Dear Neighbor,
Before we get down to legislative business, just a quick reminder the public is invited to attend town hall meetings Sen. Torrey Westrom and I will be hosting this Saturday, March 28. Here is that schedule once again:
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9:30 a.m.: Belgrade Retirement Home (417 Washburn Ave.)
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11:15 a.m.: Sauk Centre Golf Course Lynx (40204 Primrose Lane)
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1:30 p.m.: Melrose City Center (41248 County Rd. 13)
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3:15 p.m.: Albany (City Hall, 400 Railroad Ave.)
As for news from the Capitol, the House majority introduced a 10-year, $7 billion transportation plan this week. It focuses heavily on roads and bridges and does not include a tax increase. Estimates say the plan would repair or replace an estimated 15,500 lane miles and 330 bridges.
There are several components in this package. One of them places general sales tax revenue already paid on auto parts into what would be a new fund called the Transportation Stability Fund.
In addition to the dedicated funds provided by the Transportation Stability Fund, the Road and Bridge Act of 2015 uses $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.
The House majority also has unveiled important numbers regarding its state budget proposal for the next two-year cycle. It would spend $39.9 billion, provide $2 billion in tax relief and place $100 million in reserves. The overall total is less than Gov. Mark Dayton's $43 billion and it remains to be seen what the Senate will propose.
Additionally from this week, I attended an interesting meeting where we discussed a wide variety of health care/long-term care challenges we face in Greater Minnesota. Rural parts of the state often have older populations with less income and reduced access to care. Facilities face difficulties as well with increasing financial stresses.
There also is a healthcare workforce shortage in Greater Minnesota and we were presented with some startling numbers regarding the population per physician in Minnesota: Twin Cities metro, 297; small town/small rural, 674; rural/isolated, 2,043. As you can see, we are at a significant disadvantage regarding care when compared with the metro. A number of bills have been introduced in the House to help us narrow these disparities.
We can talk about these issues and other issues during our town hall meetings. Hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Paul