REPUBLICANS EXPECT RAPID SESSION

House Republican Leader Marty Seifert said he expects the session to begin quickly. Democrats are in the majority in both the Minnesota House and Senate. Seifert said he believes the DFL leadership will introduce and attempt to pass both a bill for arts and the environment and a transportation funding bill quickly. The Environment and Arts proposal would result in a constitutional amendment Minnesotans would vote on in November. Seifert said the transportation bill includes increase in the state gas tax, license tab fees, wheelage tax and a sales tax. Seifert said the sales tax proposal is indexed to inflation. If it passes, Seifert said Minnesota would have the highest gas tax in the nation within 9 years. Seifert said his approach to getting more money into transportation would be for the government to sacrifice rather than Minnesota taxpayers.