Friends,
It's the final few days of the 2018 session. We must adjourn on Monday and must have bills passed out of both the House and Senate by Sunday night. It's been an incredibly productive biennium for Minnesotans. I hope that Governor Dayton will finally come to the table over these last remaining days to find common ground with the House & Senate Republicans to make it even better.
Rep. Loonan with a school group on the House Floor
Constitutional Amendment Roads & Bridge Funding
On Thursday, we passed proposed legislation on a bipartisan 76-54 vote that would constitutionally dedicate existing sales tax revenue from auto parts to statewide road and bridge construction. This would build on our historic transportation investments made during the 2017 session, all without raising taxes.
If approved by the Minnesota House and Senate, voters would decide this November whether or not to redirect the already-collected sales taxes to road and bridge repair on state, county, township, city, and small-town projects. No signature from Governor Dayton is required.
Anyone who has driven on Minnesota's roads anywhere in this state knows we need to do a better job of taking care of them. This proposal has the support of a broad coalition of advocates that includes labor, business, agriculture, and transportation advocates. We believe the people of Minnesota should have a say in dedicating this funding to fix our roads and bridges. Without this proposed amendment, dollars that should go towards roads and bridges all too often are used for other projects such as another billion-dollar light rail line.
I hope the Senate acts on this soon, it's one of the few things we can do without needing Governor Dayton's signature and we all recognize investing in roads and bridges as a core function of government.
Vocational School Signing Day
I was proud to head up "Vocational School Signing Day" recently with students from our community who will be attending Dakota County Technical College and Hennepin County Technical College. These students will receive a great education and jump immediately into well-paying jobs.
If you have any other questions on any of my bills or anything else going on at the legislature, please reach out to my office at (651) 296-8872. You can also reach me via email at rep.bob.loonan@house.mn.
Have a great weekend!
Bob