Today, Governor Dayton released details of his $842 million bonding bill proposal. State Representative Alice Hausman (DFL – St. Paul), lead DFLer on the House Capital Investment committee, released the following statement:
“Governor Dayton has crafted a balanced bonding bill, investing $842 million throughout Minnesota’s communities. The governor’s proposal provides funds for long-needed repairs on our colleges campuses as well as upgrades to wastewater infrastructure. The proposal also includes improvements to several historical sites, which draw thousands of tourist dollars a year to our region. With interest rates still historically low and our economy improving, this is the time to put forth a robust bonding bill. These investments will more than pay for themselves.
I’m encouraging my Republican colleagues, who control the Minnesota House, to pass a bonding bill this year. We would waste an opportunity to create jobs now and in to the future if they refuse to even consider passing a bonding bill. The urgency of the avian flu and its impact on the agriculture industry and Minnesota’s economy is a current example of why the bill needs to be done this year. Do we wait a year to build a state-of-the-art isolation research lab at the University of Minnesota or do we put needed resources toward this time-sensitive proposal? I think the time is now.”