Dear Neighbors,
We are fast approaching final adjournment of the 2016 legislative session and there are still a number of big ticket items that remain unresolved—things like a fix to our roads and bridges, tax relief for middle class Minnesotans, and ultimately a bonding bill.
Just yesterday, the Senate debated and voted on its 2016 bonding bill. If passed, the Senate’s proposed $1.5 billion bill would have been the largest in state history. To the surprise of some, the bill ended up falling a single vote short of the needed 3/5s super majority needed for passage.
Even if this bill would have passed the Senate, such a large bonding bill would have had little chance of becoming law as the House’s target is considerably less and more in line with the size of previous years’ bills.
While the House has yet to release specifics of its bonding proposal, I would expect a large portion to go towards local infrastructure projects and roads and bridges.
Through bonding, we can allocate funds to MNDOT’s local bridge and local roads programs which award grants to counties and cities to repair and replace roads and bridges. While some of these funds can be designated for specific projects, MNDOT is also given autonomy to choose which projects to fund.
Bonding bills serve a purpose in funding the upkeep and construction of publicly owned buildings and projects, but we need to make sure that we are responsible in choosing how much money we are willing to borrow as Minnesota already pays $1.5 billion per biennium on debt service from previous bonding bills.
As for myself, I am committed to a bill that funds the most important projects and roads and bridges while keeping the overall size of the bill within reason.
Staying in Touch
As always, please be sure to let me know your thoughts regarding this issue or any other related to state government. It would be great to speak with you! I can be reached by phone at 651-296-3201 or via email at rep.mary.franson@house.mn.
I truly represent the best!
Have a great weekend,
Mary