Greetings,
Congratulations to the Eden Valley-Watkins speech team for capturing a third consecutive Central Minnesota Conference championship.
It has been a busy stretch of days at the Capitol as the House continues bringing omnibus finance bills to the floor for votes of the full body. In last week’s email, I recapped packages related to taxes and the environment/natural resources. Below is a rundown of some omnibus bills that have been approved since then.
Transportation
This bill sets up the framework for putting $6 billion over the next 10 years toward the state’s transportation needs without raising taxes. A new fund of existing tax revenue streams called the Transportation Priorities Fund would be created. This new fund uses current, transportation-related state tax revenues to invest $450 million in new money for roads and bridges. In addition, the bill would fund:
•$25 million for the Small Cities Road Assistance program
•$300 million for Corridors of Commerce program
•$35 million for rail grade crossings
•Funding to repair or replace all 97 bridges on MnDOT's local bridge priority list
K-12 Education
The House’s K-12 plan nvests $1.1 billion in education over the previous budget level. That represents a 6.5 percent increase over the last biennium to the next when you consider all K-12 spending (not just the per-pupil formula). The House bill targets more than $300 million for proven early learning programs including scholarships and school readiness aid, and works to attract and keep the best teachers in the classroom.
Public Safety
This bill approved by the House provides $2.3 billion to fund judiciary and public safety priorities over the next two years. New funding is provided to local law enforcement agencies to help them pay for officers’ training costs, to help officers in dealing with mental-health situations. The bill also increases penalties against those who choose to participate in illegal protests that put people’s lives at risk, and provides new revenue to address domestic violence prevention and terrorism recruitment. Stronger penalties for sex offenders and increased funding to support enforcement also are included.
Legacy
The House also approved a bill which appropriates funding from proceeds generated by the Legacy Amendment. This is a constitutionally dedicated sales tax passed by Minnesota voters in 2008 for clean water, arts, and cultural heritage projects. The bill invests $527 million in clean water, the arts, and maintaining cultural heritage throughout the state. Over $100 million of the bill goes directly to restore and protect Minnesota’s water. More than $30 million will go toward protecting drinking water, while another $22 million will provide buffer aid to counties.
Higher Education
This bill funds higher education and provides a partial tuition reduction for two-year state colleges. Overall, the bill provides $3.2 billion in General Fund appropriations – a $149.5 million increase over the current biennial total. This includes $1.4 billion to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, an increase of $93.6 million in 2018-19. The package provides a tuition freeze for two year state colleges during the 2017-18 school year and a 1-percent reduction in 2018-19. Tuition at state universities would be frozen in 2019.
All of the 11 omnibus finance bills should be through the House before we reach the weekend. Then conference committees will work to reconcile differences between House and Senate versions so we can send them to the governor for his action. Stay tuned as things develop.
Good luck,
Jeff