State lawmakers and transportation advocates have their summer homework cut out for them in crafting a politically feasible way to begin addressing a projected $20 billion shortfall in the state’s transportation funding over the next two decades.
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House passes new solar standard for utilities
The centerpiece of the bill is a new standard for investor-owned utilities like Xcel Energy to generate 4 percent of their electricity from solar sources by 2025.
Read More »Judicial retention elections proposal surfaces again at Capitol
Legislation that would replace contested judicial elections with an up-or-down vote on sitting judges has been introduced in both legislative chambers. Similar proposals have been put forward in each of the last three bienniums, but failed to gain traction.
Read More »Transit: To tax or to bond?
The battle over transit funding that’s brewing at the Capitol this year has its roots in the 2008 transportation bill that ultimately saw the Legislature override Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s veto.
Read More »Boom in frac sand mining leaves Minnesota regulators scrambling
Silica sand mining has become a booming business in southeastern Minnesota, and as a result it’s also become a burgeoning issue at the Legislature.
Read More »House GOP unveils $280 million bonding bill
The bill is nearly $500 million smaller than Gov. Mark Dayton's proposed bonding bill, and doesn't include a number of key projects.
Read More »Transit: Battle brews over suburban opt-outs
As the House Transportation Policy and Finance Committee creates its omnibus bill, a turf war over transit systems is playing out among suburban and urban legislators.
Read More »Majorities press for more permitting changes
Republicans in the state Legislature are advancing a new set of initiatives to overhaul environmental regulation. The measures come after they reached accord last year with Gov. Mark Dayton on a sweeping bill that streamlined the environmental permitting process.
Read More »Bonding will be bargaining chip again
When lawmakers reached a truce that ended last year’s government shutdown, one essential sweetener in the final budget deal was a bonding bill to pay for state construction projects.
Read More »Supporters of judicial retention elections gearing up for another push
Last year voters in Wisconsin witnessed an ugly campaign for a seat on the state’s Supreme Court between incumbent justice David Prosser and assistant attorney general JoAnne Kloppenburg. Some three dozen outside interest groups spent $4.5 million seeking to influence the outcome of the contest, according to a report by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
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