the Transportation Bill on the House Floor

We are on the House Floor today in an unusual Saturday session. We are taking up the Transportation Finance bill, one that I've worked very hard on this session as a member of the Transportation Committee. I am unfortunately missing one of my favorite events of the year - the Friends of Wild River State Park annual maple syrup and pancake breakfast (with freshly-boiled syrup!). But this Transportation Bill will help meet an incredible need facing the people I represent: traffic congestion and unsafe roads.

The bill is also a Jobs bill. My friend, Congressman (and Chair) Jim Oberstar often cites this statistic: 1 lane mile of new road brings 55 new jobs.

I spoke frankly with my MnDOT Area Manager last week. I asked him whether the state can fund the North Branch Bridge at highway 95 without more funding. His straightforward answer was - not before 2009, certainly. Without this bill, North Branch would have to levy $4.2 Million in property tax bonding to build the bridge.

For a long time, the DFL House Caucus has listed its top priorities as "Education, Health Care and Property Tax reform." I've long thought that one critical issue has been missing, and spoke several times directly with the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader as well. I am satisfied that we're taking the Transportation Finance Bill before all others, because the need is so great across the state.

One last specific note before I share with you a little bit of what's happening on the floor. The 2005 Transportation Bill would have provided $17 million in state funding just to our Chisago County county-state-aid roads. Because the bill did not become law - and because we then had the worst county roads in a MnDOT study - the county was forced to bond $14 Million in property taxes to make up for the lost revenue.

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We're now about 30 minutes into the floor action on the bill. Representative Holberg offered an amendment that would violate our balanced budget principles over the next two years - the budget "tails" as they are called around here. I voted no.

As Vice-Chair of Public Safety, I've worked closely with the Republican Lead, Rep. Paul Kohls. I'd now call him a friend. His amendment to strip out the major funding of the bill just failed - and I voted no on this one as well.

Many of these amendments were discussed through the three-month committee process this year. We worked diligently in a bi-partisan manner to write the bill, which passed with only 3 nay votes in Committee.

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Rep. Sviggum is offering an amendment that would micromanage the transit system. My professional training is, of course, in architecture and planning. I know that we need to trust professionals to design a system that works well - and that we need to fund the system to reach the critical mass so that transit is available to areas where there is real need and desire for it - like Chisago County. My largest city is 29.5 miles away from the closest connection to the metro transit system, though we are part of the metro MnDOT district and pay for the roads the busses ride along. I will vote no on the Sviggum amendment.

Rep. Garofalo just offered an amendment to prohibit toll roads in Minnesota. While I generally agree with the principle, there are a few worthy areas where a toll road may make sense. The proposed major freeway-style bridge in Stillwater would cost $494 Million - primarily to move Wisconsin residents to their Minnesota jobs. This immense project will benefit Wisconsiners mostly, and a toll charge will help the users actually pay for the bridge project. I voted no on the Garofalo amendment for this reason.

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After I spoke urging a "green" vote, the Republican lead on our committee, Doug Magnus, spoke about the bill as well. He pointed out that there are a lot of good elements in the bill, even though he'll vote against it.

Now, finally, Transportation Chair Bernie Lieder is wrapping up the debate, sharing his wisdom as one of the true legends in the Minnesota House. He is also refuting some of the exagerations previously stated about the funding part of the bill. I've especially enjoyed getting to know Bernie, and learning at his feet. He's sharp, fair, and even-keeled.

The bill just passed 83-46.

Thanks for reading this post. Please do let me know if you enjoyed the format and the discussion. If you'd also prefer shorter updates more frequently, please do let me know as well. As always, your comments, questions, ideas and input are encouraged. Thanks for your attention. Enjoy the spring weather!