Draheim: Bonding projects are important, but people need relief first

Subject: Bonding projects are important, but people need relief first

By: Senator Rich Draheim

Ever since Senate Democrats failed to recruit a single Republican vote for their partisan-bonding bill, I have been getting questions about what the bill’s failure means for the fate of a handful of the urgent projects in our area.

The short explanation: the bill’s failure doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, because I am extremely confident there will be a big bonding bill before this session ends. But it does signal that Democrat priorities are wildly out of touch with what most Minnesotans want.

Minnesota has a $19 billion budget surplus, and so far we haven’t seen a serious, significant bill to return that surplus to taxpayers. This is the number one issue I hear about from folks around our district.  I talk to folks every single day who are still being squeezed by expensive daily life and high inflation. They are desperate for relief. With a $19 billion surplus, this should be our top priority. 

Senate Republicans have been absolutely clear that our most urgent priority must be providing tax relief to Minnesotans, and that any bonding bill would not have the votes to pass without address tax relief first.

The bonding bill didn’t have to fail. We could have easily worked on both bills at the same time. Democrats made the choice to not compromise. To not work together. To try to bully and threaten us into doing things their way. But we are standing firm to do the right thing for our state.

Unfortunately, almost immediately Democrats began exercising political retribution. They deleted several Republican projects that had been scheduled for a bonding committee hearing shortly after the floor vote. When pressed on the reason, the chair of the committee essentially acknowledged it was payback. 

The very next hearing of that committee featured 40 projects in Democrat districts and zero projects to help people who live in Republican districts. It is complete pay-to-play.

It’s bad for Minnesota, but it is not too late for them to do the right thing. If Democrats are willing to work with us in good faith, I believe we can get both a tax relief bill and a bonding bill done quickly. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen.

Local bonding priorities

There are a lot of small towns in our area that have needs, and most of them are reasonable and valid and would provide value. But in my view, we have to prioritize water. Every Minnesotan, from Minneapolis to Mapleton, deserves to have safe, clean water. These are a few of the water projects I have been working on this session. I am hopeful we can get them included in the final bonding bill.

BLUE EARTH WATER TREATMENT PLANT

ELYSIAN WATER TREATMENT PLANT

  • Elysian does not currently have a water treatment plant. Elysian is supplied by two active wells. One of those wells is not typically used because of issues with iron bacteria in the source water; the other contains radium levels far exceeding the United states EPA maximum. Senate File 1974 provides $3.5 million to the city of Elysian to build a new water treatment plant to treat drinking water for radium, manganese, and iron bacteria.

LEWISVILLE WATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE

  • The City of Lewisville, a city of only 225 residents, is in desperate need of a new city-wide sewer and water system including road reconstruction due to the age and condition of these facilities. Senate File 566 provides $6.75 million to Lewisville for sewer, stormwater, and water tower improvements, including reconstructing roads and sidewalks associated with the improvements.

Contact me:

If you have any questions about any of these issues or any other issue the legislature is working on, please don’t hesitate to contact me any time. My email is Sen.Rich.Draheim@Senate.mn, and my phone number is 651-296-5558. 

And please follow me on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/SenatorRichDraheim/

It is a privilege to serve you.

Rich