Dear Neighbors,
The first month of the legislative session – and my first month as a legislator – is winding down, but the debates that will define this session are picking up.
New developments include the launch of a new initiative for medical education by Governor Dayton, a proposed new childcare tax credit program to help working families and single parents, and the beginning of GOP efforts to cut taxes for the wealthy.
A few pieces of legislation I’ve personally been working on include funding for universal pre-school for all Minnesota children, and on a bill to allow seed libraries, like the one run in Duluth by our public library, to continue sharing seed among small growers.
The big news this week are the emerging differences between Governor Dayton and the House GOP on fixing Minnesota’s transportation system.
Transportation:
Last year a bipartisan, business-oriented transportation task force concluded that maintaining Minnesota’s transportation infrastructure would require a billion dollars a year for the next twenty years. Many candidates, including many Republicans, recognized that need and promised to consider all options for funding these infrastructure needs. However, the GOP has tripped itself over their “no new taxes” pledge. They campaigned by attacking the DFL spending of $750 million for transportation in the last two years as inadequate, but now are proposing to spend just $750 million in the next four years. Worse, they propose to find that money by using rainy day funds and MnDOT reserves, disregarding the Minnesota policy of funding transportation with dedicated taxes and thus throwing transportation into the yearly battle for general fund dollars.
Using the general fund would mean that transportation would battle with programs like education, health care, and local government aid for funding dollars, leading inevitably to conflicts and underfunding and ending the availability of predictable dollars to fund long term plans and commitments. Depleting the transportation reserve would mean that unforeseen problems, like our area’s massive needs following the deluge and flooding in 2012, would be unbudgeted and potentially deferred for years. Raiding the general fund reserve would mean that any future economic downturn would be accompanied by deep cuts to education and local government aid, deferral of important projects, and cancellation of our state commitment to a growing, vibrant economy.
Governor Dayton has proposed a new sales tax on wholesale gasoline, a small increase in the vehicle registration fee, and an increased sales tax that would affect only the seven county metro area to fund a real commitment to finding the billions of dollars our state needs. The Governor’s plan also includes specific new funds marked for Greater Minnesota. No one likes taxes, but there is no free lunch, and we need a transportation system that works for all of Minnesota’s businesses and people. The current GOP transportation plans that do not even repair and maintain our current infrastructure network are simply unacceptable.
Governor Dayton’s Budget:
Along with the transportation plan released earlier this week, yesterday Governor Dayton released his budget plan for the next two years. The Governor’s budget puts special emphasis on children, families, and E-12 schools, along with many other areas of state government. If you would like a quick summary of the Governor’s proposal you can click here, and for more in-depth information you can see more budget proposal links here.
I’ll continue to update you as the legislature continues it’s work. Please share this link to sign up for my legislative updates. I encourage you to contact me on any legislative or state government issue that may arise. During the legislative session, my office in St. Paul can be reached by email at Rep.Jennifer.Schultz@house.mn or by phone at 651-296-2228.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Schultz
State Representative