Dear Neighbor,
I want to provide you with a brief update now that the 2015 Legislative Session has concluded. We worked around the clock over the last days of session to successfully pass budget bills for 2016-17 with strong bipartisan support.
On Monday, the House and Senate passed a transportation bill (SF 1647) that includes about $4 billion in funding from the Highway User Tax Distribution Fund. This legislation will allow the Minnesota Department of Transportation to continue to operate to enhance our roads and improve our bridges over the next two years. One notable provision of the bill recaptures $30 million from the ballooning costs of the proposed Southwest Light Rail project.
While I would have preferred a long-term comprehensive approach to addressing transportation in our state that didn’t involve a new $0.16 per gallon (or higher) gas tax, the Senate would not agree to such a plan. However, I’m pleased we were able to pass a transportation bill that doesn’t impose a new gas tax. I hope my Democrat colleagues in the legislature can be persuaded to join Republicans in passing a transportation plan in 2016 that doesn’t involve a gas tax.
Some have inaccurately suggested that since a larger plan wasn’t passed, no transportation projects in our state would be moving forward. This is not true. There is an old joke that there are two seasons in Minnesota – Winter and Road Construction. I’m here to report (for better or worse), that seasonal tradition will continue on schedule.
We learned yesterday that Governor Dayton has vetoed the bipartisan $17 billion E-12 Education budget (HF 844) passed by a vote of 71-59 in the Republican-led House and 52-14 in the Democrat-led Senate. The bill contained more than $400 million in funding above the forecast base spending for education – more than was initially proposed by either Republicans in the House or Democrats in the Senate – and included significant investments in early learning programs including early learning scholarships, and school readiness aid in an effort to reach a compromise with the governor.
Unfortunately, this was not enough for the governor. In addition to more funding, the governor insists that some form of universal pre-school for four-year-olds be part of an education budget despite the fact that school boards and school district superintendents across the state have expressed concerns about costs, space, and readiness for such a program.
Now we’re set to have a special session of the legislature this summer to find a solution to these differences. I’ll continue to keep you updated as we know more.
Although the legislature is now out of regular session, please don’t hesitate to contact me on issues of concern to you. My direct line is 651-296-7806. My email address is rep.joyce.peppin@house.mn and my mailing address is Room 459 State Office Building, 100 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, St. Paul, MN 55155
Have a wonderful weekend,
Joyce
**Encourage your neighbors and friends to sign up for my email updates at www.house.mn/34A