ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Sunday, Senate Transportation Chair Senator Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) ushered a transformational transportation budget through the Senate. The budget addresses the needs for long-awaited, long-term investments in transportation across the state. The bill addresses Minnesota’s crumbling infrastructure by providing ongoing funds for transit, roads, and bridges. It is an important advance in combatting climate change. It ensures everyone, no matter who they are or where they live has access to where they need to go.
“Transportation is so central to everyone in Minnesota,” said Senator Dibble. “Whether you drive to work, take the bus to the grocery store, or receive a package from a mail carrier, everyone benefits from good, reliable transportation. This legislation represents a historic opportunity to make serious and critical investments, and we have met the moment by crafting this budget and package of policies. It will create jobs and grow the economy across the state, lift people out of poverty, support families, and give young people a reason to live here. After 30 years without a meaningful and sustained investment in roads we are witnessing a transit system on the verge of collapse and poor road conditions. This budget initiative is what we need, long overdue, to truly invest in our lives and the lives of Minnesotans right now.”
The Transportation budget delivers ongoing funding for roads, bridges, and transit over the next four years and on into the future, investing billions of dollars to fix and modernize our critical infrastructure statewide. A report from the American Public Transportation Association shows that investments in transit have a 5 to 1 economic return. The budget includes a minimal increase of the gas tax, an offset by a new law passed in the 2023 Commerce budget to repeal the Minnesota minimum markup law, which was an eight-cent markup per gallon of gas. It also includes a road maintenance fee of $0.50 on deliveries of more than $100, exempting food, medical supplies, and baby products to maintain and repair Minnesota roads. It also unlocks billions of dollars in federal funds to support transportation across the state. The investment in transportation is estimated to create 50,000 jobs over the next four years.
###
Learn more about Sen. Dibble.
Read more news from Sen. Dibble.
