Friends,
We're in the final days of the 2018 Legislative Session and wrapping up final negotiations. I hope you are able to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather!
REAL ID Update
Last week, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced that Minnesotans will be able to use their traditional driver's licenses to board planes for domestic flights until October 1, 2020. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security informed DPS it was making sufficient progress to meet the federal requirements, and came during a quarterly Real ID compliance check-in.
So as long as DPS is issuing REAL IDs on October 1st of this year, as required by the REAL ID law passed and signed into law in 2017, it's great to see that Minnesota IDs will continue to allow millions of Minnesotans to board airplanes until October 2020. Thanks to language spearheaded by House Republicans, DPS is required to seek an extension once it becomes available. This will ensure Minnesotans aren't bothered by the REAL ID transition until 2020.
Local Projects in Bonding Bill
It was great to see the bonding bill pass the House Monday with a bipartisan super-majority (84-39). I was especially proud to have three projects for our community included in the bill: first, funds for Argenta Trail to reorient the roads to better serve the traffic patterns of our community; second, funds to renovate the Inver Hills Technology & Business Center; and finally, funding for the Dakota County SMART Center, which will be a state-of-the-art and first-in-Minnesota training center for law enforcement specifically focused on crisis situations. This is a good bill for our community.
More than two-thirds of the bonding bill is dedicated to bricks-and-mortar projects, such as roads and bridges, water infrastructure and statewide asset preservation. The bill also features a component to use excess reserves from the Vikings stadium account to fund construction of veterans homes in Bemidji, Montevideo, and Preston.
The bonding portion of the bill includes:
- $364 million for asset preservation such as state-owned buildings
- $120 million for road and transportation infrastructure
- $153 million for water and conservation projects
- $188 million for “other” projects, such as:
- $25 million for school safety
- $25 million for mental health centers
With funding such as trunk highway bonds included, the bill provides an additional $254 million for transportation, another $10 million for water/conservation and $127 million in other funding for a total of $1.2 billion.
The bill provides $41 million in funding for the construction of veterans homes in Preston, Bemidji, and Montevideo through the same funding mechanism proposed in the House’s omnibus state government finance package. The reserve account for the Vikings stadium is running an excess, expected to reach $58 million by the end of the current biennium and grow to $120.2 million at the end of next biennium. This bill would allocate a portion of that funding for constructing veterans homes in each of the aforementioned cities.
Townsquare TV
Earlier this session I sat down with our local Townsquare TV to discuss a bit about myself, as did a couple of my collegeaus. You can watch the video of that here.
Register for Summer Activities in IGH
Inver Grove Heights has a number of activity programs available for children and adults of all ages. See the Summer 2018 brochure here. And you can browse and register for programs online.
In Case You Missed It: Tour around 52B!
Late last summer, we put together a video that highlights some of the great and beautiful parts of District 52B, which encompasses Inver Grove Heights, Sunfish Lake, parts of Mendota Heights and Eagan. I think it turned out very well and am proud to represent such a fantastic place to live. Check out the video here!
On this day in History
In 1937, Madeleine Albright was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). She would go on to be the first female Secretary of State.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas with me. You can schedule a time to meet with me in my office anytime by calling me at 651-296-4192, or share your thoughts by emailing me at rep.regina.barr@house.mn.
Have a great week!
Regina