Counties Transit Improvement Board
Active dates:2008 - 2017
Function: The Counties Transit Improvement Board is a "joint powers board" authorized in 2008 by the Legislature to invest tax money in metro-area transit projects.
The Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB) authorizing legislation, requires CTIB to report on the transit sales tax revenues received and grants awarded by CTIB. These annual reports are due by February 1 and are submitted to the House of Representatives and Senate committees having jurisdiction over transportation policy and finance.
History:
The CTIB was created in 2008 as part of a comprehensive transportation bill that passed after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, despite an attempted veto by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The agreement permitted the seven metro counties to levy a quarter-cent sales tax and a $20 tax on new car sales to help build and operate a local transit system. Carver and Scott counties opted out.
Previously, the Board was known as the Metropolitan Transitway Development Board, which included Carver and Scott counties. Both counties now serve as ex-officio members.
According to the Board's "2015 Annual Report to the Legislature", the CTIB invests in projects of regional significance. CTIB has proved to be a key funder and operator of local transit, providing more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to 10 transit corridors throughout the metro since 2009. It also pays half of the annual cost of operating the Green and Blue light-rail lines, the Red Line BRT in Dakota County, and the Northstar commuter rail in the northern suburbs.
In June 2016, Dakota County voted to pull out of the group by 2019. Over the next year, other counties expressed interest in pulling out of the CTIB and discussions evolved. On Tuesday, June 20, 2017 both the Dakota and Washington County Boards voted to establish their own quarter-cent sales tax to pay for transportation projects. The new tax will replace one now levied by the Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB), which voted on Wednesday, June 21, 2017 to dissolve itself.
As of Oct. 1, the Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB) will no longer exist, but the individual counties that made up the CTIB will implement their own "Transit Sales and Use Tax" independently. In June 2017, Hennepin and Ramsey counties voted to move to a half cent tax on Oct. 1. Dakota, Anoka and Washington counties will stay at a quarter cent.
Membership:
As of 2016, Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington counties each have 2 members on the board; the Metropolitan Council has one member. Two counties - Carver and Scott - are ex-officio members.
Agency heads:
The Board's Executive Committee consists of the Board officers and one county commissioner from each county who are not officers. As of 2016, Peter McLaughlin is board chair.
Note: The Legislative Reference Library may have additional reports on or by this group available through our catalog.
Documents/Articles:
News clippings and documents. Agencies Notebook Collection, 2016-2017.
Record last updated:
07/19/2017
All information on this group from the Library’s collection of agency notebooks has been digitized. These
materials are incorporated into the “documents/articles” section of the record. Please contact a librarian with any questions. The Minnesota Agencies database is a work in progress.