Interview: Rep. Kurt Daudt On Legislative Priorities
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The November elections brought a major change at the State Capitol.
While Gov. Mark Dayton easily won reelection, Republicans took control of the Minnesota House.
And that has already set up battles for what to do with the state's projected $1 billion surplus as well as transportation funding.
The new speaker of the Minnesota House, Rep. Kurt Daudt, spoke with Esme Murphy on WCCO Sunday Morning about road construction, gas prices, education, liquor on Sundays and the Capitol construction project.
Daudt has taken a strong stance against Dayton's request for a 12 cents per gallon gas tax to fund needed transportation improvements.
"What the governor's actually proposing is a six-and-a-half percent tax on gasoline; if gas goes back to $4 per gallon, we're talking about 24 or more cents per gallon," Daudt said. "We think that the wrong approach right now is to take more money out of the pockets of Minnesotans."
Dayton has said he wants to take a large chunk of the surplus and spend it on education. Daudt stressed the importance of closing the achievement gap but suggested a focus on non-financial methods of improving the education system, such as removing seniority from consideration in the layoff process.
"We don't believe that money is the only answer," he said. "We believe education reforms that have been overlooked by democrats in recent years--we think those can make a difference. No. 1, we want to make sure we're putting the absolute best teacher in front of that student in the classroom."
To see the full interview with Rep. Daudt, watch the video above.
You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Kylie Bearse every Sunday at 6 am and 10:30 am.
