Bipartisan compromise legislation chief-authored by Senator Eric Pratt to dramatically reform the Metropolitan Council passed the Minnesota Senate on Friday, May 18. After passing the Senate and House in different forms earlier in the legislative session, the legislature passed a compromise that changes the composition of the board’s membership by requiring council members to be locally elected officials, while continuing to allow for the appointment of the chair by the Governor. Currently, all members are appointed by the Governor.

“For decades, legislators from both sides of the aisle have recognized that the Met Council’s structure and governance needs reform,” said Senator Pratt, who serves as Chairman of the Minnesota Legislative Commission on Metropolitan Government. “The current structure of the Met Council increases partisanship and creates a conflict of interest by requiring members to serve at the Governor’s pleasure, regardless of who that Governor is. This bill closely aligns the Met Council with the people and communities it serves, leading to increased credibility and accountability that has eluded the council for the last 40 years.”

Senator Pratt and his bill co-authors personally invited Governor Dayton through a letter to engage in the bipartisan conference committee process with the legislature. The Governor did not respond to their offer and did not engage in the process.

Recently, the United States House of Representatives unanimously passed an amendment to a bill that eliminates the Met Council’s exemption from federal law that requires metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to be comprised of elected officials. Currently, Minnesota’s Metropolitan Council is the only MPO in the country that is not made up of elected officials. If the federal government removes the Met Council’s exemption, they will be in violation of federal law and could put some of the Metro’s most important transportation projects at risk.

“The federal government’s recent action highlights why Met Council reform is urgently needed,” added Senator Pratt. “If the federal government acts and this legislation has not been signed by the Governor, Metro counties could lose millions, and potentially billions, of dollars in transportation funding. This is a commonsense and proactive solution that avoids a potential disaster.”