Hello Friends,
As we finish out the second week of the legislative session, there are a couple of things we keep returning to:
Transportation
Transportation is at the top of the agenda for the 2016 legislative session. Repairing roads and bridges in suburban and greater Minnesota needs to be a priority. We have a proposal on the table that would really build up our transportation infrastructure, without raising taxes.
In the 2015 session, the House GOP introduced a $7 billion transportation bill. This legislation is a 10-year plan that would build and maintain roads and bridges in Minnesota, without a gas tax increase. The “Road and Bridge Act” will repair over 15,000 lane miles, and 320 bridges throughout Minnesota.
In addition to dedicated dollars from a Transportation Stability Fund, our proposal uses Trunk Highway bonds, realigning Minnesota Department of Transportation resources, General Obligation bonds, some General Fund dollars, and reallocating a percentage of an existing sales tax on car parts/rentals as funding mechanisms, not a hike in the gas tax.
Real ID
As I have mentioned previously, we are currently in the process of tackling the Real ID issue. We are still negotiating what the most responsible approach is to comply with federal Real ID standards, but some preliminary steps are being taken so that changes can be implemented right away when we decide what the new IDs will involve. I will keep you appraised of the situation!
Mill Pond Proposal
On March 10th the bonding proposal to restore the Champlin Mill Pond was heard in the Environment and Natural Resources Policy committee. The bill is currently “on the table” to be considered for inclusion in this year’s Capital Investment bill. I will keep you up to date on this as session progresses.
Thank you, and have a great weekend!
-Mark