House committee gives green light after omnibus transportation bill travels bumpy road

After emerging from a crucible of what both co-chairs described as some tough negotiations involving heated tempers, the omnibus transportation finance bill was approved via split-voice vote Friday by the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee.

Its next stop is the House Taxes Committee.

HF2438 was amended six times over the course of Friday’s meeting, most of the changes relatively technical in nature. The changes include:

• moving the dates for a traffic safety violations disposition analysis project;
• removing a road project near Dellwood and Mahtomedi;
• changing requirements for an online transportation project activity portal;
• making multiple editing corrections;
• adding road construction materials to items exempt from a retail delivery fee; and
• reducing the size of a Hennepin County grant to the University of Minnesota for suicide barriers on the Washington Avenue Bridge to $9 million.

Four other proposed amendments were not adopted.

Before amendments were entertained, the committee received public testimony. The main issues addressed by testifiers were disapproval of the bill’s measures to delay a greenhouse gas emissions assessment project and reduced funding for mass transit.

[MORE: House lawmakers review transportation package with billions in funding, tougher penalties for speeding drivers]

On the whole, the committee’s two co-chairs had disparate views on the bill, although they both supported it.

“I think everybody still loves pizza, but you don't have to love all the ingredients,” said Rep. Jon Koznick (R-Lakeville). “It's a balanced transportation bill that makes Minnesota roads safer. That we’re building our roads and maintaining our systems smarter. And I do believe that it’s a bill that makes our transportation system even more sustainable.”

The other co-chair, Rep. Erin Koegel (DFL-Spring Lake Park), saw things differently.

“I don’t like this bill very much,” she said. “I’m very disappointed in the cuts to transit, especially Metro Mobility, upset about the greenhouse gas emissions piece. I think there was a lot of compromise that we made, and it was a very difficult process. Tempers flared quite a bit, and it was a difficult process to go through.

“I am 100% committed to making this a better bill when it comes back to us. This isn’t the end; this is the starting point.”

“We don’t love this,” said Rep. Bjorn Olson (R-Fairmont). “But it’s something I think we can get enacted.”

What’s in the bill?

The following are selected bills that have been incorporated in part or in whole into the omnibus transportation finance bill:

• HF185 (Koegel)
• HF189 (Zeleznikar)
• HF268 (Koznick)
• HF305 (Joy)
• HF639 (Murphy)
• HF712 (Koegel)
• HF748 (Koznick)
• HF795 (Myers)
• HF1214 (Hansen)
• HF1219 (Olson)
• HF1220 (Olson)
• HF1242 (Joy)
• HF1360 (Koegel)
• HF1406 (Anderson, P.E.)
• HF1468 (Engen)
• HF1520 (Koegel)
• HF1521 (Koegel)
• HF1774 (Davids)
• HF1781 (Tabke)
• HF1817 (Kraft)
• HF2107 (West)
• HF2249 (Rehm)
• HF2337 (Olson)
• HF2438 (Koznick)
• HF2606 (Olson)
• HF2665 (Schwartz)
• HF3080 (Koegel)