Dear Neighbors,
We’re closing in on the last few weeks of session, and I want to keep you posted on what’s happening. If you have questions about anything going on in St. Paul, please contact me.
Money Saving Bill
You might remember from my last update, I have a bill that utilizes waste heat in businesses. The bill, HF813, allows businesses producing electricity through steam to use their waste heat to produce power. Using existing energy to heat facilities saves money, and is a common sense reform. I’m hopeful this bill will be voted on soon.
Shakopee Bonding Request
I have a couple requests for bonding money to assist our area. The one I’m most excited about is my bill, HF2283, to create a controlled railroad crossing in Shakopee. This creates a safer intersection for our city, and helps trains travel through faster. The crossing would also decrease waiting times because of the increased speed of travel. There’s hundreds of bonding requests this year, so we’ll see if we can get this included.
Transportation Funding
One of the big bills we’ll look at this session relates to a transportation funding plan. Democrats want to raise the gas tax, but I support a plan to invest in roads and bridges without raising taxes on you and your family. The Republican plan invests $7 billion and would fix over 15,000 lane miles of road and 330 bridges around the state. We don’t need another train to Minneapolis, we need to fix roads and bridges.
Please Contact Me
Like I said, I hope you’ll reach out if you have any questions or concerns with any bill we’re discussing in St. Paul. You can call me at 651-296-8872 or email me at rep.bob.loonan@house.mn.
Best,
Bob