ST. PAUL – With the deadline to the 2016 legislative session rapidly approaching, State Representative Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) said he expects a flurry of activity during the final days at the State Capitol.
“Once we see an agreement on long-term funding for transportation, I believe we’ll break the logjam,” Hamilton said. “The final fates of tax relief and our bonding bill will ultimately be determined by any compromise made to improve our road and bridge infrastructure.”
Currently, House and Senate negotiators are stuck on financing our long range transportation needs. The House has approved legislation that would dedicate tax revenue that is being or has already been collected from state taxpayers, while the Senate passed a bill that would raise your cost of gasoline by a minimum of 16-cents per gallon.
“Following a recent legislative update that centered on transportation, I heard from a number of area residents who shared their input,” Hamilton said. “Their information will be valuable as this negotiation process moves forward.”
Because some of our projected $900 million surplus is also likely to be utilized in a road and bridge agreement, the proposal directly impacts the size and scope of any tax relief plan.
Hamilton said a bonding bill will likely be the last bill approved by the House this session.
“Though it may appear that things are going poorly, everyone at the Capitol wants a final agreement,” Hamilton said. “Sadly, it’s not all that unusual for things to go down to the wire in terms of approving our final bills, but I’m optimistic we will have a successful conclusion to the 2016 session.”