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Senator Vicki Jensen speaks at April 17 Transportation Rally. |
Some promising news on Highway 14! The Minnesota Senate Transportation Committee passed a transportation budget that included funding for the Corridors of Commerce program ($47.6 million in FY14 and $110.3 million in FY14). Language related to project selection criteria states “In selecting a project from District 6 and 7, the commissioner is encouraged to prioritize the expansion to four lanes of an interregional corridor that connects regional trade centers, connects with other interregional corridors, and contains two lane segments with 1.5 times the state average fatality rate for rural two lane roads”. This is demonstrates that Highway 14 should be a priority for program funding.
The revenue source that pays for the Corridors of Commerce program is a gross receipts tax on motor fuels at the wholesale level. Motor fuels distributors will be imposed a 5.5 percent tax on their gross receipts to be paid on a quarterly basis, not per transaction. Correspondingly, the gas tax is decreased by 6 cents. Once fully phased in, this revenue stream is projected to generate around $200 million/yr for the Highway User Tax Distribution Fund, which distributes funds to trunk highways (to the Corridors of Commerce program), counties, and cities. Agricultural and heating fuel is exempt from the gross receipt tax.
Beyond the support for Highway 14, this bill is good for Greater MN. Some additional items in the include:
•Counties are given the authority to impose a $10 wheelage tax
•Greater MN counties are given the same authority to impose a half-cent sales tax for transportation projects without voter referendum as metro counties currently hold
•Increased funding for Greater MN transit through additional General Fund dollars and increasing its MVST allocation from 4% to 5%
•Cities may create Street Maintenance Districts and impose fees to plan/fund street maintenance
•Increased funding for the TED program
•Increased the metro sales tax by .25 to fund the transit system
This bill will be up in the Senate Finance Committee on Friday and Senate Tax Committee on Monday.
It’s a long road ahead, but Highway 14 is on everyone’s radar and we have a great position in the Senate bill. PLEASE keep up your advocacy to the Governor and House leadership to encourage them to support a statewide transportation investment and funding for the Corridors of Commerce program.
Contact Governor Dayton: 1-800-657-3717 or
http://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/form/
Contact Speaker Thissen: (651) 296-5375 or
rep.paul.thissen@house.mn
Sen. Vicki Jensen (Owatonna) and Senate Transportation Chair Scott Dibble should also be thanked for their efforts. As a committee member, Sen. Jensen has been an incredible advocate for Highway 14 and she deserves a lot of credit for the position we are in today. Sen. Dibble, from Minneapolis, stood up for the transportation needs of Greater MN and had the courage to move forward with a statewide transportation investment despite the political forces against him.
Sen. Jensen: (651) 296-9457 or
sen.vicki.jensen@senate.mn
Sen. Dibble: (651) 296-4191 or
sen.scott.dibble@senate.mn
Finally, several Highway 14 Partnership members who came to St. Paul to participate in the transportation rally on Wednesday: President Les Abraham, Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz (speaker), Katie Nelson (Owatonna Chamber), Guy Kohlnofer (Dodge County Engineer), Al Forsberg (Blue Earth County Engineer), Blue Earth County Commissioner Vance Stuehrenberg (speaker), and Beth Hodgman (speaker). Again, Highway 14 was at the forefront of the transportation discussion because of their advocacy!
--submitted by Lobbyist Amanda Duerr, Highway 14 Partnership