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State Representative Jeanne Poppe
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4193
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
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Transportation funding shift continues an alarming trend
Last week, we heard the news that the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has a $300 million shortfall for metropolitan road projects through 2010. To help close that gap, MnDOT made the decision to shift $100 million from Greater Minnesota's federal transportation funds, with repayment scheduled for 2009. Shifting money like this is a very alarming trend, much like borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. The most notable funding shift recently was the decision to delay payments to schools, using the money instead to balance the budget. Without the state funds the schools were expecting, we have seen lay-offs, larger classroom sizes, reduced offerings in programs and activities and even some school closings. Shifting funds is not a good, long-term solution to a budget shortfall.
Now, we are facing a similar situation with transportation funding. We are all aware of the issues in our part of the state. Highways 218 and 56 are in dire need of repair, and Mower and Fillmore counties have some of the worst bridges in the entire state. Waiting until 2009 to address these problems is not only unfair, it is unsafe. We need transportation funding now, before costs increase and the situations worsen.
Last session, both the House and the Senate passed a bipartisan transportation bill that would have funded a large part of our transportation needs. In the face of $1 billion of unmet transportation needs, we passed a bill that would have pumped more than $770 million into transportation projects across the state. Mower County alone would have received an additional $15.5 million over the course of the next 10 years, and Fillmore County would have received almost $19 million. Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed this bill because it included an increase in the gas tax.
None of us like the idea of an increase in the gas tax. However, just as we handle real problems with real solutions in our private lives, our state government has to honestly assess our basic needs and offer workable solutions. According to Robert McFarlin, assistant to the MnDOT commissioner, the transportation bill that the Governor vetoed would have filled the financial hole they are now facing. In Greater Minnesota, we not only lost that funding, but now we are being asked to wait until 2009 for $100 million in federal funds.
I am hopeful that when the 2006 Legislative session begins on March 1, we can re-visit the dire situation our state is facing with regards to roads, highways and bridges. The House, the Senate and the Governor need to work together to address these needs in the most fiscally responsible and realistic way possible.
Please feel free to call or write if you have ideas or concerns you want to share about state or local issues. I can be reached by phone at 1-888-682-3180 or 1-651-296-4193, by mail at 231 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155 or via e-mail at the above address. If you are interested in receiving my e-newsletter, please email me at rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn and your name will be added to our list.
News Items
- POPPE SELECTED AS AGRICULTURE POLICY COMMITTEE CHAIR - (Posted: 2012-11-16 00:00:00)
- Rep. Jeanne Poppe Encourages High School Juniors to Apply for Minnesota House of Representatives Page Program - Application Deadline is November 19th - (Posted: 2012-11-12 00:00:00)
- HORMEL INSTITUTE EXPANSION SIGNED INTO LAW - 2012 legislative session adjourns sine die - (Posted: 2012-05-11 00:00:00)
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