With the end of session rapidly approaching, I eagerly anticipate that a compromise on long-term transportation funding will soon occur. Unfortunately, partisan lawmakers like State Rep. Paul Marquart, who talks a good game about working together, is actually more interested in taking political potshots.

Marquart is upset because state Rep. Peggy Bennett won’t support the Democratic method of distributing more money to roads and bridges, which is forcing you to pay more.

Marquart failed to mention in his recent attack that he favors the Minnesota Democrat plan, costing you a minimum of 16 cents more per gallon at the pump. His idea would give us the second-highest gas tax in the nation.

This mammoth gas tax increase proposal was brought up for a vote on the House floor. It received exactly zero votes. The support for this plan simply isn’t there in the House, but there is strong support for a fiscally responsible approach.

House Republicans want to use money that has been or is being collected, along with bonding proceeds, to make an unprecedented investment in transportation. Marquart shamefully attempts to portray this reallocation as harmful to our schools. The reality is the House Republican plan relies on less than one percent of general funds on an ongoing basis.

Let me state this another way: The proposal that outrages Marquart would redirect less than 1 percent from a $42 billion budget to our roads and bridges.

Further, 34 states already use general fund dollars for highways, so the plan is not new. Very simply, Minnesotans have given us more than enough money to fix our roads, so it’s time to prioritize them.

With his distorted hit piece, Marquart’s goal is to make state Rep. Peggy Bennett look bad. Don’t take the bait.

Know that Rep. Bennett supports a common-sense, sustainable answer to Minnesota’s transportation needs, and I am confident that lawmakers like her who care more about your roads and bridges and less about scoring political points will find common ground on this topic in the coming days.

 

Tim Kelly  

chairman 

Minnesota House Transportation
Policy and Finance Committee