BLOG: The cost of driving in Minnesota will go up under plan passed by Senate

The Minnesota Senate voted yesterday to pass their transportation bill which mirrors Governor Dayton’s plan to spend $11 Billion on roads, bridges, and public transportation.

The 6.5% wholesale gas tax has been receiving the bulk of attention as it would put Minnesota in the top five in the nation for fuel taxes.  The Senate Democrats’ bill also includes the following tax hikes:

• a 1.5% tax for vehicle registration fees–a 17% increase from the current 1.25%
• a new late fee for vehicle registration renewal, capped at $100
• a new $10 surcharge on license tab renewal
• a one cent metro-wide sales tax to pay for public transit– a 75% increase from the current .25 cents, with most of the revenues going to the Met Council

Another Democrat idea for funding transportation spending is still floating around committee waiting for money to be appropriated.  Senate file 735 would fund a working group to establish a mileage-based road-user fee and is authored by Transportation and Public Safety Chair Sen Scott Dibble, D-Minneapolis.  Sen Melissa Franzen, D-Edina is the chief author.  The group would be in place by this August and be required to make recommendations to the legislature at the beginning of the 2017 session.

Mayors, city council members, and staff from the League of Minnesota cities showed up at the Capitol yesterday to lobby for the license tab surcharge and more spending on transportation.  Move MN, a coalition of liberal advocacy organizations as well as government and private unions, is currently running a media campaign promoting the bill.

All Republican members, and one Democrat, Sen Dan Sparks, D-Austin, voted against the bill.  Voting in favor of the bill are: