Politics & Government

Hornstein: Government Finance Cuts Would Hurt State's Quality of Life

The bill clocks in just over $600 million for the next two years.

Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis) said Republican cuts in the state finance bill, which passed the House 75-61 Wednesday, would degrade the quality of life in the state.

“This is some of the smoke and mirrors we see under the guise of reform and efficiency,” said Hornstein. “MnDot is already running on bare bones maintenance budget, [we're] just getting over one of the snowiest winters on record."

Hornstein said the cuts would slow down commutes and lead to more congested highays. "That seriously degrades our quality of life,” he said.

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The legislation includes a major overhaul of state government, which constitutes about a one-third cut. The bill passed despite claims from Democrats, including House Minority Leader Paul Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis), that the bill is fiscally unbalanced.

It now heads to conference committee with the Senate version, then to the governor.

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