Lawmakers Focus on Transportation Budget for 2015 Legislative Session

DULUTH, Minn. - A new year means a new legislative session, and in 2015 lawmakers are turning their focus to roads and bridges. In just a few days, Minnesota lawmakers will be heading to the state capitol for this year's legislative session. The big topic of discussion is setting the budget. One thing Minnesota lawmakers agree on is finding enough funding for transportation projects, and to come up with a long term plan to fix Minnesota roads. As a newly elected District 7A Representative, it'll be Jen Schultz's first trip to St. Paul as a big time lawmaker. She knows the upcoming session isn't going to be an easy one."It'll be different because now the DFL party is in the minority so it won't be like it has been for the last two years," explained Shultz.November’s election created a big shift in power in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Democrats used to have the majority, but now state Republicans have control. The governor’s office and Senate are still ruled by the Democratic Party. "I think it will be a struggle to find out how we can raise enough money to do the work we need to do for our state," Schultz explained. She also believes divided government is a good thing, and it keeps both sides in check. This session will focus on setting the budget for 2016 and 2017. Gov. Mark Dayton is putting his energy toward a transportation plan and possibly proposing a gas tax. He also plans to put more money into early childhood education programs and all day kindergarten."I think we'll see more money going towards early education and that's because the payoff is so immense,” said Schultz. “There's a great rate of return on early education." The big topic on Minnesota legislators' minds is transportation. The state will need billions to fund projects through the state, and currently they have no sustainable funding plan. Schultz says finding a way to pay for projects is a topic that has been neglected for far too long."In Duluth we have a lot of roads, and we have a lot of bridges,” Schultz listed. “We have the airport, we have a port so we have everything here and we'll probably need more than other areas in Greater Minnesota." Local lawmakers are expected to meet with the Duluth City Council and Mayor Don Ness to hear what they see as funding priorities, and bring it to the capitol. The session starts Tuesday and is expected to run through May.