 Rep. Jon Koznick introduces HF2438, the omnibus transportation budget bill, on the House Floor April 28. The Republican from Lakeville co-chairs the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee. (Photo by Michele Jokinen)
More money for roads, bridges and resilient pavement and less for mass transit: Those are among the upshots of the omnibus transportation finance and policy omnibus bill, which was passed by the House, as amended, 85-49 Monday afternoon and sent to the Senate.
Sponsored by Rep. Jon Koznick (R-Lakeville), HF2438 contains $476.57 million in General Fund spending for the 2026-27 biennium, but met its budget target of no net increases in General Fund transportation spending.
“This is a balanced bill,” Koznick said. “This makes our transportation smarter, safer and more sustainable, both environmentally and fiscally. And it prioritizes the modes of transportation that Minnesotans use most.
“We’re pulling the plug on some failed projects. And it’s a bipartisan bill that includes about 16 GOP provisions, 14 DFL and most of the governor’s provisions.”
While transportation showed up on the House Budget Resolution as having a General Fund target of zero, the committee is entrusted with making recommendations on how several funds should be disbursed, including the Trunk Highway Fund, County State-Aid Highway Fund, Municipal State-Aid Street Fund, State Airports Fund, and Highway User Tax Distribution Fund.
“I think that this bill is not quite as balanced as we’d like to think, because I think a lot of it is in the past and not looking toward the future,” said Rep. Erin Koegel (DFL-Spring Lake Park), the co-chair of the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee, who nevertheless voted in favor of the bill. Read more
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