Minnesota Senate Republicans announced today that Senator Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson) will once again serve as the chair of the Senate’s Transportation Finance and Policy Committee when the new legislative session begins in January.

“I am honored to serve once again as chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation,” said Sen. Newman. “I am incredibly proud of the success we have had over the last four years rebuilding roads and bridges across the state without raising gas taxes or license plate fees. But we know there are still plenty of drivers who endure stressful and dangerous commutes every day, and I am eager to get back to work on improving this core infrastructure in every corner of the state.”

The priority for the session will be balancing the budget in light of an economy recovering from covid. The Senate Finance Committee is the only committee with hearing time available three days a week, all others are limited to one or two hearings a week, or as needed. Less meeting time will help focus the agendas and ensure public participation can be done safely. There are more committees, 29 in total, from 2020, but with fewer members to accommodate for social distancing. The new committee areas are focused on: data practices and civil law, property taxes, mining and forestry, labor and industry, health and human services licensing, metropolitan governance, and redistricting.