Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Margaret Anderson-Kelliher is pushing a combined gas-tax increase along with what she’s calling a “debt-service fee” that would raise fuel prices by up to 15 cents per gallon, according to interviews with local news outlets.
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by Tyler Arnold Michigan House Republicans unveiled an infrastructure funding plan that would divert all revenue generated from sales taxes paid on gasoline purchases to fund road improvements, rejecting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s plan to increase road funding through a 45-cent gas tax hike. The Republican plan would provide about $800…
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he expects businesses and Republican legislators to suggest a gas tax to him next year. The governor, a member of the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, made the remarks Friday during an interview with Mary Lahammer on Twin Cities Public TV. The Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus…
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An omnibus transportation budget bill is on its way to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk without any gas tax increase. After clearing the DFL-controlled House Friday evening, the bill passed out of the Senate later Friday night in a 54-13 vote. It’s official…no gas tax increase in Minnesota. Senate just…
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by Tyler Arnold The Michigan Senate passed a budget package that secured some additional funding for roads, but falls far short of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed road funding and excludes her proposed 45-cent gas tax hike, which would nearly triple the tax. “We are … investing an additional…
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Veteran political reporter Tom Hauser was chastised in December by at least one state representative when he correctly pointed out that all but one recent poll showed opposition to a gas tax increase. Hauser said at the time that “nearly ever poll,” with the exception of one Star Tribune…
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by Jeffrey A. Rendall Think about it. How many times have you driven down the road and thought, ‘Gee, someone had to pay a lot of money to build this?’ Or used the restroom in a public place and pondered, ‘When I flush the toilet, where does it all…
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The Minnesota House approved a 20-cent gas tax increase Monday in a vote along party lines, but the proposal is likely dead-on-arrival in the Republican-controlled Senate. “We’re not going to do a gas tax. I’ve made it very clear that is not a direction we’re going to go,” Senate…
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A new poll released last week by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce found overwhelming opposition to an increase in the state’s gas tax. The poll, conducted in conjunction with the Minnesota Business Partnership, discovered that nearly two-thirds of voters statewide oppose Gov. Tim Walz’s proposed 20-cent gas tax hike. The…
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Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) was forced to reexamine his budget proposal “line by line” after the state’s budget forecast came up $492 million short of November’s estimated $1.5 billion surplus. But his recently released revised budget recommendations still include a 20-cent gas-tax hike. “The governor recommends the state commit to…
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by Chris White Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is proposing what some opponents are calling a draconian gas tax increase to fix the state’s crumbling road infrastructure. Whitmer’s budget proposal will include a 45-cent gas tax increase, which would be phased in over three separate intervals, the governor’s spokeswoman…
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Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) unveiled his highly anticipated budget proposal for the 2020-2021 biennium at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. When all is said and done, the two-year budget registers at $49.5 billion with no cuts to any existing spending. “I’ve often said that a budget is far more than…
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Gov.-elect Tim Walz (D-MN) still has a few weeks to go before he’s sworn in as the next governor of Minnesota, but he’s already made several indications as to what voters can expect in his first budget proposal due early 2019. Since defeating Republican Jeff Johnson in the November midterms,…
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A new coalition of business leaders that launched at the Minnesota Capitol Tuesday plans to lobby state lawmakers to support a “comprehensive transportation system,” which could include $120 million in transit improvements for Greater Minnesota. The group, calling itself “Keep MN Moving,” is co-led by the Minneapolis Regional Chamber, the…
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by Michael Bastasch French President Emmanuel Macron decided to scrap the planned carbon tax on fuels after weeks of protests rocked Paris and other major cities across the country. An Élysée Palace official told The Associated Press Wednesday that “the president decided to get rid of the tax.” Macron’s decision comes one…
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Minnesota State Sen. Susan Kent (D-Woodbury) was not happy with KSTP chief political reporter Tom Hauser’s claim that “all polls” show opposition to a gas-tax increase, even though that’s not what the veteran reporter said. “On At Issue, [Hauser] wrongly stated that all polls show opposition to a gas tax…
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Gov.-elect Tim Walz (D-MN) plans to include a gas-tax hike in his first budget proposal due February. His latest reason for doing so is because he received more votes than any other gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota history, so the people must want it. “Yes, you can expect to see that,”…
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by Chris White Gas prices in Southern California are hovering around $4 per gallon as Golden State Democrats attempt to defend an unpopular gas tax outgoing Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown signed in 2017. The average pump price for regular gas in the Los Angeles area is hovering around $3.736…
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Lawrence County Sheriff Jimmy Brown, who is under indictment for alleged abuse of power, lost his re-election bid last Thursday. And, a race with statewide interest is drawing questions over irregularities. Military and law enforcement veteran John Myers, a Republican, beat the Democratic sheriff by 53 percent to 31 percent,…
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While much of the focus during the Republican primary season has been on the 18 House seats vacated by Republican legislators who are retiring or seeking other offices a handful of challenges to incumbents are attracting increasing attention. One of those races is in West Tennessee’s 75th District (covering Henry,…
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A Democrat Party PAC is hitting conservative Republican candidate for Wilson County Mayor Mae Beavers with a Facebook ad that claims she “opposes tax cuts.” The Tennesseans for Common Sense PAC, with leadership that includes longtime liberal Democrat activist Carol Andrews, is also running radio ads, purchased at least one…
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by Chris White Gov. Jerry Brown is leaving office after the midterms, but the California Democrat plans on engaging in one last brutal campaign to defend an extremely unpopular gas tax he approved in 2017. Brown is pledging to raise $25 million in a campaign to fight the repeal…
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Multi-millionaire John Rose is running in the GOP primary for Diane Black’s seat to represent the 6th Congressional District. He will face off with proven ultra-conservative state Rep. Judd Matheny, self-described conservative retired judge Bob Corlew, and the whoever-heard-of-them candidates Christopher Monday and “U-turn” LaVern Vivio. Roses’s big sister is…
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