Tom Warne Report, 24 January 2012
ST. PAUL – Governor Mark Dayton has directed Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel to establish the Commissioner’s Transportation Finance Advisory Group. Noting that Minnesota’s highways, roads, bridges and public transit systems have suffered decline, Governor Dayton seeks to reverse this trend, starting by gathering recommendations from this Advisory Group.
The Advisory Group will identify investment opportunities to support a thriving economy and a high quality of life for Minnesotans over the next twenty years, identify and analyze the potential of various revenue sources and non-traditional approaches to transportation financing. They will also look at opportunities for public-private partnerships to invest in transportation improvements, and help develop a strategic marketing plan to obtain public support for the investment plan and any additional steps needed to obtain the funding. The Advisory Group will prepare a written report of its recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature by December 1, 2012.
“After traveling the state and meeting with business owners across Minnesota over the past several months, I have been reminded of how essential transportation infrastructure is to business success in Minnesota,” Governor Dayton said. “Workers need to be able to get to and from work, and businesses need to be able to get goods to and from their markets. We must either improve our transportation systems or else suffer the consequences of their decline. I have asked Commissioner Sorel to gather the best and the brightest minds together to help us find new, innovative ways to finance improving our transportation systems.”