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State Representative Tony Cornish
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4240
For more information contact: Jason Wenisch 651-296-2317
NEWS RELEASE
REP. CORNISH OPPOSES HOUSE TRANSPORTATION FUNDING BILL
ST. PAUL – State Representative Tony Cornish (R-Good Thunder) said he opposed a comprehensive transportation funding proposal in the Minnesota House recently because it prioritizes urban area train wants over rural Minnesota road needs. The bill was recently vetoed by the Governor, and overridden by the Legislature.
“From a greater Minnesota perspective, it’s a bad bill,” Cornish said. “There are nearly $7 billion worth of tax increases on state residents, and a good share of that funding goes to commuter rail projects in the Metro Area.”
Cornish said the proposal includes several separate tax hikes, including an eight-and-a-half cent gas tax, an elimination of caps on motor vehicle registration taxes, and a potential quarter-cent sales tax increase in rural counties.
It also forces state taxpayers to foot the bill for the entire annual cost to run the Hiawatha light rail train and the Northstar commuter rail train, while calling for at least four more light rail trains in the metro area - all of which require multi-million dollar subsidies just to operate from year to year.
The transportation vote took place following a recent visit from a Hennepin County commissioner to Blue Earth County to drum up support for the transportation proposal.
“Isn’t it ironic that a Hennepin County commissioner who stands to benefit most from the bill would venture south to plead his case for this transportation proposal,” Cornish said. “Of course this guy wants the bill. The question that should have been asked is what is happening to the bridge money in Blue Earth County that was supposed to be included in our bonding bill?’
Cornish points out that the Democrats removed local road and bridge bonding from the bonding bill and drastically cut funding from the governor’s recommendations. Where the governor proposed $225 million for local bridges this year, Democrats supported only $50 million. And when the governor proposed $30 million for local roads, Democrats supported only $10 million.
Meanwhile, in Blue Earth County alone, bridges on County Road 152 and in Rapidan Township are fully closed, Lake Crystal and Cambria Township are down to one lane, and a total of thirteen have been classified as “structurally deficient.”
Cornish added that if bridge bonding funds were available, two bridges in McPherson Township and Lake Crystal, as well as bridges in Cambria, Ceresco and along County Road 168 would be ready to go to construction in one year.
“And these facts and figures are just for Blue Earth County alone,” Cornish said. “Just imagine the bridge impact being felt throughout counties in southern Minnesota.”
“The urban liberals that run the Legislature have now soaked state taxpayers in order to fund their Metro Area transit projects.” Cornish concluded.
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