Hello from St. Paul,
The Minnesota House recently approved legislation which provides nearly $2 billion in bonding and cash investments to fund essential infrastructure projects throughout the state.
The package is based on an agreement reached last year for a bill that ran out of time and was not enacted. In total, the approved version includes one bill (H.F. 669) featuring $1.5 billion in state bonds and another bill (H.F. 670) appropriating around $392 million from the general fund.
It is our constitutional obligation to maintain our state’s core infrastructure and that’s why we approved these bills. We all want clean water, safe roads and bridges, and roofs on public buildings that don’t leak. Yet, with just one bonding bill enacted since 2018, a backlog of worthy projects continues growing and must be addressed before we reach the point of no return. While the funding requests far exceeded the amount we could do with this package, it is good to see strong, bipartisan support has led to some progress in the House.
A three-fifths super majority is required for bonding bills to pass the 134-member House. The bonding bill easily surpassed the 81-vote threshold on a 91-43 tally. The cash bill, requiring a simple majority, passed even more overwhelmingly, 98-36. The bills are now in the hands of the Senate, which could approve them as-is and send them to the governor for enactment.
Meaningful tax relief should be a slam dunk this session and this infrastructure package is another way we can return money to the people. If the state fails to maintain our infrastructure, the needs will remain and someone still has to pay for these projects, resulting in higher property taxes. I am sure the Senate understands this and will approve these bills quickly so we can take care of our infrastructure and spare Minnesotans from property tax increases.
Have a good weekend,
Greg