Dear Neighbor,
Two of the subjects expected to garner some of this session's biggest headlines – taxes and transportation – continue simmering as we inch closer to the May 23 date for adjournment.
I mentioned in a recent email some of the good tax relief the House is offering, such as phasing out the state's tax on social security benefits for seniors. This time, I would like to provide an overview of what the House proposes for transportation compared with plans from the Senate and Gov. Mark Dayton.
There is no question among citizens I speak with in our area that we need to improve our roads and bridges. We have the funds available to make significant if we can keep our focus on that area of agreement.
The Republican plan prioritizes roads and bridges by dedicating taxes Minnesotans already are paying on car parts, auto repairs, vehicle leases, and rental cars to a Transportation Stability Fund. In all, the Republican plan would fix 15,500 lane miles of roads and 330 bridges statewide without raising taxes.
By contrast, the Senate DFL majority's plan devotes less than 4 percent of the $900 million in state tax overcollections to transportation (hint: it's not because the Democrats plan to give 96 percent back to the citizens they overcharged). Gov. Dayton and DFL lawmakers also continue to push a regressive gas tax increase of at least 16 cents per gallon and want costly light rail expansion.
Again, this is all about priorities. Think about all the roads we could fix for the billions Democrats want to spend on adding trains in Minneapolis. For the cost of one rail line, we could repave six lanes through Minnesota's interstate highway system, fund four years of Metro Transit bus operations and make a historic investment in the new small cities road and bridges funding program. We also could pay for roadwork projects throughout the state, including a 19-mile stretch of Highway 64 in our district with a cost of up to $9 million.
Those are the kinds of projects that would actually benefit taxpayers all across Minnesota. The overwhelming majority of people in our state rely on sound roads and bridges to drive to work, take their kids to school or simply to run daily errands.
We agree roads and bridges are priorities this session, so let's put a long-term plan with stable funding in place. I urge the governor and the Senate Democrats to join us in making this happen for the people of our state.
Again, the money already is there if we just keep our eyes on what's important.
Sincerely,
Mark