Panel Debates Senate Transportation Funding Plan

The Senate Transportation Committee began its debate on the proposed $3.6 billion transportation funding plan put forward by Senate Republicans that is intended to boost road and bridge construction over the next ten years without raising the gas tax.

For the next biennium, the proposal, sponsored by Senate Transportation Chair Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, would move $400 million dollars from auto-related sales taxes from the general fund to a dedicated transportation fund, rely on $53 million dollars in savings from MNDOT efficiencies, use $117 million from MNDOT flexible spending funds and issue $300 million dollars in trunk highway bonds. The plan also depends on $466 million dollars in federal grants.

Most of the Wednesday meeting was dedicated to public testimony. Scott Peterson of the Minnesota Department of Transportation thanked Newman for raising the level of transportation funding in the bill, saying "I think it's a recognition of the additional investment we need in the highway system as well as the local road systems to make sure that they are preserved and in a state of good repair..."

Despite support of the additional funding, Peterson disagreed with the funding sources. "We are concerned that the bill uses General Fund revenue to increase funding for roads and bridges." He explained that Governor Dayton called for additional funding through constitutionally-dedicated transportation revenue sources, such as the gas tax.

DFL committee lead Senator Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, questioned Senator Newman on proposing a road-and-bridge bill. "Do you fundamentally believe that transit is just an extra add-on that can be addressed at a future point of time and it's okay to pass a roads-only bill?" he asked.

"How do we address transit at this stage of the game knowing that there are a number of members in this committee that genuinely and deeply support light rail, and there are members that genuinely and deeply oppose it?" Newman asked. "We do not have a consensus on light rail, and I think that's one of the lynchpins to the issue surrounding transit," he added.