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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Ben Lien (DFL)

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Legislative Update - January 30, 2015

Friday, January 30, 2015
Greetings from the House Floor,
 
Big news this week was the release of Governor Dayton’s transportation plan and budget.  The transportation plan, released on Monday, is similar to what was put together by Senator Scott Dibble and what a transportation advocacy group, Move Minnesota, has been supporting.  Move Minnesota is a group comprised of several members from across the state and held several meetings around Minnesota over the last year to discuss transportation and infrastructure needs.  The group’s members range from Small Business Minnesota to Minnesota AFL-CIO to AARP.  Specifics of the governor’s plan include:
 
·         6.5% gross receipts sales tax, an increase on registration tab fees from 1.25% to 1.5% phased in over three years and a $10 increase in vehicle registration fees
o   this would generate an estimated $7.736 billion over 10 years for trunk highway and local roads/bridges maintenance
·         MnDOT efficiencies
·         ½ cent sales tax increase in the seven county metropolitan area for metropolitan buses, metropolitan transit and Safe Routes to Schools across the state
·         $120 million in general fund to Greater Minnesota transit
 
In total, this proposal would generate an estimated $10.731 billion over 10 years dedicated to transportation and infrastructure across Minnesota.  Our current maintenance needs across the state for trunk highways total $1 billion; over 10 years this grows to $6 billion and does not include local roads and bridges.  There is no doubt in the Legislature about the fact that we have serious transportation needs.  The question, and conversation, is about how to meet those needs.  One thing I have been keeping track of is the continuation of the “Moe Zone” as we look at a new gross receipts tax (the “Moe Zone” is legislation put into place by Sen. Roger Moe to keep fuel taxes at any service station within 7.5 miles of another state’s border no higher than a 3 cent difference in Minnesota).  The Senate plan does apply the “Moe Zone” to the new gross receipts tax. 
 
The governor’s budget was released on Tuesday and reinforces his commitment to education by creating voluntary early childhood learning for 4-year-olds, increasing the formula funding for all K-12 schools and continuing half of a tuition freeze for the University of Minnesota.  The other half of a tuition freeze would come from the University’s internal savings.  The governor did not propose any additional dollars for MnSCU as the system has differences between Chancellor Rosenstone and the faculty over the future direction of the system.  Governor Dayton did keep $35 million in reserves for MnSCU in the event the system reaches a cooperative resolution to the matter soon.
 
Other priorities in the budget proposal include child care tax credits, additional dollars to improve access to high-quality child care for families, improvements to children’s mental health and reforming child protective services.  Economic development provisions include broadband development, job training programs for in-demand fields, opening the State Dislocated Worker Program to folks who are currently employed in order to meet worker needs during times of economic growth and simplifying the research and development tax credit.
 
An area I appreciate in Governor Dayton’s budget is the modernization of railroad property taxes.  Modernizing railroad property taxes would expand the taxable property of railroads to include rolling stock, rail cars, trestles and rail bridges.  This would give communities dealing with rail congestion and safety issues more tax base to develop infrastructure and emergency response solutions.
 
On Monday, we passed HF 164 to provide $17 million dollars in state funding to match over $50 million in federal funding for flood relief to 47 counties across Minnesota.  These dollars will go to recovery efforts as a result of flooding last summer.  We did not need to meet for a special session last year to address these flood events as the Legislature created a disaster contingency account in 2014; however, HF 164 appropriates additional dollars to help the local governments pay remaining bills.
 
 
Thank You for the Opportunity to Serve,
Ben