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State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
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GUEST COLUMN
State revenue above expectations; road safety tidbits
By Rep. Paul Anderson
Although monthly updates are subject to timing issues, financial data for the first two months of Minnesota’s new fiscal year is encouraging. According to the office of Minnesota Management and Budget, revenue collections during August came in 1.7 percent higher than forecast. That amounts to roughly $19 million more than anticipated as approximately $1.1 billion flowed into the state’s general fund.
With the fiscal year beginning July 1, revenue for the first two months is 3.4 percent higher than forecast. That represents $60 million which, hopefully, is the beginning of a trend. However, numbers for last fiscal year, the one that ended June 30, show collections fell $100 million below projections. The additional Medicaid funds coming from Washington are not part of these figures. That money will be distributed starting next January.
Local government units (LGU’s) are concerned about how they are going to pay for new upgrades to road signs. The law, designed to establish minimum levels of reflectivity on road signs, or what the feds call “sign retro-reflectivity”, is being mandated from Washington and its first timeline for compliance is January of 2012. That’s the date when LGU’s must have a sign assessment or management method implemented. The compliance date to complete the upgrade on regulatory, warning, and ground-mounted guide signs is January of 2015. Overhead signs and street name signs must be done by 2018.
One aspect of public safety the Legislature needs to further address is the area of cell phone use while driving. The Department of Public Safety says that distracted driving (texting or talking on phones) multiplies the accident risk by as much as 14 times. In addition, the department reports the leading cause of traffic accidents last year was “driver inattention.”
A study by the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety at the University of Minnesota found that drivers feel safer on rural roads than on urban freeways, even though the exact opposite is true. Figures from a national study show that rural residents are 2.5 times more likely to die in car crashes than those in metro areas. This is partially due to longer response times caused by greater travel distances for EMT’s and other medical personnel. The study also revealed that non-metro residents use seat belts about 10 percent less than city residents. Those who drive mini-vans, for example, are more likely to buckle up than those who drive pick-up trucks. Figures for Minnesota show that, although seat belt usage is around 90 percent, over half of those killed in vehicle accidents were not belted in. The trend, however, is heading in the right direction. So far this year, Minnesota traffic deaths are down 15 percent from last year, which was the lowest total since 1944.
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Rep. Anderson encourages constituents to contact his office with input regarding any state legislative issue. He can be reached on the web at www.house.mn/13A and via email at rep.paul.anderson@house.mn. To contact Anderson by phone, call (651) 296-4317. Mail can be sent to Rep. Paul Anderson, 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.
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