Highway billboards encourage drivers to voice opposition to Gov. Walz’s proposed gas tax increase
Six billboards launched on major metro highways as two-week deadline looms for lawmakers to negotiate state budget
Center of the American Experiment launched a billboard blitz this week encouraging drivers to “say no to a 70% gas tax increase” by emailing Gov. Walz via the website NoNewGasTaxes.com. Six billboards went up along major interstate highways in the Twin Cities metro area as lawmakers begin final negotiations on the state’s next two-year budget, two weeks before the legislative deadline.
“Minnesotans are too busy living their lives to pay attention to everything proposed by lawmakers and the Governor, but this gas tax increase will have a significant impact on every single Minnesotan if it’s passed. We felt it was important to draw drivers’ attention to the issue, and encourage them to voice their opinion if they disagree,” said John Hinderaker, President of Center of the American Experiment.
The billboards with the Center’s message are located on:
- I-94 in Minneapolis
- I-394 in Minnetonka
- I-494 in Bloomington
- I-694 in New Brighton and Shorewood
In a recent Center of the American Experiment poll conducted by Meeting Street Research, 60% of Minnesotans oppose the governor’s gas tax increase proposal, with 45% strongly opposed. Only 35% of Minnesotans approve of the plan, with 17% strong approval.
In addition to the gas tax increase, Governor Walz’s proposed budget also reverses the 2017 legislature’s decision to dedicate an additional $300 million per year to road and bridge repair, which means a significant portion of the revenue from the gas tax would not be “new” funding, but would backfill existing funding.
