Elsewhere: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Controversial Infrastructure Tax Hike Gives State $6.6 Billion After Bridge Collapse
August 11th, 2008
There are 129,007 state-controlled bridges labeled “structurally deficient” and “functionally obsolete” by the Federal Highway Administration. Of these, 5,296 are in New York, making the Empire State home to the sixth-highest number of deficient bridges in the country. Texas tops the list with 10,037.
Minnesota ranked 24th. But it was Minnesota’s infrastructure problems which caught the attention of the world last August 1, when a bridge over Interstate 35W collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13.
Investigators have since found that the cause was a design flaw, a metal plate too thin to support its function joining girders.
In response to the collapse, the Minnesota state legislature appropriated $6.6 billion over 10 years to improve roads, bridges, and transit. The legislation increases funding but also appropriates money to expand transit and offer tax credits and refunds to low-income individuals.
Road and bridge damage “is easy to put off because you think you can do a little repair. If you fail to fix your roads and bridges, there can be devastating consequences,” said Minnesota State Representative Bernard Lieder (D), the bill’s author.
Lieder’s bill paid for the program by enacting an 8.5¢ tax on every gallon of gas and a .25 percent sales tax increase in certain counties. Though people were glad to see the state invest in the infrastructure, many resisted the tax increase, which also drew severe opposition by the Chamber of Commerce and tax interest groups.
“The public doesn’t care for a tax increase. As a result, the politicians don’t want to increase taxes,” said Lieder, who also chairs the Transportation Finance Committee.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) opposed the tax increases and vetoed the legislation. However, in the face of strong public support for Lieder’s program, six Republicans reconsidered their previous opposition, switching their votes and joining Democrats to override the veto.
After seeing the Minnesota bridge collapse, senators in New York moved to increase funding towards bridge and road maintenance. Earlier this year, the Senate passed the Bridge Reform Act, which reallocates $762 million in the $3 billion Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund which would otherwise have gone to pay for snow and ice removal by Department of Transportation.
The Bridge Reform Act would dedicate the entire $3 billion of the Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund to bridge and road improvements. Still, the state lags behind several other states with fewer deficient bridges—California, for example, approved $20 billion in transportation bonds for infrastructure maintenance in 2006.
Even that $762 reallocation for New York’s bridges remains in limbo, with the companion version of the Senate bill still bottled in the Assembly Transportation Committee.
Assembly Member David McDonough (R-Nassau), the ranking member on the committee, called the Bridge Reform Act was a good start to improving the state’s infrastructure but more money will be needed.
To raise the necessary capital, McDonough said legislators may need to consider following Minnesota’s lead to create a dedicated tax to fund infrastructure reinvestment.
But the solution may require help from Washington as well. In July, during a visit to New Orleans, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Ind.), California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell (D), participated in a two-day infrastructure investment tour to urge the federal government to make federal investment a top priority.
Though states can do more, they concluded that the real key was more help from Washington.
“With the federal government contributing only 25 percent of infrastructure funding and the rest coming from financially strapped state and local governments,” Rendell said, “Washington needs to step up its commitment of resources.”
Minnesota ranked 24th. But it was Minnesota’s infrastructure problems which caught the attention of the world last August 1, when a bridge over Interstate 35W collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13.
Investigators have since found that the cause was a design flaw, a metal plate too thin to support its function joining girders.
In response to the collapse, the Minnesota state legislature appropriated $6.6 billion over 10 years to improve roads, bridges, and transit. The legislation increases funding but also appropriates money to expand transit and offer tax credits and refunds to low-income individuals.
Road and bridge damage “is easy to put off because you think you can do a little repair. If you fail to fix your roads and bridges, there can be devastating consequences,” said Minnesota State Representative Bernard Lieder (D), the bill’s author.
Lieder’s bill paid for the program by enacting an 8.5¢ tax on every gallon of gas and a .25 percent sales tax increase in certain counties. Though people were glad to see the state invest in the infrastructure, many resisted the tax increase, which also drew severe opposition by the Chamber of Commerce and tax interest groups.
“The public doesn’t care for a tax increase. As a result, the politicians don’t want to increase taxes,” said Lieder, who also chairs the Transportation Finance Committee.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) opposed the tax increases and vetoed the legislation. However, in the face of strong public support for Lieder’s program, six Republicans reconsidered their previous opposition, switching their votes and joining Democrats to override the veto.
After seeing the Minnesota bridge collapse, senators in New York moved to increase funding towards bridge and road maintenance. Earlier this year, the Senate passed the Bridge Reform Act, which reallocates $762 million in the $3 billion Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund which would otherwise have gone to pay for snow and ice removal by Department of Transportation.
The Bridge Reform Act would dedicate the entire $3 billion of the Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund to bridge and road improvements. Still, the state lags behind several other states with fewer deficient bridges—California, for example, approved $20 billion in transportation bonds for infrastructure maintenance in 2006.
Even that $762 reallocation for New York’s bridges remains in limbo, with the companion version of the Senate bill still bottled in the Assembly Transportation Committee.
Assembly Member David McDonough (R-Nassau), the ranking member on the committee, called the Bridge Reform Act was a good start to improving the state’s infrastructure but more money will be needed.
To raise the necessary capital, McDonough said legislators may need to consider following Minnesota’s lead to create a dedicated tax to fund infrastructure reinvestment.
But the solution may require help from Washington as well. In July, during a visit to New Orleans, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Ind.), California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell (D), participated in a two-day infrastructure investment tour to urge the federal government to make federal investment a top priority.
Though states can do more, they concluded that the real key was more help from Washington.
“With the federal government contributing only 25 percent of infrastructure funding and the rest coming from financially strapped state and local governments,” Rendell said, “Washington needs to step up its commitment of resources.”
