Minnesota Senate on Thursday approved a Democrat-written transportation budget (HF2438) proposal that diverts millions in dedicated road funding to transit and green initiatives, despite ongoing concerns about crumbling infrastructure across the state.

“This bill moves us in the wrong direction,” Senator John Jasinski (R-Faribault), the Republican Lead on the Senate Transportation Committee, said. “We have a $1 BILLION shortfall for road and bridge funding every year. That is a massive backlog of transportation infrastructure needs. Instead of plugging the leaks in the highway funding account, this bill makes those leakages much, much worse. Taking money from the highway funding account — the fund that’s supposed to be constitutionally dedicated to our roads — and siphoning it into climate programs, light rail, bike lanes, and agency overhead is not what Minnesotans are paying the gas tax for.”

Senate Republicans have previously attempted to stop road funding leakages and clean up unconstitutional MnDOT spending. This year’s transportation bill goes the opposite direction, explicitly allowing HUTDF dollars to be spent on transit, bike infrastructure, greenhouse gas reduction, and administrative support — further draining money intended for roads and bridges.

“This is incredibly frustrating,” Sen. Jasinski said. “We have tried to protect road funding and stop the practice of directing gas tax money into non-highway. Now, instead of fixing the problem, Democrats opening the floodgates, and roads across Minnesota are going to pay the price.”

Despite his concerns with the bill, Senator Jasinski voted for it to secure a place on the House-Senate conference committee that will negotiate a final agreement. The yes-vote puts him into a stronger position to fight for additional funding for roads and bridges instead of waste and secondary priorities.

Key provisions of the bill:

• Diverts gas tax funding intended for roads to non-highway spending like climate initiatives, transit, bike lanes, and agency operations.
• Delays full dedication of the auto parts sales tax to roads and bridges, taking more than $80 million away from roads in the next budget cycle.
• Continues funding for Rondo land bridge, with a $500,000 appropriation.

Senate Republicans offered a series of amendments aimed at protecting Minnesota’s roads, bridges, and drivers. These amendments were rejected by the Senate Democrat majority.

• Repeal the gas tax inflator that drives up the gas tax every year on autopilot.
• Protect funding for the HUTDF by redirecting money from lower-priority transit and bureaucracy back to roads and bridges.
• End misuse of highway funding: Reverses the bill’s expansion of allowable uses for road-dedicated dollars and bans spending those funds on arts and cultural design strategies.
• Cancel failed rail funding: Eliminates leftover funding for the Blue Line extension and Northern Lights Express, sending it to small city and township road accounts instead.
• End the Rondo land bridge planning grant: Reallocates the unused $500,000 toward Safe Routes to School programs that directly benefit student safety.

Senate Republicans did successfully add an amendment to enforce stiffer penalties for school bus stop-arm violations. The amendment increases fines for repeat offenders to better protect students boarding and exiting buses.