Still no transportation funding agreement
“Partisan” is what Democrats label an 800-million-dollar bonding proposal for state construction projects that House Republicans unveiled on Wednesday. They say the bill is littered with projects in Republican districts — while a Moorhead rail-crossing upgrade *not* included has D-F-L Representative Paul Marquart upset, “It’s a huge safety concern, not just for emergency vehicles getting across back-and-forth, but also the fact that you have five to seven oil trains coming through town within two blocks of the high school there in Moorhead each and every day.”
House bonding committee Chairman, Hanska Republican Paul Torkelson, responds the bonding proposal is a true compromise that focuses on priorities important to communities across Minnesota. But Democrats’ point-person, Saint Paul Representative Alice Hausman, says the bill does not have the votes to pass.
There was little progress on the transportation funding package even after Governor Mark Dayton met behind closed doors with legislative leaders again this afternoon. Senate Democratic Majority Leader Tom Bakk, “I’ve consistently said that any kind of a transportation proposal has to include transit — so if the speaker is taking transit off the table and wants to put it on the side and talk about it next year, there’s not a path to get a transportation bill this year.”
House Speaker, Republican Kurt Daudt, has expressed strong opposition to the proposed Southwest Light Rail Line in the Twin Cities. Bakk says negotiators are “fairly close” on the other areas of the state budget — but agreement has not been reached on a bonding bill for state public works projects.