Minnesota needs a fair and balanced budget 

This is the last full week of the regular 2015 Legislative Session. While Gov. Mark Dayton and DFL legislators are working to build a better Minnesota for all Minnesotans with the state’s $2 billion budget surplus, House GOP want $4 billion in permanent tax giveaways for corporations and special interests, to kick 90,000 working families off health care, to cut job creation programs, and shortchange our children’s futures.

Transportation – $3 billion gap

Gov. Dayton’s budget would invest $6 billion over the next ten years to address the state’s highway funding deficit, invest $2.356 billion in local government transportation projects, and provide $2.92 billion for transit systems across Minnesota.

The Governor’s proposal would create an estimated 119,000 new jobs, and build the infrastructure necessary to meet the demands of a growing population and an expanding state economy. It would repair or replace 2,200 miles of roads and 330 bridges statewide, increase Metro Area transit ridership by 80 percent, and increase transit service in Greater Minnesota by 500,000 hours annually.

Finally, it would invest $330 million over the next ten years in critical railway safety improvements statewide. 

By contrast, the House GOP plan would:

• Shift $4 billion out of the General Fund over the next ten years, taking funds that would otherwise be dedicated to education and other essential services, and spending them instead on roads and bridges
• Cut $723 million from the Metropolitan Council over the next ten years, which would stall development on additional transit projects, raise transit fares, and force significant cutbacks in bus services
• Provide $325 million less than the Governor for critical railway safety improvements and eliminate funding for the state’s Freight Rail Office and Rail Director – positions essential to improving railway safety as rail traffic continues to increase in Minnesota 

2015 $3 billion funding gap · 2015 transportation funding · Gov. Dayton · Mark Dayton

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