SAINT PAUL – Today the Minnesota House of Representatives considered the House Jobs and Local Projects Plan which would invest over $2.5 billion in important infrastructure improvements and job-creating local projects across the state. Not having received the constitutionally required three-fifths supermajority vote, however, the bill did not pass. Rep. Liz Olson (DFL – Duluth) and Rep. Jen Schultz (DFL – Duluth), who both voted for the legislation, shared a commitment to continue advocating for key projects in the future.
“The robust capital investments in the House DFL’s Jobs and Local Projects Plan aren’t about bricks and mortar. They are about improving the way of life for Minnesotans in communities across the state,” Rep. Olson said. “It’s disappointing Republicans chose not to join us in making these critical investments today, but this vote doesn’t end our effort to ensure construction can get underway on these priorities, and we will keep working to fund these critical improvements in state assets.”
“In a time of economic uncertainty, one of the best ways we can recover is by creating good-paying jobs. The investments contained in this bill will get Minnesotans back to work while fixing important infrastructure,” Rep. Schultz said. “The needs in Duluth and across the state are demonstrated, and legislators of both parties have seen how critical the projects in this bill truly are. The time to invest in these priorities is now and we remain committed to a solution moving them forward.”
Locally, projects important to Duluth in the bill include A.B. Anderson Hall at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Northern Lights Express rail between the Twin Cities and Duluth, Duluth Seawall improvements, Lake Superior Zoo, the Duluth Depot and more.
A full list of the projects proposed in the legislation can be accessed here. Video of the House Floor session will be available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube Channel.