State representatives debated their first comprehensive budget proposals on the floor of the Minnesota House recently, and both received bipartisan support.
The Road and Bridge Act of 2015 is the major provision within the House Republicans' comprehensive, future-oriented plan for transportation in Minnesota. Our overall proposal invests $7 billion over the next decade into road and bridge infrastructure without raising taxes.
The new approach creates a special fund called the Transportation Stability Fund that collects existing proceeds from already-collected tax revenues and deposits them into accounts for roads and bridges, metro capital improvements, small cities, Greater Minnesota bus services, and suburban county highways. Trunk highway and general obligation bonds, general funds, and the realignment of Minnesota Department of Transportation resources also would help fund our road and bridge needs.
In all, the plan would repair or replace 15,500 lane miles for all roads and 330 bridges statewide.
I've heard nothing but complaints about Governor Dayton's transportation idea that would raise taxes and fees by billions of dollars to pay for roads, bridges, and light rail. Residents I've spoken with are most upset about his provision that would increase the price of gasoline by a minimum of 16-cents per gallon.
To me the House approach is not only common sense but it is also sustainable, and I'm confident it will meet our long term road and bridge needs.
The House also approved the omnibus job growth and energy affordability bill. The plan provides mandate relief from Democrats' wasteful spending in 2013, reining in $100 million Democrats used to grow government.
The package also focuses on investing in the private economy and saving money for energy ratepayers rather than adding more layers of prescriptive legislation. Another top priority is to take advantage of advances in modern technology that allow us to protect our environment and achieve greater affordability at the same time. A prime example is converting our diesel fleet to natural gas, which would benefit the environment and also help our transit lines and school districts save money.
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.