Legislative Update from Ben Lien, Mn House 4A

Greetings from Moorhead,

Governor Walz introduced his full Bonding Bill proposal today.  Parts of the proposal have been introduced over the last couple of weeks, and today we got to see his full plan.  In total, the proposal would issue bonds for $2 billion, and use another $570 million from sources including General Fund cash and trunk highway bonds to complete infrastructure projects around the state.  Some specifics of his plan include:

• Affordable Housing: $276 million
• Water Infrastructure: $300 million
• Higher Education: $448 million
• Public Safety: $857 million

Local projects of importance in the governor’s proposal include:

• $8.5 million for Clay County Resource Recovery Station
• $110 million for state-wide grade separation projects
• $17.2 million for Weld Hall renovations at MSUM’s campus
• $20 million for state-wide flood hazard mitigation projects
• $5.3 million for the Moorhead National Guard Readiness Center
• $9.5 million for a community and aquatics center in Moorhead

This is a great opening for the Capital Investment conversation the Legislature will have this year.  Requests for bonding projects totaled over $5 billion, and Minnesota has debt service capacity in the state budget for a $3 billion Bonding Bill.  The governor’s plan is a great way to get people working around the state, and address much needed infrastructure maintenance for cities and communities that cannot get these projects done alone.  For more information on Gov. Walz’s proposal, go to: https://mn.gov/governor/news/ and https://mn.gov/mmb/budget/capital-budget/current/

Thank You for the Opportunity to Serve,

Ben