Dear Neighbor,
Happy Mother's Day to all moms. It looks to be a fantastic weekend weather-wise and I hope mothers are able to enjoy it in the company of family and friends. Be safe if you have plans to travel.
As for news from the Capitol, a joint House-Senate committee I am serving on has begun meeting to assemble the details of a long-term transportation plan. There seems to be agreement in putting around $7 billion toward transportation over the next decade. The areas we need to reconcile pertain to where those dollars will come from and where they will be applied.
The House is focusing on roads and bridges throughout the state, whereas the governor and the Senate are looking to spend billions more expanding light-rail trains in the Twin Cities area.
As for the funding, I mentioned in a recent email that the House plan does not raise taxes and is centered on using taxes Minnesotans already pay when purchasing car parts (a bill I authored), auto repairs, vehicle leases, and rental cars. By adding in a portion of the $900 million budget surplus and bonding, the Republican plan would fix an estimated 15,500 lane miles of roads and 330 bridges statewide.
It was just 2012 when the final increase from the largest gas-tax hike in state history took place, yet the governor (at least 16 cents per gallon) and the Senate (12 cents per gallon) are looking to raise the gas tax once again. Minnesota is in the middle of the pack with its current gas tax, but the increases they want would put us near the top nationally. That is not a category where we should be striving to lead the country.
The House's plan of capturing existing sales tax revenue would allow us to keep up with inflation. The gas-tax increases the Senate and the governor propose fail to do so. It also is extremely regressive in that gas taxes punish low-income citizens the most. Even the poorest Minnesotans would be paying the same amount more per gallon as the top earners.
I will remain close to this subject as we work to make progress between now and our May 23 adjournment. I am confident we can find compromise and put a plan in place that will benefit the people of Minnesota.
Have a great weekend and, once again, Happy Mother's Day.
Good luck,
Jeff