Accessibility menu
State Representative Rick Hansen
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-6828
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
Column/LTE
FIX THE ROOF WHILE IT’S RAINING
We’ve been hearing a lot lately about how investments in infrastructure yield long-term benefits and, most importantly, jobs. State Economist Tom Stinson told legislators this week that targeted spending in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress last month will save 45,000 Minnesota jobs this year. That’s a welcome lifeline for a state economy that is shedding 1,300 jobs a week.
Few dispute the need to create jobs while addressing ragged and aging bridges, roads, and public buildings. The question is how best to prioritize these projects. As policymakers, we need to make sure the public gets the best bang for its buck. The decisions we make now will directly influence the long-term health of our economy and possibly the length of this recession.
It’s a good thing Minnesota already has a tried and true model for effective infrastructure investment. HEAPR (Higher Education Asset Preservation) is a system that funnels capital investment resources to the highest priority, shovel-ready maintenance projects. This program has kept facilities at our state colleges and universities updated over many decades. We should be using this model to prioritize projects for environmental infrastructure as well.
The best part of the HEAPR model is that it compiles the largest list of shovel-ready projects statewide, putting jobs on the ground fast while delivering a quality public good. With hundreds of shovel-ready projects at our state parks and environmental landmarks ready to go in all corners of the state, it makes sense to get working on them right away. Rather than planning a new project and starting from scratch, we can fix the leaky roofs of state park buildings while it’s raining - and put people to work in the process.
With 120,000 Minnesotans expected to lose their jobs by the end of 2009, it is imperative we turn unemployment checks into paychecks. I can’t think of any more common sense solution than strategically devoting the state’s limited resources to making Minnesota stronger and putting people back to work across the state as quickly as possible. That’s why I’ve introduced a bill (HF983) to extend the HEAPR public infrastructure investment model to Natural Resources Asset Preservation and Replacement (NRAPR). This is one effort of many that will help put our economy back on track. But it’s a responsible approach to solving two problems at once - just the kind of efficiency we need right now in state government.
News Items
- Rep. Rick Hansen chosen as leader of Great Lakes Legislative Caucus - (Posted: Dec 27 2012 8:34AM)
- Need Holiday Gifts? Consider DNR Gift Cards - (Posted: 2012-11-27 00:00:00)
- Looking Forward to Serving, Getting the Job Done - (Posted: 2012-11-14 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.