Last November, we heard a strong message from Minnesotans – particularly from Greater Minnesota – who told us they wanted to see road and bridge improvements.
Our Minnesota House Transportation Finance Committee was challenged with crafting a long-range plan that addressed this challenge and did so without raising anyone's taxes. Recently, legislative Republicans unveiled a proposal that invests $7 billion into needed road and bridge repair without raising taxes.
Personally, I am happy to have had the opportunity to help put together the fiscally responsible Road and Bridge Act of 2015, which will do so much good for the State of Minnesota.
Under this proposal, the State of Minnesota would repurpose revenue that is already being collected from existing sales taxes on auto parts, the Motor Vehicle Lease sales tax, the rental vehicle tax and the sales tax on rental vehicles. By placing these revenue streams – estimated at $3.078 billion over the next ten years – in a newly created Transportation Stability Fund, Minnesota would not only provide new money for roads and bridges statewide, but also for small city roads, bus services in Greater Minnesota, suburban county highways, and metro area capital improvements.
Making this change would dedicate $1.44 billion for county roads, $583 million for municipal roads, and $282 million for roads in towns with fewer than 5,000 residents.
In addition to the dedicated funds provided by the Transportation Stability Fund, the proposal would also utilize $1.3 billion in Trunk Highway bonds, $1.2 billion from realigning Minnesota Department of Transportation resources, $1.05 billion in General Obligation bonds, and $228 million in General Funds.
In other words, a $7 billion investment in roads and bridges without any tax increases.
Compare this with the transportation idea brought forward by Governor Dayton and other legislative Democrats. Their plan raises taxes and fees on Minnesotans by $9 billion, including a tax that would ultimately cost drivers a minimum of 17-cents per-gallon more at the pump.
That means a couple in the Metro Area with two cars could expect to pay $600 more per year under the governor’s gas tax proposal. If you're a driver in Greater Minnesota, you're also projected to pay at least $180 more per year - and that number increases every time the price of gas rises.
A recent poll found 75 percent of respondents favored the legislative Republican road and bridge funding approach, and a recent Minnesota Public Radio story noted that some DFL lawmakers either aren't sure the state needs to raise new revenue for transportation or said the GOP plan looks like the better deal.
From the beginning, I disagreed with the governor's approach to raise taxes at a time when Minnesota has a $2 billion budget surplus at its disposal. Now it's clear that there's bipartisan legislative opposition to the governor's plan with only partisan support.
It is my hope that Governor Dayton will soon begin a dialogue with lawmakers on a road and bridge funding proposal that an overwhelming majority of Minnesotans actually support. I truly don't see how anyone could find negatives with a solution that was created through responsible management using existing state revenue.
In all, the Road and Bridge Act of 2015 would repair or replace 15,500 lane miles of roads and 330 bridges statewide. With this bill, legislative Republicans have offered a workable, common sense solution to our transportation funding debate. We were able to prioritize roads and bridges in a manner that does not raid the pocketbooks of Minnesotans, and we look forward to working with Governor Dayton on a fiscally responsible proposal in the weeks ahead.