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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
NEWS COLUMN
HOUSE CAPITAL INVESTMENT BILL MOVES FORWARD
Every two years, the State Legislature and the Governor are charged with passing a Capital Investment Bill. With thoughtful deliberation, each body seeks to find the best and most judicious way to spend taxpayer dollars, identifying projects that fund education, address statewide transportation needs, increase public safety, promote economic development, and enhance and protect our environment.
The Governor released his bonding priorities first, with a total price tag of just over $811 million; the Senate bill calls for projects costing almost $990 million. On Tuesday, the House Capital Investment Committee passed their bill, identifying close to $950 million in projects. With approximately $2.5 billion in project requests, it is a challenging and slow process to get to these final numbers. Although the House and Senate recommendations are surprisingly similar, the remaining step before passage of the final bill is to reconcile the differences and arrive at one bill that the House, Senate and the Governor can agree on.
Our initial bonding request totaled $11.4 million ($5.7 each from DNR and DEED) for flood mitigation. After our hearing before Rep. Gunther's DEED committee, we reduced the DEED request to $2 million. Instead of naming specific projects, the House committee recommended that $19.2 million be designated for flood hazard mitigation grants under the Department of Natural Resources, with no recommended funding from DEED dollars. Austin is given a high priority on the DNR's list, with recommended funding of $3 million. There is the chance this amount could increase, depending on the needs and timetable of some of the other communities.
I was hoping for more funding for flood mitigation in the House bill. However, I am pleased with the Senate's proposal as they identified projects and allocated $5.3 million for the city of Austin. I believe we have a good chance of receiving more money when this need is addressed in Conference Committee.
My request for $3.8 million for the Shooting Star Trail received a recommendation of $750,000, the same amount as the Senate bill. Riverland Community College received a share of MnSCU funding for repairs and maintenance in the amount of $1.568 million, as well as $500,000 for the Riverland Science Lab/Applied Tech.
Local Option Sales Tax
Another effort to get funding for flood mitigation, the local option sales tax, was heard this week in the Property Division of the Tax Committee. Recognizing the immediate and threatening nature of flooding in our region, we are looking for a variety of funding sources, including seeking permission from the state to raise local revenue.
Jim Hurm, Austin's City Administrator, and Bonnie Rietz, the mayor of Austin, both testified on behalf of this proposal. Revenue from a sales tax is being sought to contain floodwaters coming through the city by building attractive levees and floodwalls. The city officials did a very good job in laying out the comprehensive plan and its importance to the city of Austin. Because I believe our project has strong merit, I am hopeful if they approve any local option sales tax proposals, they will approve ours. The proposal for the local option sales tax was held over for possible inclusion in the omnibus tax bill. If the omnibus tax bill passes, Austin voters will decide in a referendum whether or not to exercise this funding option.
Flood mitigation money is critical and the need is immediate for the city of Austin. I will continue my efforts to get flood mitigation funding included in the bonding bill, as well as consideration for the local option sales tax.
Please continue to contact me with your suggestions and feedback. 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 weekly session e-newsletter, please email me at rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn and your name will be added to our list. If you would like to stay more closely in touch with what is happening at the legislature, visit my website at http://www.house.mn/27B or the House of Representatives website at www.house.mn.
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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