Dear Neighbor,
The Capitol has really gotten busy as today is the first of the formal deadlines for policy bills to make preliminary progress by passing policy committees.
I have also been very busy as Chair of the Ways and Means Committee in putting together the recommendations for this year's proposed state budget, which will be coming forward in the very near future. The state operates on a two year budget, which we passed last year, but there are always tweaks to the budget for this upcoming second year, which I am busy working on.
With committees busy for the first deadline, there was not a lot of work on the House floor, but we did pass one significant bill. That was the first phase of the Real ID bill. This bill lifts some requirements passed a few years ago which had prohibited the state from even gathering the information it would need on issues relating to the federal Real ID. This federal ID will in a few years be required for all Americans traveling by air. However, it has been criticized by some as amounting to a national ID and an invasion of privacy. With the passage of this bill stage agencies will be able to gather information regarding the cost and potential implementation of the federal Real ID requirements, though it will take another bill to actually make the decision to comply with this. That decision will come later this session.
A bipartisan bill I introduced this week would expand Northstar Line commuter rail service to St. Cloud. The Northstar currently runs from downtown Minneapolis to Big Lake and my proposal would extend the line 27 miles west to include St. Cloud. It would require at least one round trip from Saint Cloud to Minneapolis and back each weekday, plus an additional reverse commute from Minneapolis to Saint Cloud and back each weekday so that people could commute to Saint Cloud for work (plus offer additional options for students and others wanting to take the train).
The bill requires the state to open negotiations with BNSF Railroad on expanding Northstar service to Saint Cloud and sets certain conditions for the negotiations. It requires that we use the existing Amtrak station in Saint Cloud instead of building a new station (to save money), and use the existing train engines and train cars without buying any more. The bill proposes to shift some current service from the metro area up to Saint Cloud, in a way that the additional cost of service to Saint Cloud would be balanced by an equal decrease in the metro area. The Northstar Corridor has never hit its initial ridership estimates, so there is excess capacity in the metro. By taking some service from the metro area and starting train service to Saint Cloud there is also the possibility that the additional Saint Cloud fares would reduce the ongoing losses of the Northstar line.
The bill prohibits the state from spending additional money beyond what is currently budgeted for the Northstar line. However, if local governments want to get involved, they are given that option. The city of Saint Cloud has, for example, expressed some interest in redeveloping the area around the Amtrak station if this comes to pass.
I can't guarantee that there won't be some additional costs uncovered during the planning and negotiation process, but at least for now it seems like it should be cost neutral. The bill passed two committees this week on bipartisan votes (17-3 in the Transportation Committee, which interestingly had both bipartisan support and bipartisan opposition) and a voice vote last night in Government Operations. The process has been helped along with testimony from Saint Cloud area citizens like Anne Buckvold, Pastor James Alberts, and Molly Weyrens, as well as letters of support from the local business community. I have been able to obtain bipartisanship support from both the Republican Transportation Chair Tim Kelly and the Democrat Transportation Lead (and former Chair) Frank Hornstein. The bill now goes to the Ways and Means Committee. Its path from here depends upon what happens with the hoped for larger Transportation bill, and I will be monitoring that and evaluating how best to proceed as this goes forward. Senator Pederson of Saint Cloud is the author in the Senate. I have also had discussions with BNSF Railroad and they do not oppose the bill.
I hope this can finally lead to extending Northstar to St. Cloud.
My best wishes for the weekend. Thank you also to all have filled out my legislative issues survey that I distributed a few weeks ago. I have received many hundreds of responses, and they are very useful. For those who asked individual questions on them I will be trying to get back to you in the near future as time allows.
Sincerely,
Jim