Dear Neighbor,
There are ways of coming up with more money for roads and bridges that do not involve raising taxes.
For example, take I bill I have authored that would publicly auction state land that it has received through donations since 2005. The proceeds of those sales would be placed in the state's Trunk Highway Fund. Another benefit is those acres would again generate property tax revenue.
This proposal is in response to Todd County officials who came to me and said they would like to see more state land turned over to private ownership. Reports show the state owns approximately 17 percent of Minnesota's total area.
The above report on state land is dated, but 2002 was the last time an inventory of state land was ordered by the Legislature. That could be a whole discussion on its own, but it's safe to say the figures still apply. We do know that, since Jan. 1, 2005, the DNR alone has had 240 land acquisitions via gifts. These acquisitions total 951 parcels covering 28,098 acres.
The bill I introduced passed a committee on a 7-2 vote this week and moves along in the process. There are wrinkles to iron out and questions to answer as we continue this discussion, but it is an important talk to have.
Bills like this are not the end-all, be-all for our roads-and-bridges funding, but they can be a piece of the puzzle. Dedicating tax revenue generated on the sales of auto parts – the existing taxes, not new ones – is another bill that has been introduced in the House.
These talks will come to the forefront as the House and Senate both unveil their respective budget proposals for the next two years over the next week or so. Then we will compare and contrast our plans with what Gov. Mark Dayton is offering to begin putting together a finished product.
The governor provided an updated proposal this week. He is looking to shoot the moon on spending and increased his total price tag to around $43 billion. That is a spending increase of $3.7 billion from this biennium to the next and even a $866 million increase over what the governor himself just recommended a couple of months ago.
I know we've asked it before, but: How much is enough?
Sincerely,
Mark