I’m writing today to respond to a recent editorial that ran in this newspaper regarding the governor’s bonding proposal. With over a month to go until the start of the next session, the bonding bill is still at a very early stage in the legislative process. In fact, the bill has not even been proposed. As chairwoman of the House Capital Investment Committee, I want to set the record straight when it comes to Rep. Shannon Savick’s work in this area.

Last year, both of Rep. Savick’s bills, supporting the Blazing Star Trail, the Fountain Lake cleanup and Riverland Community College, were included in the final version of the House bonding bill. Her tireless work advocating for the projects meant that every single DFL lawmaker vote in favor of the bonding bill. The only reason Albert Lea did not see funding for these projects is because only three Republicans voted for the bonding bill. (In Minnesota, we need a three-fifths majority to pass a bonding bill.)

Even after this unfortunate letdown, Rep. Savick did not give up. She pushed to ensure the Capital Investment Committee visited the Albert Lea area to learn more about the projects up for consideration. With almost $3 billion in projects being proposed across the state, it’s difficult to visit every community that is requesting funds. But Rep. Savick worked with our committee to help us understand the value of her local projects and ensured we made a visit to Albert Lea.

As chairwoman of the committee, I can assure you that both projects will be included in this year’s House bonding bill. That is because Rep. Shannon Savick worked diligently with her fellow representatives in the House on both sides of the aisle to ensure that would be the case.

 

Alice Hausman
chairwoman
Capital Investment Committee
Minnesota House of Representatives
St. Paul