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Senator Tom Bakk
Broadband, budgets and the border were on the agenda for a conversation with Senator Tom Bakk (Independent) this past week. The senator serves on the Capital Investment, Redistricting, Taxes, and Rules and Administration committees. Tom was elected to the House in 1992 and served until 2002 when he won a seat in the Senate. He is now in his sixth senate term, recently switching from the Democratic party to the Independent party. Senator Bakk took some time away from his busy schedule to give an update about what’s taking place legislatively at the capital. He was optimistic that the session could finish on time on May 17, with one caveat. “It depends on whether he (Governor Walz) abandons his tax increase. I don’t think this is the right time to raise taxes. Not after the year we’ve been through.” Bakk was referring to the governor’s proposed $1.6 billion tax hike. He said the governor’s proposal wasn’t getting much traction in the senate, and with the state receiving almost $4 billion in one-time money, the state could fund some one-time projects and fund what legislators need for their districts, “not what they want, but what they need,” he emphasized, without raising taxes this year. Speaking of the $4 billion, $2.6 billion comes from the Biden American Rescue Plan Act, with strings attached, and until the state receives federal guidance, none of the money can be spent. What is known is that the $2.6 billion will be split in half, with the first half sent 60 days after March 11. The state will distribute funds 30 days after receiving the money, but as Bakk said, the manner and information on how much spending, totals, and timelines are not certain yet. The second half of the money will be distributed 12 months after the first bunch is given out. One of the recent bills he has co-authored this session deals with having payroll protection (PPP) loan forgiveness, so it does not count on an employer’s gross income and won’t be taxed. “It passed the Senate, and it’s now up in the House,” he said. He added, “I think most people believed these loans were going to be tax-free. The business owners kept good faith and used the money to keep their employees paid, and they followed the rules. However, it turns out that under current law in Minnesota, those loans will be taxable, for an individual or corporate business. “I just think that’s a huge problem, and it’s just not the right thing to do.” Senator Bakk said he didn’t know if any headway was being made on opening the border between Canada and the U.S. but, “President Biden may open the U.S. border in May and that will put pressure on (Premier) Trudeau to open up Canada.” He lamented that cabin owners on Rainy Lake with no road access couldn’t go to their cabins in Canada and the closure adversely hurt the businesses on both sides of the border in International Falls and Cook County. When it came to broadband, the senator said Cook County was lucky because much of the county has had the service for some time. That isn’t true, however, in many other parts of the state. “I talked to the principals of four high schools in my neck of the woods and found that 80 percent of the kids were underserved by inadequate internet service. Both Rob Eklund (DFL I-Falls) and I are sponsoring bills to fund the buildout of broadband. I’m hoping some of that $2.6 billion can be used for that purpose.” As far as how the legislature is working, Senator Bakk said it’s up to him and other local representatives to see that our state doesn’t resemble the politics of Washington D.C. “With special sessions and shutdowns, we start to look more and more like Washington to the public. Every election cycle, both parties seem to elect more idealogues. It’s tough when you are a leader to find compromise. I don’t blame the people who are elected. They were voted in to represent their constituents, and they can get primaried if they don’t vote the right way. I blame the voting public for the polarization.” While many legislators aren’t going to get money for projects in their districts this year, Tom figures now is a good time to spend some capital on deferred maintenance. “It isn’t sexy, but it’s work that needs to get done. We have to spend money on asset preservation. Next year is the bonding bill, and legislators will seek projects for their districts. This isn’t the year for that, so I’m proposing we spend some money on these types of projects.” When asked if there would be any funds for the Gitchi-Gami bike trail this year, he replied not likely, but because it’s a state trail, there is a chance funding could come in 2021. “That would actually fall under deferred maintenance because it’s not a local project so you never know, it could be done this year.”
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