Minnesota Republicans Stake Out $7B Plan For Roads, Bridges
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) — Minnesota House and Senate Republicans unveiled their plan on Monday to fix the state's aging roads and bridges.
They would spend $7 billion over a decade without raising gas taxes.
Instead of raising the gas tax, Republicans take hundreds of millions of dollars of existing sales taxes from transportation-related activities.
They would send the money to a new Transportation Stability Fund.
"When you pay a tax, whether it is fixing your car, whether you are renting a car, whether you are leasing a car," said Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing, Chair of the House Transportation Committee, "it makes sense that [money] should go to roads and bridges and construction and transportation in general."
The Republican plan spends far less money on Twin Cities transit, including buses and light rail, than Gov. Dayton's transportation plan does.
And it doesn't include the gas tax hike of at least 16 cents a gallon that Dayton is proposing to pay for 10 years of massive road and bridge repair.
Dayton said Republicans are "raiding" $3 billion from the state's general fund and taking it away from other needs and programs.
"They're still coming up with make-believe solutions to real problems," the Democratic governor said. "It's not a long-term solution, and it perpetuates the mythology that you can get something for nothing."
But Republican leaders say they are focusing on what Minnesotans consider the most important and most cost-effective projects.
"What they want is a safe ride to work," said Rep. Joyce Peppin, R-Rogers, the House Majority leader. "They want the potholes filled. They want congestion relieved on the highways. And that is what we are offering today."
