Repeat After Me...
I turn things over to Logical Lady Sue Jeffers.
Repeat after me, Roads and Bridges FIRST!
Ask yourself the following question. Will the proposed transportation bill eliminate or reduce congestion and make our roads and bridges safe?
The answer is no. This is not a transportation bill, it is a transit bill. This transit bill will cost families thousands of dollars in out of pocket costs, provide billions of dollars for transit and much lesser funding for roads and bridges. Funding allocations throughout the entire bill provide 50% to transit for the metro area and for greater Minnesota. Transit will not eliminate congestion, reduce pollution or improve safety on our roads and bridges.
The description of the Senate Transit bill passed yesterday provides clues as to the real purpose of the bill: The bill appropriates money for: transportation activities, provide funding for highway maintenance, debt service, local roads, funds for the emergency relief related to the I-35 bridge collapse, establishing a trunk highway bridge improvement program, requiring study of value capture to reduce the public costs of large transportation infrastructure investment, authorizing sale and issuance of bonds for highways, modify motor vehicle registration and motor fuel taxes, establishing annual adjustment of motor fuel taxes, create a motor fuels tax credit, allocating a motor vehicle lease tax revenues, providing for local transportation sales taxes, modifying county state aid highway fund revenue allocation, prohibiting tolling or privatization of existing transportation facilities.
Read bill at:
https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=S2521.1.html&session=ls85
The short version of this bill includes.
A 8.5 cent gas tax increase.
A half cent sales tax increase for 7 county metro area without a voter referendum: 50% to transit, 25% to local roads and 25% to a flex fund. Greater MN can impos a sales tax increase with a voter referendum.
Vehicle registration cap removed and $20 fee imposed. 50% to Greater MN transit, 25% to Metro transit and 25% to local roads.
A gas tax increase is opposed by about 60% of the taxpayers. Tax revenues will be impacted by more efficient fuel standards for automobiles and government mandates to use more ethanol and biofuels. Our legislators will not find the gas tax increase, the motor vehicle tax revenue, nor will the metro wide sales tax will provide the funding needed for safe bridges and roads. It will unfortunately provide a very generous revenue source for transit.
The most damaging part of this transit bill is the metro wide sales tax increase for the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington. County boards must pass by resolution. Does anyone believe County Commissioners will ask the voters what they think of a metro wide sales tax increase?
Also included in this transit bill is the creation of several new funding sources and programs that do not belong in a transportation bill including DOT building repair, parks, brain and spinal cord injury data bases, ineffective economic growth promises, removing capitol operating expenses for the Hiawatha transit line from Hennepin County and developing additional transit lines. The transit bill passed in the Senate does provide the vehicle to obtain federal funds to rebuild the I 35 bridge providing funding for 2008 and 2009.
This is a transit bill. This bill does not eliminate congestion or make our roads and bridges safe. Repeat after me, Roads and Bridges First!
Repeat after me, Roads and Bridges FIRST!
Ask yourself the following question. Will the proposed transportation bill eliminate or reduce congestion and make our roads and bridges safe?
The answer is no. This is not a transportation bill, it is a transit bill. This transit bill will cost families thousands of dollars in out of pocket costs, provide billions of dollars for transit and much lesser funding for roads and bridges. Funding allocations throughout the entire bill provide 50% to transit for the metro area and for greater Minnesota. Transit will not eliminate congestion, reduce pollution or improve safety on our roads and bridges.
The description of the Senate Transit bill passed yesterday provides clues as to the real purpose of the bill: The bill appropriates money for: transportation activities, provide funding for highway maintenance, debt service, local roads, funds for the emergency relief related to the I-35 bridge collapse, establishing a trunk highway bridge improvement program, requiring study of value capture to reduce the public costs of large transportation infrastructure investment, authorizing sale and issuance of bonds for highways, modify motor vehicle registration and motor fuel taxes, establishing annual adjustment of motor fuel taxes, create a motor fuels tax credit, allocating a motor vehicle lease tax revenues, providing for local transportation sales taxes, modifying county state aid highway fund revenue allocation, prohibiting tolling or privatization of existing transportation facilities.
Read bill at:
https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=S2521.1.html&session=ls85
The short version of this bill includes.
A 8.5 cent gas tax increase.
A half cent sales tax increase for 7 county metro area without a voter referendum: 50% to transit, 25% to local roads and 25% to a flex fund. Greater MN can impos a sales tax increase with a voter referendum.
Vehicle registration cap removed and $20 fee imposed. 50% to Greater MN transit, 25% to Metro transit and 25% to local roads.
A gas tax increase is opposed by about 60% of the taxpayers. Tax revenues will be impacted by more efficient fuel standards for automobiles and government mandates to use more ethanol and biofuels. Our legislators will not find the gas tax increase, the motor vehicle tax revenue, nor will the metro wide sales tax will provide the funding needed for safe bridges and roads. It will unfortunately provide a very generous revenue source for transit.
The most damaging part of this transit bill is the metro wide sales tax increase for the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington. County boards must pass by resolution. Does anyone believe County Commissioners will ask the voters what they think of a metro wide sales tax increase?
Also included in this transit bill is the creation of several new funding sources and programs that do not belong in a transportation bill including DOT building repair, parks, brain and spinal cord injury data bases, ineffective economic growth promises, removing capitol operating expenses for the Hiawatha transit line from Hennepin County and developing additional transit lines. The transit bill passed in the Senate does provide the vehicle to obtain federal funds to rebuild the I 35 bridge providing funding for 2008 and 2009.
This is a transit bill. This bill does not eliminate congestion or make our roads and bridges safe. Repeat after me, Roads and Bridges First!
Labels: MN Legislature
posted by The Lady Logician at
12:04 PM
1 Comments:
This blog is related to Tax Debt Reliefthat the description of the Senate Transit bill provides information on debt services, local roads, funds for the emergency relief related to bridge, collapse,establishing annual adjustment of motor fuel taxes, allocating a motor vehicle lease tax revenues, providing for local sales tax transportation etc:
By
Anonymous, at 6:44 AM
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