As the legislature works to assemble a final state budget agreement, Senator Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson) will serve on the conference committee for the transportation bill. The conference committee, which includes five members of each legislative body, is responsible for working out a compromise on differences in the tax bills passed by the House and the Senate. 

“I am looking forward to working with my colleagues on a transportation funding package that meets the needs of Minnesotans – without the tax increases as proposed by the House and Governor Walz,” said Senator Newman, chair of the Senate Transportation Finance and Policy Committee. “Millions of Minnesotans rely on a healthy and robust transportation network every day. I’ll be an advocate for a budget that invests in safe and reliable infrastructure. We can fund the needs of communities across the state by spending responsibly and allocating our resources where there are the greatest needs.”

Last week, the Minnesota Senate passed a $6.63 billion transportation funding package that invests in the state’s transportation infrastructure – without a gas tax, sales tax, or license tab fee increase – and protects existing transportation funds from being spent on non-transportation government programs. The $ budget allocates more than $2.5 billion for critical statewide road construction and planning, including $38 million in trunk highway funds to complete the four-lane expansion of U.S. Highway 212 between Chaska and Norwood Young America, and a boost in transportation assistance for small cities.

Conference committees will continue meeting until an agreement is reached. Both legislative bodies must approve the agreement before sending it to the governor for a signature or veto. The legislature is constitutionally-mandated to adjourn by May 20.

Senator Scott Newman, of Hutchinson, represents communities in McLeod, Meeker, Sibley, and Swift counties in the Minnesota Senate. Senator Newman serves as chair of the Transportation Finance and Policy Committee.