counties use national road‑design guides

Senator Dibble, the chief author of Senate File 21‑62, told the Senate Transportation Committee on March 12 that the bill would let cities and counties adopt nationally recognized roadway design standards for municipal and county state‑aid streets and streamline the process for reviewing design variances.

The legislation would allow a political subdivision to adopt a “qualifying alternative roadway design standard” — guidance such as MnDOT’s Facilities Design Guide, the AASHTO Green Book, Institute of Transportation Engineers guidance, NACTO guidance, and other FHWA‑recognized manuals — in place of separate state aid rules. The bill also adds a hold‑harmless and indemnification clause, codifies criteria and notice for variance denials, and revamps the advisory committee that reviews variance requests.

Proponents said the change is aimed at giving local officials more flexibility to design streets that match local context and safety needs and reducing delays and administrative burdens caused by the current variance process. "This bill allows local communities to adopt and use nationally recognized standards instead of the state aid standards," Senator Dibble said during his overview. He added that the measure is intended to make project approvals faster and to increase use of designs that improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Local officials and transportation advocates who testified said the change would remove obstacles that have blocked safety projects. "The design of this road and its current state aid standards have limited our options for reconsideration," said Mike Mayo, Duluth city councilor, describing a narrow scenic byway where safety changes were constrained under state aid rules. Sean Hayford O'Leary, a Richfield city council member, told the committee his city's Safe Routes to School project was delayed after a variance request for 10‑foot lanes was denied despite local staff and school input.

Nonprofit advocates said modern national guides better reflect contemporary safety best practices. "This bill promotes community control and local preferences as well as flexibility," Joe Harrington of Our Streets said. Alyssa Schuffman of Move Minnesota said Minnesota is “the only state” with duplicative state aid standards that can block projects built to national standards.

MnDOT and fiscal staff described costs and implementation issues during the hearing. A fiscal note included a MnDOT estimate of ongoing trunk‑highway fund costs for staff support and committee administration, roughly $393,000 per year beginning in fiscal 2026, and a small ($4,000 per year) general‑fund cost for legislative per diems tied to committee membership. MnDOT state aid staff said they are experts in current state aid rules but not in the agency's Trunk Highway Facilities Design Guide; MnDOT witnesses suggested some additional staff time would be needed to review plans prepared under alternate guides, while proponents said the change could reduce review burden when plans conform to recognized national guides.

Committee members questioned whether the change would allow local governments to shrink or otherwise reconfigure roadway cross sections in ways that would reduce vehicle capacity. Senator Dibble and MnDOT officials said the bill does not change the stated function of a route (for example, whether a roadway remains a collector or arterial). It addresses allowable geometry and design elements — lane widths, sight distance, radii and similar parameters — and proponents argued those adjustments can improve safety without sacrificing needed roadway function.

The committee adopted an author's amendment package that included technical edits and clarifications about federal funding and the indemnification language. The committee then voted to advance the bill. The motion that Senate File 21‑62, as amended, be recommended to pass and be referred to the Committee on State and Local Government carried on a voice vote; the hearing record does not include a roll‑call tally.

Supporters said the bill would reduce project delays, allow proven national design practices to be used on state‑aid routes, and make it easier for small and rural communities to implement active‑transportation projects funded under Safe Routes to School and other programs. Opponents and some committee members asked for reporting and clarified the limits of local authority; the bill includes a reporting requirement and revisions to the advisory committee on variances intended to increase transparency about denials and the committee's reasoning.

Senator Dibble said the language aims to prevent agencies from reverting to older practice and that the bill includes mechanisms to require clearer justification when variances are denied and to produce regular reports to the Legislature.

Senate File 21‑62 now goes to the Committee on State and Local Government.