HOUSE APPROVES BILL TO FUND BONDING PROJECTS, FIX TAX PROBLEM
ST. PAUL – The Minnesota House approved an omnibus tax and bonding bill on Wednesday by a vote of 100-34. The package addressed a major tax issue that has placed a significant burden on many small business owners and farmers and also provided $1.37 billion in bonding authority for the construction of roads and bridges, upgrades to wastewater treatment plants and other necessary infrastructure maintenance at state-owned facilities.
The capital investment package to fund projects throughout the state included three important local projects that have been top priorities for our district for many years:
Finishing the connection between Hwy 610 and I-94 in Maple Grove, which will significantly reduce congestion and enable the top freight corridor in the state to operate safely and efficiently.
Expansion of the North Metro Gun Range in Maple Grove, which will enable 18 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to have more opportunities for training, including additional facilities for de-escalation training. This has been a top priority for the city and law enforcement for many years
Adding a pedestrian/bike bridge over I-94 in Rogers, which will ensure that people can safely cross this busy highway to get to schools, parks and trails from their homes. A pedestrian bridge was not generally part of highway construction projects when the road was built, but if I-94 were built today, it would be a standard safety feature.
"People in our district have been working on these projects for many years and I continued to fight for them, working behind the scenes with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to demonstrate how important they are for public safety and continued economic growth in this region of the state," Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, continued. "I am fortunate to have been able to our district's representative when we were able to finally get them over the finish line."
Robbins also noted, "I do have concerns about the size of the bill and voted in favor of Minority Leader Daudt's amendment to pay for the debt service and other costs of the bill by taking $50 million from the federal CARES act and transferring unspent money from the state COVID-fund. I am frustrated that the DFL Majority rejected this common-sense amendment and instead chose to add to the deficit, even though I did ultimately support these important infrastructure projects. Moving forward, we should reform how bonding bills are passed by passing smaller, individual bills, rather than omnibus tax and bonding bills, so we can better focus on core infrastructure projects."
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