Capitol Comments by Peggy Bennett

Much of the focus and news coverage coming from St. Paul revolves around macro issues like the Legislature’s large budget bills. While I enjoy working on important issues such as education, tax relief, and road and bridge funding, which impact all Minnesotans, there are also a number of important local interests that I have been working on that have been included in the House and Senate budget proposals.

The Stables sewer project has been a big issue in our area for many years. This has been something I’ve been working on since coming into office in 2015, and was excited to see this initiative included in last year’s bonding and transportation bill. Sadly, the clock ran out on that legislation at the last second. This year, I reintroduced the Stables bill and am happy to report the project has again been included in this year’s House bonding proposal. If passed into law, this bill would award a grant to the Stables neighborhood via the Public Facilities Authority. It’s an encouraging first step in seeing this local need become law. 

This week, the House and Senate came to a compromise on a transportation plan. I was happy to see a $20 million investment in that plan for the Small Cities Assistance Program for the next two years. This fund was set up so cities under 5,000 residents, which rarely see transportation money come directly to them, could receive much needed road and bridge funding. This will positively impact many cities in Greater Minnesota, including our area. Cities like Clarks Grove, Wells, Hayward, Glenville and more would see an increase in state investment for local roads and bridges. This gives more control to these cities to prioritize the local projects in need. I’ve supported this program since its inception, and hope to see it stay in the final bill. 

There are other local projects that we all care about which, unfortunately, have not been included in our initial proposals. Projects like funding for the Riverland Community College initiative and the completion of the Blazing Star Trail are also important to our area. Although these are not in the current proposals, there is still time for me to advocate for these and other local interests in the last few weeks of session, as well as next year, and I will continue to do that. 

There’s still a lot more to the legislative process in these closing weeks of session, and a long way to go before these bills become law. Thankfully, the Legislature is ahead of schedule for a budget year, and I’m confident we’ll finish our work. As we are discussing and altering these final bills, I will continue to advocate for the local issues our residents care about. I welcome your thoughts and suggestions, and very much value that local input. Please feel free to reach out to me and share your thoughts during these final weeks.

Peggy Bennett, R-Albert Lea, is the District 27A representative.