To the editor,
You may have heard that discussions for conducting a brief special session to pass hundreds of millions in tax relief and a bonding bill to pay for construction projects all around the state have ground to a halt.
You also may have heard the proposal to build a new $2 billion light rail line in the southwest metro has been a sticking point in discussions. The governor has demanded Southwest Light Rail Transit train funding be included in the special session, while the House majority has opposed that additional spending.
But a fact of which many people may be unaware is, regardless of your thoughts on light rail, it does not need to be part of the special session. The federal government has said it is withholding its share of funding for the project until at least next year when lawsuits over the prospective line are resolved. Letters exchanged between the governor and the head of Met Council, Adam Duininck, show they knew back in January the federal match was on hold, yet they have tried to create a sense of urgency by intimating the federal money would disappear if we don’t act NOW.
This wouldn’t even be a topic of discussion if seven Senators hadn’t tried to slip the SWLRT funding into a bill during in the final minutes of the regular 2016 session.
The upshot is that because of these actions what should be a non-issue has now deprived Minnesotans all across the state more than $800 million in tax cuts over the next three years, including over half a billion in ongoing and permanent tax relief. This bill passed with strong, bipartisan support from 89 percent of the Legislature and included tax relief for farmers, veterans, families, college graduates and small businesses. Also on hold is $700 million in road and bridge funding, along with important water quality and infrastructure projects in communities statewide will also go unfunded.
I personally do not support spending billions more of our tax dollars to expand light rail, but that is a topic for a different day. The point here is to express disappointment in the governor and light rail advocates for denying taxpayers relief and then attempting to justify their actions by presenting a false set of circumstances.
Sincerely,
Rep. Jeff Howe