Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to join fellow legislators for Governor Tim Walz’s reception at the Governor’s Residence. It was great to meet and chat with the Governor and I look forward to working with him on an array of issues in the months ahead. Thank you to the Governor and First Lady for hosting a fantastic evening.
Committee Hearing in Blaine
Tomorrow, Friday, March 1, the House Transportation Division will be holding an official committee hearing in Blaine to hear testimony and discuss issues surrounding transportation in Anoka County and the north metro. Members of the community are invited to attend and provide public testimony. The hearing will take place from 9am-12pm tomorrow at the Blaine City Hall (10801 Town Square Drive NE Blaine MN 55449).
At tomorrow’s hearing, I will be presenting the bill I am authoring to provide the necessary funding to construct a third lane for Highway 10. This is an incredibly important project to our community and Anoka County as a whole. Completing this project will provide a big boost to our area by reducing travel times, improving safety, and promoting economic development.
Highway 10 lane expansion continues to be my top priority in the legislature this year and I will keep working hard to move my bill through the legislative process. This is an issue that legislators from both parties agree on, and I’ve enjoyed joining Republicans and Democrats from the north metro in pushing for this project.
I’m also working on other area transportation needs such as funding for improved bridges and upgraded interchanges as well as the removal of stoplights. I’ve been working with as many people as possible – colleagues, legislative staff, local city officials, MNDOT officials – to help start the discussion and bring these issues to the forefront.
Please let me know if you have any questions about tomorrow’s hearing and I hope to see you there.
Governor’s Budget Proposal
Last week, Governor Walz unveiled his state budget proposal for the next two years. I was disappointed to see that massive tax hikes – totaling at least $3 billion over the next two years – were a major component of this budget. These tax increases would make life more expensive for families and businesses and take more money out of the pocket of every Minnesotan.
You’ve probably heard about the 20 cent per gallon gas tax increase the governor is proposing. It would give Minnesota the 4th highest gas tax in the country and would make every trip to the gas station more expensive. This would especially hurt drivers in our area who commute around the metro as well as area businesses moving their products by trucks.
We’ve heard the governor state that higher gas taxes are essential to making investments in transportation infrastructure. We all agree we must fund our roads and bridges, but the legislature did so without increasing gas taxes last session and we can do it again this year. I support dedicating sales taxes on auto parts exclusively to roads and bridges, but unfortunately the governor’s proposal eliminates this plan and calls for increased gas taxes instead.
This proposal would also renew the billion dollar per year sick tax – a tax on healthcare services – which would make healthcare and every trip to the doctor more expensive. In addition, this budget would hurt small businesses by bringing back an annual inflationary increase that would significantly raise property taxes for years to come. Finally, the governor’s proposal would also increase license tab and vehicle registration fees. At a time when our state enjoys a healthy budget surplus, there is no reason to consider raising taxes by so much. Needless to say, we can’t afford the higher taxes the governor is proposing.
Please Contact Me
Please feel free to contact me anytime to share questions or concerns you have on any legislative matter. Your input and ideas help me to best represent our community in the legislature. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-1729 or by email at rep.john.heinrich@house.mn.
Sincerely,
John