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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 PASSES BONDING BILL DESIGNED TO GET MINNESOTANS WORKING
On a bipartisan vote of 92 to 37, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed a Capital Investment bill tonight that committee chair Representative Alice Hausman says will help get critical infrastructure projects in the pipeline in time for the spring construction season.
"The bonding bill we passed tonight is affordable, responsible and most of all – focused on putting people to work," said Rep. Hausman after the bill passed. “That’s what the Governor called for in his State of the State speech last week, and exactly what we worked so hard in committee to achieve.”
The House bonding bill comes in at just over $1 billion and reflects three key priorities aimed at spurring economic growth and development across the state: higher education investments, transportation and transit improvements, and clean water infrastructure and environmental protection. Amended during the floor debate, the bill also includes $89 million to expand the state’s sex offender facility at Moose Lake. Coming in well under the administration’s new debt service guidelines, even with the addition of the Moose Lake facility, the bill invests in regional economies and is designed to take full advantage of federal and other non-state matches.
Highlights of the 2010 House Capital Investment bill include funding for:
• Higher Education - $322 million
• Transportation and Transit - $158 million
• Economic Development and DEED requests - $126 million
• Clean Water and Wastewater Infrastructure - $60 million
The bonding bill is a signature part of an aggressive jobs agenda being advanced by the Minnesota House, with a number of economic models projecting between 10,000 and 20,000 private and public sector jobs resulting from a $1 billion bill. In the months leading up to the legislative session, lawmakers on the Jobs Task Force and in individual committees worked on ways to create a more favorable job and business climate in the state. According to Hausman, early passage of a capital investment bill, along with DFL-proposed tax incentives and other legislation aimed at improving Minnesota’s small business climate would position Minnesota to begin and sustain an economic recovery.
“This bill is one bright spot in a gloomy economy,” said Hausman. “Interest rates are low and construction bids are coming in one-third or more lower than projected so taxpayer dollars will go much further than usual.”
Noting the ‘unprecedented” speed with which the bill had been drafted, heard in committee and passed by the House and the Senate, Hausman predicted a similarly swift conference committee process.
“While this bill is moving at an unprecedented pace, it reflects more than a year of work by committee members who have scrutinized each project to make thoughtful decisions to craft a fair bill that provides the maximum long-term benefit to our state,” said Hausman. “All of those reasons add up to a compelling case for getting this bill out of conference committee and to the Governor as quickly as possible to take advantage of the spring construction season. It’s far too important to our economic recovery to hold it up until the end of session - Minnesotans are counting on us to do better.”
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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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