[6] In 1967 the Minnesota Legislature created the Metropolitan Council in response to growing issues of septic tank wastewater contamination.

[2][7] Additional acts of the legislature passed in 1974, 1976, and 1994 expanded the role and powers of the Met Council, merging it with transit and waste control commissions to become a unified regional authority.

[2] The Met Council also gained the authority to approve or disapprove of municipal development plans and to manage the region's affordable housing programs.

[2] Current efforts are ongoing to transfer responsibility of the METRO Blue Line extension, a light‑rail project connecting Minneapolis to the suburbs of Robbinsdale, Crystal, and Brooklyn Park from the Met Council to Minnesota's Department of Transportation.

[11] However, the Minnesota Supreme Court found the city's argument unpersuasive "when viewed against the plain and unambiguous language of the statutes at issue.

This lack of credibility and accountability was reported on by newspapers such as the St. Paul Pioneer Press,[13] the Star Tribune,[14] and online editorials like Politics In Minnesota.

[15]Marty Seifert, a Republican candidate for governor in the 2014 election, also called for the abolition of the Council, citing it as an unelected authority with taxation powers without representation.

Transportation-focused State Senator Scott Dibble (politician) sponsored the change, calling the Met Council "incompetent and incapable.