By Rep. Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar
The 2014 session has drawn to a close. On one hand, we did some good things. On the other, the Legislature left some important work unfinished.
For example, a top priority should have been fixing large problems with Minnesota’s new state-run health insurance program – MNsure. Instead, measures pertaining to bullying, minimum wage, pay raises for legislators and constructing a Senate office building and more received attention as MNsure’s sustainability issues stayed on the back burner.
Much has been made about tax cuts that were enacted this session. Some things need to be clarified about that: A total of about $2.4 billion in new taxes and fees passed into law in 2013. Some of those – namely on telecommunications, equipment repairs and warehousing were repealed this year, but around $2 billion from the 2013 increases remains. So, yes, we cut taxes this year, but the vast majority of last year’s hikes remains.
On a related note, Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner recently indicated state revenue has come in beneath previous projections for a third-straight month. This comes after a few consecutive years of revenue coming in above projections each month. Furthermore, the Department of Employment and Economic Development reports Minnesota shed 4,200 jobs in April with an overall growth rate of 1.5 percent the last year, lagging the U.S. growth rate of 1.7 percent.
This is cause for concern and is exactly why I continue advocating for careful budgeting as work to fully stabilize our economy after suffering the greatest recession since the Great Depression.
One of the biggest items of business in the final days of the session was a capital investment bill which borrows money to pay for projects throughout the state. We had an agreement at the end of the 2013 session that this year’s bonding bill would be $846 million.
In the end, we got a bonding bill that matches that total but, in addition, a stand-alone $200 million cash bill passed for similar purposes. Some of the projects are worthy, but I would have preferred to see us focus on the necessities and skip some of the less important projects so we could trim to total price tag and protect our state’s bottom line.
Here are some of the notable projects which passed in this year’s two-part package include:
Borrowing:
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$126.3 million for the continuation of Capitol Restoration
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$55.065 million for, MSH, St. Peter Campus
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$55.395 million for Minneapolis, St. Paul projects (Brian Coyles Center, Hennepin Center for the Arts, Nicollet Mall, Children’s Museum, Palace Theater, Ordway, TPT Building Renovations, Sculpture Garden)
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$38.613 million for roads and bridges
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$7.405 million for MSOP, St. Peter Campus
Cash:
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$50.743 million for roads and bridges
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$22 million for Lewis and Clark Regional Water System
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$35 million for Rochester Civic Center Expansion
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$14.5 million for Mankato Civic Center
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$11.56 million for St. Cloud Convention Center
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$6.95 million for NorShor Theatre in Duluth
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$2.3 million for Wade Stadium in Duluth
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$3.4 million for snow-making equipment in Duluth
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