Transportation bill passed with public transit cuts, boost to road and bridge funding

On Friday, the transportation working group presented what it characterized as its completed omnibus bill. At that meeting, county commissioners and administrators from the seven-county metro area expressed their disapproval of a proposal to shift half of the funds that counties would collect from a metro-wide sales tax toward the Metropolitan Council to build out Metro Transit’s bus rapid transit lines.

But something changed over the weekend.

That provision was struck from the bill, and the $115 million in cuts from the General Fund for the fiscal 2026-27 biennium called for in the global budget agreement would appear in the bill chiefly as reductions in funding for public transit in both the metro ($61.41 million) and Greater Minnesota ($22 million). 

On Monday, the House passed the $9.88 billion transportation bill after an unusual floor debate in which neither co-chair of the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee recommended voting in favor of it.

But they did, and SSHF14 was passed by a 78-55 vote. The Senate followed with a 35-32 vote. It awaits a signature by Gov. Tim Walz.

Sponsored by Rep. Erin Koegel (DFL-Spring Lake Park), the bill would raise operating adjustments for the State Patrol and the operations and maintenance of state roads and trunk highways. It would also unleash $650 million in funding for Duluth’s Blatnik Bridge rebuild, $454.09 million for state road construction, and $97.03 million from the Trunk Highway Fund to construct a State Patrol metro headquarters building.

Koegel is upset with the late changes.

“This bill is the result of a broken deal,” she said. “All of the leaders signed the spreadsheets and the policy provisions, and then went back on their word.

“We are balancing the transportation budget on the backs of transit riders. That broken promise shifted our cuts to transit riders.”

“Thanks to the voices of our county commissioners throughout the seven metro counties, we found our way back and were able to remove a taking of $93 million from county taxpayers for programs that our counties use for transportation services,” said Rep. Jon Koznick (R-Lakeville). “When you recognize a mistake, you own it and, if you have time to correct it, that’s what our job is to do.”

Republican Floor Leader Harry Niska (R-Ramsey) unsuccessfully offered an amendment that would have removed a $6.2 million appropriation for the Rum River Dam Pedestrian Bridge in Anoka.

The bill would also authorize the Metropolitan Council to loan $250 million to the Department of Transportation for highway and bus rapid transit construction coordination.

Among the bill’s policy changes are increased surcharges on electric vehicles and fees for charging stations, and a new local government funding gap assistance account.

Rep. Katie Jones (DFL-Mpls) is grateful that a provision in the original House bill to delay the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions in transportation didn’t make it into the final bill, but she bemoaned the cuts in transit funding, as did other members.