Going into the 2016 legislative session, tax relief, transportation, and capital investment were expected to be the major initiatives approved by the Minnesota legislature.
As the session nears completion, those major initiatives remain unfinished.
Some have expressed concern over the fact that the fate of these bills could be in jeopardy. The reality is, for better or for worse, the last minute compromises tend to happen every year.
The biggest domino that needs to fall is a long-term transportation funding proposal. The House has approved legislation that would dedicate tax revenue that is being or has already been collected from state taxpayers, while the Senate passed a bill that would raise your cost of gasoline by a minimum of 16-cents per gallon.
Once a compromise on a funding source has been reached, the next step will be to determine how much of the projected $900 million surplus should be used on transportation. Lawmakers can then debate how much of the remaining surplus can be used for items such as tax relief.
Our capital investment proposal – which borrows money in order to fund construction projects around the state – will likely be the last bill we debate after transportation and tax relief plans have been finalized.
Talks on these topics and others remain ongoing. House and Senate leadership and Governor Dayton, along with various joint conference committees, continue to meet regularly in order to find compromise on these outstanding issues. Though we are once again going down to the wire with this important legislation, I am confident we will find common ground and bring the 2016 session to a successful conclusion.
As always, I am interested in your feedback. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at Rep.Kathy.Lohmer@House.MN or contact my office at 651-296-4244. You can also send mail to my office address: 501 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.