State Rep. Terry Morrow (DFL- St. Peter) joined his fellow members of the House K-12 Education Finance Committee today in announcing a 1% funding increase in 2009 for schools as part of the House education budget.

“A child enters first grade only once and deserves a great start,” said Morrow. “The responsible and reasonable use of available funds helps make sure our schools are equipped to provide them with a good education when they get there.”

According to Morrow, the vice-chair of the House K-12 Education Finance Committee, the plan uses one-time money to provide emergency relief for Minnesota’s schools. The proposal will send money directly to the classroom by making use of unused Q-Comp funds, state budget reserve funds and by agreeing with the Governor’s recommendation for a 4% agency cut at the Minnesota Department of Education.

The emergency funding package provides a $51 per-pupil increase for the 2009 school year to be distributed equally to every school district in Minnesota. Schools in dire need are offered additional short-term flexibility to use an additional $51 per pupil from operating capital reserve for general fund balance purposes.

“We came into this session committed to providing more funding for schools in 2009,” said Morrow. “This package is a creative and responsible way to continue investing in the future of our children.”

Representative Morrow, who also serves on the House Education Finance Task Force, ensured that a long-term solution for K-12 school funding is coming soon. The Task Force will bring forth its plan after the Easter break.

State Rep. Terry Morrow voted against concurrence with the Senate Federal Conformity Tax Bill on Thursday after the Senate removed a local option sales tax provision for North Mankato. The provision was included in the House tax bill passed on Tuesday. North Mankato has sought state approval for years to fund several regionally significant projects. Voters in North Mankato approved the local option sales tax by a 2-to-1 margin in 2006.

Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue Ward Einess testified before the Senate that Governor Pawlenty would veto the bill unless local option sales tax provisions were removed for several communities. However, Commissioner Einess stated, the Governor did not object to this option for Duluth or Bemidji.

“There is simply no good reason for the Governor to object to North Mankato’s voter-approved local option sales tax and allow it for Duluth and Bemidji,” said Morrow on the House floor. “We were told that Bemidji was allowed because it purchased 14 acres. Well, North Mankato already purchased 32 acres for its projects. There’s simply no good reason to allow one and deny the other.”

Morrow repeated his belief that the bill has many good features, including tax cuts, that he voted for many times, including when he voted for the bill earlier in the session. “A representative must stand up for his district when it’s been indiscriminately treated. I am here for the people of North Mankato and District 23A. My duty compelled me to vote no,” stated Morrow.

The Minnesota House Capital Investment Committee released its 2008 bonding package on Monday, proposing just over $950 million for state and regional work projects. Two area projects were included in the bonding package, funding for the Lake Titlow watershed and the Minnesota Prairie Line, both projects authored by State Rep. Terry Morrow (DFL-St. Peter).

The bonding bill projects cover a wide array of areas, including higher education, pubic safety, wastewater infrastructure and local transportation projects. This legislation will create as many as 10 thousand jobs.

The City of Gaylord is designated to receive a $475 thousand grant to improve water quality in the Lake Titlow watershed, according to Morrow.

“The Lake Titlow group, the city of Gaylord, and MSU-Mankato professors Bryce Hoppie and Trent Vorlicek presented a compelling case for state support for this project,” said Morrow. “I am very happy that everyone’s hard work will help restore Lake Titlow.”

The second local appropriation is $7 million for the Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority to renovate the rail line that runs through Gaylord, Winthrop, and elsewhere.

“Freight rail like the Minnesota Prairie Line offers our area a competitive advantage if the line is strengthened,” said Morrow. “This publicly-owned rail line, when it’s improved, will allow existing shippers to reduce costs and will entice other employers to our area.”

Over the past months, the members of the House bonding committee traveled the state to consider hundreds of bonding proposals; they visited Gaylord and Winthrop last fall to learn about area projects.

The House is expected to vote on the bill on Thursday, after which it will travel to the Senate for negotiations on a final package. The bill will then move to the Governor.

”I am very pleased to see that the hard work of folks in our area is recognized in the House bonding bill,” said Morrow. “I am optimistic they will be remain in the final bill that the Governor signs into law.”

State Rep. Terry Morrow joined Democrats and Republicans to override the Governor’s transportation veto on Monday, saying the enacted transportation bill represents a true bipartisan commitment to fixing our state’s broken transportation system. This plan will infuse $6.6 billion into roads and bridges over the next 10 years, create over 30 thousand jobs every year for the next five years, and should ease some of the pressure on local property owners who are currently paying for much of local transportation projects.

“No one can argue with the fact that we desperately need more money infused into our roads and bridges,” said Morrow. “In fact, MnDOT’s own figures indicate the department needs an additional $2.4 billion every year over the next 10 years just to prevent things from getting worse. This is true even after dedicating the motor vehicle sales tax to roads and bridges.”

Under the compromise, balanced law, Blue Earth County will receive an additional $17.7 million over the next 10 years for roads and bridges; Nicollet County will receive an additional $8.5 million, Sibley County will receive $5.3 million and Le Sueur County will see almost $12 million in new funding. These funds are in addition to municipal road funding. The city of St. Peter will receive almost $1.5 million in new funding for streets, for example.

“The amount of money coming into our region over the coming years is significant and essential,” said Morrow. “At last, critical projects such as Highway 14 between North Mankato and New Ulm can be started, and overdue improvements can be made to deficient bridges and roads. The Mankato MnDOT building–the last one in the state to be addressed–can be done before costs continue to skyrocket.”

County engineers from Nicollet, Sibley, Blue Earth and Le Sueur contacted Representative Morrow, urging him to support this bill. County commissioners in his district passed unanimous resolutions supporting the bill. Every major state agricultural group–including the corn growers, the soy bean growers, the pork producers, the Farm Bureau, and the Farmers’ Union– and local chambers of commerce joined the state Chamber of Commerce in endorsing the bill as a good package for businesses and the economy.

The final package raises the gas tax by 5 cents, phased in over the next year. An additional 3.5 cents will be added beginning in 2010 to pay for interest on highway and bridge borrowing. The average driver in Minnesota will pay a little over $40 a year when the full 8.5 cents is phased in five years. The bill provides tax relief by offering taxpayers in the lowest tax bracket a $25 credit to offset the increase in the gas tax.

The bill returns vehicle registration fees to levels before Governor Ventura by eliminating the cap on motor vehicle tabs on new cars. Representative Morrow noted that registration fees for any car on the road today in Minnesota will not increase. Additionally, the increased road and bridge funding will relieve pressure on local taxpayers by providing additional resources for county highways and city streets.