ST. PAUL – Rep. Matt Bliss, R-Pennington, announced Monday that he is putting on hold legislation he has authored to examine upgrades for State Highway 371.
The bill (H.F. 1437) would conduct a study to determine the feasibility of improving the Paul Bunyan Expressway from Jenkins to Cass Lake. Bliss, who was sworn into the House for the first time in January, said he is concerned there is insufficient time to conduct due diligence to work out kinks in the proposal and garner unified local support before a tight schedule of committee deadlines for arrives.
“This issue is too important to rush through the process and we need to spend more time ironing out the bill,” Bliss said. “We need to take more time discussing this subject back in the district and I plan to conduct meetings with local officials and citizens to gain consensus.”
The bill received approval in its initial House hearing last week, with Bliss amending the proposal along the way. He said he still was not fully satisfied with the language.
“My mission remains to do what is best for the people in District 5A and, at this point, we need to regroup with this bill,” Bliss said. “Let’s get our ducks in a row and see where that takes us.”
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