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State Representative Alice Hausman
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-3824
For more information contact: Charlene Briner 651-296-5809
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HOUSE INTRODUCES 2009 BONDING RECOMMENDATIONS
A key committee in the Minnesota House of Representatives presented their recommendations for capital improvement projects for the 2009 session today. Calling it a “basic bonding bill," committee chair Alice Hausman said the $200 million proposal is designed to create new jobs quickly and make effective use of federal dollars.
“We focused like a laser on those projects that are paintbrush-ready and shovel-ready,” said Rep. Hausman. “With the highest unemployment rate in years, the committee took a strategic approach that will get people working again and set Minnesota on a path for recovery.”
In odd-numbered years, the Legislature’s primary job is to craft the state’s two-year state budget and a supplemental bonding bill. Lawmakers this session are grappling with a $6.4 billion budget deficit and unemployment numbers projected to keep rising throughout 2010. The House bonding proposal comes in higher than the state’s forecast for an odd-year bonding bill, Hausman argued that current economic conditions warrant a bill that exceeds the amount built into the budget forecast in order to help the state climb out of recession.
“Interest rates are low, construction bids are favorable and workers are hungry for jobs,” said Hausman. “Bonding projects are universally accepted as one of the best ways for government to stimulate the economy and disrupt the downward economic spiral we’re in.”
The absence of local projects in the bill is notable. Instead, Hausman said the committee focused heavily on projects that protect health and safety, improve transportation and other infrastructure, and preserve state assets by repairing or renovating existing structures, while leveraging federal stimulus and federal matching dollars to the greatest extent possible.
Highlights of the House proposal include:
? $ 12.7 million for flood mitigation
? $ 20 million the University of Minnesota
? $ 30 million for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
? $ 11 million for local bridge replacement
? $ 2.1 million for veteran’s homes
? $ 20 million to improve security at the state’s sex offender facility at Moose Lake
The bill is expected to pass out of committee and will face a full vote of the House early next week.
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News Items
- Hausman receives 2012 Sierra Club Legislative Leadership Award - (Posted: 2012-10-19 00:00:00)
- NEWS STATEMENT ON HOUSE PASSAGE OF BONDING BILL - (Posted: 2012-05-07 00:00:00)
- House passes bonding bill that makes strategic investments throughout the state - (Posted: 2012-05-07 00:00:00)
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