Lawmakers must not squander federal funding

The Minnesota legislative session adjourned May 23 without agreement on how best to spend the state's nearly $9 billion budget surplus. Legislative leaders offered a framework to invest $4 billion in education, public safety, infrastructure and health care, paired with a plan to provide $4 billion in tax cuts.

One of the most important reasons legislators should return for a special session is the urgent action needed to access billions of dollars in federal infrastructure investments.

The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is a once-in-a-generation commitment from President Joe Biden and Congress to our nation's infrastructure. It invests in roads and bridges, transit, and energy, among other areas. Minnesotans take pride in our infrastructure. We know it's a critical public investment. Infrastructure keeps us safe, helps us get around, grows our economy, and creates good jobs.

Minnesota is slated to receive up to $7.4 billion in IIJA funding, but only if we come up with required state matches. There is also $200 billion in infrastructure grants that Minnesota could compete for if we have matching dollars.

If the Legislature does nothing, the money risks getting reallocated to other states that have their act together. Arkansas, for example, has established a planning committee to aggressively target IIJA funding, and they would be more than happy to take Minnesota's fair share of federal tax dollars.

Of Minnesota's program funding, 84% requires a state match for us to receive it. That's over $6 billion in limbo, with the state Legislature so far allocating zero funds this session. Also, the billions of dollars in competitive grants all require various levels of state matching dollars. Texas and Michigan have their fork and knife ready!

What could the funding do? In the transportation sector, about $5 billion could be available for roads, bridges and transit over the next five years, if we have matching funds. If we don't act this year, the Minnesota Department of Transportation has said we could lose $100 million in federal funds and lose the opportunity to spend any IIJA money this year.

As a state that received a "C" grade for our bridges, a "D+" for our roads, and a "C-" for our transit from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), we can't afford to wait or to lose this opportunity.

There is $68 million available to Minnesota to build out our electric vehicle infrastructure — if we come up with the required 20% match. The vast majority of this funding would be for corridors in greater Minnesota to make sure all parts of the state have access to fast chargers. With GM committing to go all electric by 2035, and Chrysler by 2028, Minnesota can't be left behind.

For competitive energy grants, state matching funds could help unlock — at roughly a 4 to 1 return on our investment — millions to protect against cybersecurity threats, upgrade transmission lines, and launch research in areas like hydrogen and battery manufacturing.

Our clean energy transition is underway, and Minnesota is in a competition to attract the next generation of energy businesses. We also need support to strengthen and improve our electric grid, which the ASCE gives a "C" grade. But the large majority of the competitive energy grants will be available starting in 2022, meaning if we wait, we may miss out.

These investments will not just help us spur economic growth, promote energy independence and help tackle climate change, they will also mean thousands of good jobs.

The energy committees reached agreement to invest $26 million in matching funds for IIJA competitive grants. The leadership framework budget agreement set up a $30 million IIJA "flexible fund" to cover a variety of needs. The transportation bill had a $659 million sub-target specifically for IIJA matching funds. But none of these bills passed in time.

We are so close to being able to take advantage of this incredible opportunity. We must come back to the table for a special session to get this done.

Frank Hornstein and Jamie Long, both DFL-Minneapolis, are members of the Minnesota House.