Dear Neighbors,
Large items are left on the legislative ‘to-do’ list before we adjourn on May 23.
On May 5, the Senate bonding bill failed on a vote of 40-26. Yesterday, the House bonding bill also failed to gain the 3/5 super majority necessary to pass. This means that a conference committee must be established, and find time to meet and come up with a compromise between both bills containing differing projects statewide. The House’s bonding bill price is $800 million and the Senate’s is $1.5 billion so there is a lot of room for compromise.
Transportation remains at a standstill. Speaker Daudt seems open to the idea of increasing the auto license tab fees and sales tax on auto parts, but has not firmly agreed to that plan or any plan even though Gov. Dayton has compromised several times.
The House and Senate Taxes Conference Committee has held a couple of meetings this past week and legislative leaders have come to an agreement on a budget target for a final tax bill today. You can read about the current proposal here.
It is an honor to serve you at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Ron Erhardt
State Representative