Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook)
State lawmakers get ready to go into session with less extra money available than expected earlier. The latest economic forecast shows a budget surplus of 900 million dollars, down from roughly 1.2 billion in the last forecast. It means there’s less money for competing initiatives: Governor Mark Dayton wants funding for universal pre-kindergarten. Republicans want to cut taxes. And Democrats and Republicans have all talked about beefing up transportation funding to the tune of around 600 million dollars a year. Senate D-F-L Majority Leader Tom Bakk says, “If you’re gonna do something that big, it gets very difficult to do it without a gas tax [increase].”