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By T.W. Budig
ECM Capitol reporter
A transportation finance bill chugged through the Senate on Thursday, April 23, but not before debate on primary seat belt and the route for the proposed Chicago to St. Paul high-speed rail line.
Sen. Dick Day, R-Owatonna, questioned why the high-speed train should follow the “Empire Builder” line down the Mississippi River — one stop being in Red Wing, said Senate Transportation Chairman Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing — before eventually shooting east to Chicago.
Instead, Day argued the line should shoot more directly south — through Eagan, for instance — before eventually reaching Rochester and its famous medical clinic, Mayo.
“There’s a million people who live just below the river,” said Day.
Pictured: Sen. Rick Olseen, DFL-Harris, turns to talk Senate Assistant Majority Leader Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud, during debate on the Senate transportation bill on April 23. (Photo by T.W. Budig)
He did not expect the high-speed line to stop at Owatonna — it’s not a big enough of a city, he opined.
Murphy countered by arguing that the Empire Builder line was a highly profitable freight line for Amtrak — there is indeed a large population along the banks of the Mississippi River, he opined.
Beyond this, Murphy argued the necessary track upgrades along the route Day proposed could cost up to $2 billion.
He suggest a spur might be laid off the line to Rochester.
Design-build process
The Senate transportation bill authorizes the Minnesota Department of Transportation to use the design-build process for developing and constructing the proposed high-speed line with a possible connection made to Minneapolis.
Sen. Ray Vandeveer, R-Forest Lake, in a related matter, added a feasibility study to the bill that would explore having a 300 mph high-speed train running from Duluth to St. Paul.
Such high-speed trains are used elsewhere, Vandeveer explained.
Debate on the Senate floor moved from trains to seat belts.
Primary seat belt, a provision that would allow the police to stop motorists who are unbuckled, subjecting drivers and older unbuckled passengers to fines, has been debated for years at the Capitol.
Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, offered an amendment to remove the primary seat belt language, arguing that with more than an 86 percent seat belt compliance rate, Minnesotans get it about seat belts.
“We’re doing so well. We don’t need this law,” said Ortman.
But Sen. Leo Foley, DFL-Coon Rapids, spoke of the heedlessness of youth — the irrationally sense of personal invulnerability clouding judgement on seat belt use.
Young people think they are immortal
“Young people think they’re immortal,” echoed Sen. Linda Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis, saying how a traumatic brain injury received in a car crash can compromise a person’s life.
Murphy cited statistics showing that teens, only 6 percent of motorists, account for 12 percent of highway fatalities.
The Senate rejected Ortman’s amendment on a 45-18 vote.
Local lawmakers voting in favor: Betzold, Doll, Gerlach, Johnson, Koch, Keoring, Limmer, Metzen, Pariseau and Vandeveer.
Voting against: Chaudhary, Erickson Ropes, Fobbe, Foley, Jungbauer, Olseen, Robling, Rummel, Sieben and Wiger.
The biggest challenge for primary seat belt has been the House.
The Senate transportation bill passed on a 47-18 vote.
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