 Dear neighbors, I’m sending out another Legislative Update to share an important development. Last Friday, in the Transportation Committee, I took an unusual step—for the first time since joining the legislature, I voted against a budget bill. While the budget bill did represent a compromise in our evenly divided committee, I could not support it due to a deeply concerning provision: it halts the Climate Smart Transportation law I authored in 2023 to address transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This vital policy has already been implemented, and the proposed Transportation budget bill delays it by 3½ years. This rollback undermines critical progress, and I believe we owe it to our communities to move forward—not backward—on these important issues. Some BackgroundIn 2023, I was proud to author the Climate Smart Transportation law, a bold new climate initiative to put Minnesota at the forefront of tackling transportation emissions, which are the biggest source of greenhouse gases here and across the country. This new policy gives the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) an indispensable tool to help us reach our state’s climate goals, which include net-zero transportation-related GHG emissions by 2050 and a 20% reduction in vehicle miles travelled (VMT) per capita in that same timeframe. The VMT piece is key, because we are going to have fossil fuel based vehicles on our roads for decades. If we just wait for vehicles to be electrified, we won’t meet our goals. We have a responsibility to address climate change and improve people’s lives, and that’s what my Climate Smart Transportation law is all about. Under this law, if a MnDOT project is going to increase emissions or lead to more driving, those impacts need to be balanced out through other actions. These steps could include adding transit, improving bike and pedestrian access, supporting car sharing, or changing how we plan land use. These solutions can be part of the same project or come from other improvements across the system—the most important thing is ensuring it makes a difference. Even if you don’t care about climate change, this policy still makes a ton of sense. The Rocky Mountain Institute found that if Minnesota meets our goals for driving less, we could save $91 billion by 2050. Starting in 2030, projections show we’d also save 65 lives and prevent 1,000 injuries each year. This is the kind of smart, forward-thinking transportation planning that puts Minnesotans first—saving money, saving lives, and building a healthier, more connected future for everyone. Nationwide RecognitionWe based our climate law on a similar policy in Colorado, but we are the first to include vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Many have cited our law as the ideal pathway to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. - Bloomberg, 1/7/2025, "Can States Hit the Brakes on Runaway Roadbuilding?"
- Star Tribune, 6/9/2024, “Do we really need that highway? Law seeks to change Minnesotans’ relationship with cars in the wake of a climate crisis.”
- Heatmap, 1/22/2024, “Transit Agencies Are Climate Agencies, Too”. Speaking about this policy they say “The state that is leading the nation in innovative transportation policy, however, is Minnesota.”
- Volts podcast, 9/7/2023, “Minnesota builds climate change into transportation planning”
- Transportation for America, 6/5/2023, “How Minnesota set a National Example in Climate Legislation”. In this article, while they’re summarizing our overall 2023 efforts, in referring to the GHG/VMT policy they say; "While the transit and passenger rail funding provisions are exciting, this portion of the law may have an even greater effect."
April 11th - Videos from House Transportation Finance and Policy CommitteeWe had some powerful testimony against the 3 ½ year rollback of the GHG/VMT law.  Then, Rep. Katie Jones proposed an amendment to strip out this change.  I spoke in favor of the amendment, and then we voted. Unfortunately, as there were 8 votes for the amendment (all committee Democrats) and 8 votes against it (all committee Republicans), the amendment failed and was not adopted.  You can see the full hearing at this link. The debate on Rep. Jones’ amendment begins at about 1:49:30. What’s Next?While I’m very disappointed, the Transportation budget bill has a couple of other committee stops before it comes to the floor for a vote. And then, even if the bill passes in the House, it must go into conference committee with the Senate’s budget bill which does not include this provision. I’m not done fighting against this shortsighted and irresponsible policy change. General News: Town Hall ReminderI’m really excited to host an issue-focused town hall on transgender rights on Saturday, April 26th, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. My colleague and friend Rep. Leigh Finke, along with Carin Mrotz and Allan Aguilar from Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office, will join me at Westwood Hills Nature Center (830 W Franklin Ave., St. Louis Park, MN 55426). Trans people have been under attack by the Trump administration, as well as in many states around the country, simply for existing. Within Minnesota, we’ve already seen many harmful bills introduced this session. We’ll talk about how we’re pushing back in Minnesota and what’s going on around the country. All constituents are invited to attend. I hope you can make it!  |