Dayton Proposes $1.5 Billion Public Works Plan

Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans presented Governor Mark Dayton’s $1.5 billion dollar public works proposal at a Capitol press conference Tuesday, January 16. According to the administration, the proposal would fund 218 projects statewide and create an estimated 23,000 jobs.

Dayton’s proposal would devote $542 million dollars to infrastructure at both University of Minnesota and Minnesota State campuses. The remaining $998 million dollars would fund local water infrastructure, affordable housing projects and the improvement and maintenance of state buildings and other public assets. The administration cited the state’s triple-A bond rating and its estimated $3.5 billion dollars in bonding capacity as proof of the plan’s affordability.

University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler and interim chancellor of Minnesota State Devinder Malhotra spoke of the need for investments in infrastructure at the state's institutes of higher education. Commissioner Frans called the plan “robust” and said, “All of these projects, the education, the training and investment in our young people going forward, the investment in our workforce, these are timeless issues the Governor has been fighting for the last seven years.”

In response to the hefty bonding plan, Senate Capital Improvements Chair David Senjem, R-Rochester, said, "While Gov. Dayton once again proposes a bonding bill that busts the budget, the Senate Capital Investment Committee is busy touring the state doing the hard work of setting priorities for a bill the taxpayers can actually afford. I look forward to working with the governor on a bill that takes care of our infrastructure and makes investments in our transportation system."