Scott County Republicans

Rep. Mike Beard On The Radio

2008-03-30T21:11:00.002-04:00

Rep. Mike Beard (R-Shakopee) was on AM 1280's Northern Alliance Radio Network "The Final Word" yesterday afternoon. He was interviewed about the Legislative Audit Commission and the Legislative Auditor's decision to look into the allegations swirling around Attorney General Lori Swanson.

You can listen to the podcast of the program here. Rep. Beard starts at the 28:15 mark.

Swanson-Gate To Be Investigated

2008-03-28T11:15:00.000-04:00

A True North Exclusive

Earlier this morning, the bi-partisan State Legislative Audit Committee (made up of Senators and Representatives including SD 35's own Sen. Claire Robling and Rep. Mike Beard) announced what Gary Gross hinted at in his post last night. They are requesting that the non-partisan Legislative Auditor look into allegations that Attorney General Swanson engaged in possibly illegal union busting activities. Michael Brodkorb and Drew Emmer have been leading the charge from the blogosphere and have done a ton of good investigation into these allegations. Keep an eye on their respective blogs for more details as they come to light.

"I Told You So"

2008-03-26T20:14:00.001-04:00

During the last legislative session, many folks on the "right" were trying to put the brakes on the spending spree that the DFL led legislature (and the Governor to be fair) were going on. Well in light of the deficit, some are (correctly I might add) saying "I told you so"(scroll down to the Guest Commentary).

One year ago the economy was doing well and the Legislature was overflowing with ideas on how to spend the $2.2 billion state budget surplus. It was the first time in several years that we weren't facing a large deficit. A new cast of leaders was eager to validate its sweeping victory in the 2006 election by turning their campaign promises into promises kept.
In the midst of the spending frenzy, I wrote to constituents my belief that "we need to be prudent with spending and not leave ourselves in a tough situation if the economy takes a sudden downturn." There was at the time plenty of historical evidence to suggest such a downturn could take place.

The legislative update referenced above can be found here. Rep. Beard goes on to say:

However, the new legislative leadership had a different view and they pursued their spending agenda. Given their large majorities in the House and the Senate, that is certainly their right. Assuming that the $2.2 billion surplus would fund it, they grew the state budget to $34.5 billion. Doing so left us vulnerable to the exact situation we find ourselves in today.

I said before and I'll say it again, the reason for this can be summed up in one little number...85! Giving the DFL an overwhelming majority of the House and overwhelming control in the Senate has given us what we have today. Staying home is not an option. We simply must recruit and support good conservatives, like Reps. Beard and Buesgens in SD35. We can not afford to lose good folks like this. We also need to make sure that we find more good folks like this for the 85 other seats and work like heck to get them elected as well.

The time is now. What are you waiting for

March 4 Legislative Update - Rep. Mark Buesgens

2008-03-04T16:50:00.002-05:00

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Below are a few items debated on the House floor last week.

Budget deficit

Only one year after having a $2.2 billion budget deficit, Minnesota now faces a $935 million budget deficit. What happened in between to cause the $3 billion flip from a surplus to a deficit? Several things: The housing market continued to decline; energy prices went way up; the credit market tightened as banks felt the ripple effects of rising foreclosures and mortgage defaults. But there is more to the story than the national economy. State government spending also grew by $3 billion. The entire budget surplus and $1 billion more went to feed the growing appetite for more government while taxpayers got $0 in tax relief.

Taxes

Tax relief is not in sight this year either, from state government at least. Even the politicians in Washington realized that tax relief is the best thing for American families. But in Minnesota, liberal politicians have a laser-like focus on raising taxes on everything - gas taxes, sales taxes, utility property taxes, mortgage and deed taxes. It totals at least $6 billion right now, but there are still three months left in the session.

Transportation

The Legislature voted to override the governor’s veto on the transportation bill on Monday. Courtesy of its success, you’ll now find higher taxes when you buy a new car, put gas in it, and when you stop to do some shopping on the way home. Registration taxes, gas taxes and the sales tax all went up. Even the Star Tribune, which heaped lavish praise on the legislators who supported this bill, said the average commuter in Scott or Carver county could expect to pay upwards of $230 per year, per automobile. If you’re a two-car family with a teenager or two that also needs to get around, you’ll feel the toughest impact.

Working to fix our ailing economy should be job #1 during this legislative session. Hopefully, we'll come to our senses soon in St. Paul and do just that.

As always, please contact me if you have any questions, comments and/or concerns with what is happening at your state capitol.

Sincerely,
Mark Buesgens
State Representative, 35B
Room 307,
State Office Building
(651) 296-5185

Caucus Time!

2008-01-11T19:00:00.000-05:00

It's that time again - Precinct Caucus time! Caucuses are early this year - February 5 and they start at 7pm. I have listed all of the caucus locations below.

Savage - Prior Lake Savage High School 7575 150th Street Savage MN
Credit River Township - Credit River Town Hall 16985 Meadow View Dr Prior Lake
Elko/New Market/New Market Township - New Market Library 50 Church Street New Market (NOTE - THIS IS A NEW LOCATION!!!!!)
Jordan - Jordan High School 600 Sunset Drive Jordan MN
Prior Lake - Twin Oaks Middle School - 15860 Fish Point Road Prior Lake
Sand Creek Township - Jordan High School 600 Sunset Drive Jordan MN
Shakopee - Shakopee High School 100 W 17th Ave (East Entrance) Shakopee
Spring Lake Township - Scott County Hwy Building 600 County Trail E Jordan

If you don't know what precinct you are in, you can use the Precinct Finder at True North.

If you have any questions or if you are interested in helping convene your precinct caucus, please call SD35 Chair Cindy at 952/447-5461. We especially need conveners in PL 5, PL 6A, and most of Savage.

Congressman Kline On SCHIP

2007-10-22T10:44:00.000-04:00

I missed this last Wednesday when it came out, but Drew Emmer at Wright County Republican didn't!

Minnesotans understand that we have a responsibility to care for and support our children in need. As a father of two and a grandfather of four, I appreciate the importance of ensuring that health care is available to children. That is why I have been a supporter of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) since I was first elected to Congress in 2002.

However, I am not supporting the proposed expansion of SCHIP, because it fails to put poor kids first and relies on reckless funding schemes. This bill the president vetoed is a huge expansion of a government program extending coverage to illegal immigrants and those already insured.

SCHIP was created 10 years ago by a Republican Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton to provide health care benefits for low-income children not covered by Medicaid. Ensuring that all children have access to the care they need remains a priority for me, which is why I co-sponsored legislation that would provide an 18-month extension of the current SCHIP plan. This measure provides a stop-gap, not a solution.

Most, if not all, Republicans and Democrats in Washington understand the value of SCHIP. Unfortunately, some of my colleagues in Congress are using uninsured children as a political bargaining chip. We must end this dangerous game of politics and come together in a bipartisan manner to expand the program with solid funding to ensure the children of the working poor do not fall through the cracks.

Instead, we have an SCHIP bill that is fatally flawed by funding schemes and budget gimmicks that should trouble anyone. The bill relies on a budgetary gimmick that drops SCHIP funding by nearly 80 percent in its sixth year - resulting in a "funding cliff" that will ultimately force a choice between increasing taxes dramatically or stripping health insurance from millions of children. Because it depends on a huge cigarette tax increase, its funding scheme would need 22 million Americans to start smoking a pack per day. While no one would like to see kids smoking, the fact remains that the funding mechanism for this SCHIP proposal is reliant on a dramatic increase in the smoking population.

As it was written the bill was a farce and a sham.....a legislative shell game and both Congressman Kline and Congresswoman Bachman showed their wisdom in voting to uphold the President's veto of the SCHIP reauthorization. Both stood up to the political gamesmanship of the left and did the right thing....killing a bad bill. Hopefully now a workable SCHIP reauthorization bill - one that really helps the children most in need - can pass through Congress.

Candidate impressions - City Council Races

2007-09-21T15:14:00.001-04:00

Here are my impressions on the candidates running for City Council, based on my dealings with them in council and in the community.

Ken Hedberg (3 year seat) - I have had the opportunity to meet with Ken just a couple of times since he took over Cheri's seat. So far it appears like he is trying to get a little more of a fiscally responsible voice on the board. He called for City Staff to make some budget cuts in order to reduce the severity of the increase in the City's tax levy.

Steve Millar (3 year seat) - I first met Steve when he ran three years ago at a "Citizens for Accountable Government" meeting. Steve ran (at the time) on a platform of no tax increases. Since then, Steve and I have worked on an advisory committee together and we have had more than a couple discussions about my various letters to the editor regarding city spending. Steve is great guy, but there are times when we just do not fully see eye to eye on city spending.

Vaughn Lemke (3 year seat) - I had a brief opportunity to meet Vaughn at Monday night's Fall Community Fest. He was talking to Rep. Mike Beard when I walked up and it looked like they had been talking for a while. Mike seemed to be quite impressed with Mr. Lemke.

Jeff Evens - Mr. Evens is the only candidate that I do not know. If anyone out there knows him and can tell me anything about his stands on issues, please forward them to me at

Chad LeMair (2 year seat) - I first met Chad at one of the myriad of City and County functions that were taking place three years ago talking about downtown redevelopment and County Road 21 reconstruction. Since then I worked with him on one of the citizen advisory committees. Chad is fiscally conservative (the memorable quote from this spring was when he asked city Finance Director if we could ever have a year where there was not an assumed increase in City spending - the answer was not one to warm a fiscal conservatives heart...) and easy to talk to about your concerns.

Rick Keeney (2 year seat) - I met Rick at a lot of the same meetings that I mention above. He and his wife Maria have been fairly active in "Citizens for Accountable Government" issues and he has been a fairly regular fixture at City Council meetings as an observer. His biggest concern has been the adverst effect of city spending on the homeowners in the community - a concern many homeowners share.

Candidate info

2007-09-21T14:27:00.000-04:00

As you know, we have just a couple of contentious local races taking place this year. In the spirit of education and enlightenment (and because so many people have asked) here is a list of information for the City Hall and School Board Candidates. If the candidate has a website, I will have it linked in his/her name, if there is no website, I will note that.

For the City Council races, there are two three year seats up and one two year seat.

Running for the three year seats are:

Ken Hedberg - Ken was appointed to take Cheri Dornbush's seat 8 months ago when she moved out of Prior Lake earlier this year. Steve Millar (no website available) is the other incumbent running for re-election. Challenging Steve and Ken are Jeff Evens (no website available), Randy Langhorst and Vaughn Lemke (no website available)

Chad LeMair (no website available) is running as the incumbent for the 2 year seat. Richard Keeney and George Victor (no website available) are his challengers.

On the School board side we have incumbents Eric Pratt, Diane Ziemann and Dick Booth. The challengers are John Myser, Dee Dee Francis, Chris Lind, Greg Bores and Mike Von Arx. At this time, none of the school board candidates have websites, but you can read about their stand on some of the issues facing the school district here and here.

Lastly on the ballot are a levy referendum and a bonding referendum. If the levy referendum does not pass, the bonding referendum automatically does not pass. The organization supporting the referendums is the "Stand By Me" Committee and the organization opposed to the referendums is the "Citizens for Accountable Government".

There will be a meet the candidates forum for the City Council races on Tuesday, October 16, from 6 to 8 pm. The forum will be a chance for residents to meet the candidates, hear about some of their core platform issues and ask questions of them. If you can not make it to the forum, PLTV-15 will run the forum daily all the way up to the election on November 6.

For the candidates that do not have webpages I would ask citizens to take a few moments and drop the candidates a polite letter asking them how they stand on the issues that concern you the most. I am sure that every single one of them would love to open the dialog.

Stay tuned to these pages for further candidate forum information as it becomes available and for a post on my humble impressions on the candidates that are running.

Welcome

2007-09-13T15:44:00.000-04:00

Welcome readers from True North. We here in Senate District 35 have the unparalleled pleasure of having three fabulous Representatives who make it fairly easy to be a Conservative in Scott County. If you are new to the district and you are looking for to get connected, shoot me an email at sd35republicans at the domaine yahoo dot com. We would love to hear from you.

Allow me a moment

2007-09-13T15:34:00.000-04:00

I hope you will allow me a moment to vent here. On Tuesday September 11, a primary election was held for the Prior Lake Savage ISD 719 school board election. Did you hear about it? I know I sent out several emails asking people to please make sure that they did get out to vote as off year primaries are usually very poorly attended.

This year's primary turn out was especially low. Only 5 percent of the registered voters in the school district voted! That means that 95% of the voting public didn't care enough about their voting rights to bother to exercise them. It is a sad day in this republic when 95% of the voting public does not bother to come to the polls!

It is my fervent hope that between now and November 6, the residents of the entire Senate District will find their voice and get to the polls. Local races are every bit as important as national races are. Some, myself included, would argue that local races are MORE important because these races most directly touch your every day life.

To all of those voters who, back in 2003, were upset at the school board over the naming of the high school, I have one question....where were you last Tuesday? Those that don't vote, don't have a say in changing attitudes in City Hall or in the school board. What was your excuse for not voting on Tuesday?

Special Session Update from Sen. Claire Robling

2007-09-13T15:32:00.000-04:00

Special Session Provides Aid to Disaster Victims, Communities

Legislators returned to St. Paul last evening to pass a bill primarily to aid flood disaster victims in southeast Minnesota. The House and Senate passed the legislation early this morning, more than seven hours after the special session started, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed it shortly before 3 a.m. You can read the final bill on the House website at www.house.mn.

At a total cost of more than $200 million, this relief package is the largest of its kind in Minnesota history, and the fastest government response ever for state aid to disaster victims. Past special sessions to provide flood relief came three or four months after the catastrophe occurred and much of the clean-up and rebuilding work was done. I’m happy to say that although it was crafted quickly to address the urgent need, it will work well in conjunction with both federal government aid and local government efforts. State dollars will be available for immediate needs, but that money must be paid back if and when federal disaster aid is available.

According to current estimates by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the flooding on August 18-19 damaged about 1,500 homes in the area and destroyed approximately 300. Hopefully, our fellow Minnesotans can return to normalcy soon with this assistance.
The bill provides a mix of cash assistance and state-borrowed funds for public safety, transportation, housing and other needs in the area, totaling about $157.3 million. Eleven state agencies will receive funding in the flooding portion of the bill for their part in repairing highways and bridges, wastewater treatment facilities, and contaminated wells, removing trash and debris, providing provisional housing and property tax relief, and helping schools impacted by temporarily losing or gaining students. The funds will ultimately go to counties, local governments, businesses, farms and individuals in the form of direct assistance, grants and loans. Funds relating to economic development will help businesses adversely affected by the flood so residents in the area continue to have employment. The aid also helps continue health services providers’ payments and helps local governments to bridge their lost and delayed property tax income, allowing them to continue providing services. The funding package also covers much of local governments’ share of the breakdown of cost responsibility where FEMA’s covers about 75 percent in this type of disaster.

In addition to the flood disaster relief, the bill includes authorization to spend approximately $53.2 million advanced by the federal government for recovery and cleanup costs associated with the I-35W bridge collapse in early August and $2 million for Minneapolis bridge disaster matching funds. An additional $5.3 million is included in the bill to assist in funding other recent disasters, such as the Cook County forest fires, flooding in Browns Valley and Crookston, and drought relief for farmers across the state who have seen severe losses this summer.
Critics of the bill question why it did not include any new transportation funding, statewide construction projects or state aid increases for local governments. These are vital issues that continue to be controversial and require the time and attention available when we return to regular session in February. In the interest of dealing with the impact of the floods, we decided to move ahead now to promote the quickest possible return to normalcy for residents in the impacted communities and not force these individuals and families to wait for agreement on other funding issues. In the meantime, federal aid is beginning to roll in for the Minneapolis bridge rebuilding, and interim committees are studying what further needs we will have regarding a comprehensive transportation funding package.

I have been disappointed that we have been unable to sign into law a transportation funding bill during the last three years. Clearly, I do not want to increase taxes (gas tax, tab fees, sales tax, and wheelage tax) as much as proposed by some transportation advocates, but I do believe we have a need for more funding in that area. Perhaps some money can be found within the existing state budget, but I don't believe we can take it from the two largest areas funded by state government, education and health care, unless we put more of the burden for those services on local governments and property taxpayers, which I don't want to do. In addition, MnDOT Commissioner/Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau has already worked hard to squeeze as many efficiencies out of MnDOT as possible to help pay for highway project bonds which were let several years ago. I don't believe we can take any more out of that budget for new projects because we need it to pay for maintenance of our existing roads and bridges.

I agree with Gov. Pawlenty that we should look at bonding for some major projects needed now that would otherwise wait 5-15 years before construction. He proposes to pay off the bonds with the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax (MVST) which was constitutionally dedicated last fall by voters for transportation. Opponents of this plan believe that the MVST money will not be adequate to pay off the bonds in 6-10 years when payments are at their peak. In response, I and several other legislators have proposed a gas tax of up to 2.5 cents which would "blink on" if and when there was a shortage of funds to pay off the bonds. This proposal, made at the end of last session, was obviously not adopted, but I am hopeful that it will be considered next year. In addition, we should be looking at an array of funding possibilities, including alternative ways to pay for new projects, such as congestion price indexing and possibly even tolls for new bridges. Although not my favorite method of financing, with new technology, many drivers don't even have to stop to pay tolls anymore because they can use prepurchased accounts. Please let me know if you are aware of any additional innovative and practical ways to fund future transportation projects.

This week’s special session, even with all of its name-calling and partisan bickering before the actual event, shows that we can come together in service to Minnesotans. The political process has natural conflict built into it -- people have deep and sincerely held differences of opinion -- and that isn't bad unless it continues to prevent solutions to problems. I look forward to next session and the opportunity to continue our work to improve the lives of our state's residents.

Claire Robling
State Senator
District 35

Special Session Update from Rep. Mike Beard

2007-09-13T15:30:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

As you probably by now know, the Legislature met in a special session yesterday (September 11) to pass a disaster relief bill to deal primarily with the floods in southeast Minnesota. The bill also put up the state's share of some matching funds related to the aftermath of the 35W bridge collapse. I'm glad we could get this done, especially for the folks whose homes were washed away and who lost their jobs because their business fared no better. I'm very pleased to say the House passed this bill unanimously.

The case of a Level III sex offender registering to live in Prior Lake sparked a larger discussion throughout the community about how to handle the knowledge that a sex offender wants to live amongst us. A lot of attention focused on the notification requirements that flow to nearby residents through local law enforcement and the Department of Corrections (DOC). As it stands, the law requires sex offenders to register their address with the DOC. The DOC then has five days to notify local law enforcement, which then has 14 days to notify residents.

In this case, those timeframes didn't work. Fortunately, the offender was caught for numerous other crimes and will now live in prison. But the case pointed out a glaring problem with the notification methods. Senator Robling and I are looking into a potential fix that would require an offender to not move in until after a certain time period, perhaps 7 to 10 days, so that the state has time to notify local cops, who then would have time to notify residents.

When the laws passed in 1997 and 2002 (before I took office) they left the methods and tactics of notifying residents up to local discretion.

Whether or not the state needs to step in and set some sort of standard practice is something else we are looking at.

The issue of residency ordinances also came up. Some cities prohibit offenders from living a certain distance from playgrounds, schools, day care centers, etc. While the city considers the issue, I can offer a perspective on why the state has not adopted such a plan: It would be very bad for suburban communities like ours. Here's why: The core cities are so densely populated and have so many gathering places for children that offenders would essentially be banned from the cities entirely. Where would they end up? You guessed it - suburbs, where things tend to be more spread out. We don't want offenders living anywhere near children, but we also don't want state laws that force them into our neighborhoods.

I also want to point you to an online resource that has shown to be very effective. Run by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the online sex offender database helps track down offenders that have not registered. The site - https://por.state.mn.us - allows the public to view non-registered offenders and give tips that help law enforcement find them. It is effective; our compliance rate is at or near all-time highs.

We dodged a bullet with the sex offender intent on coming to Prior Lake, but it is still clearly an issue that the Legislature needs to look at.

Sincerely,
Representative Mike Beard

Jason Lewis coming to SD35

2007-06-20T21:26:00.000-04:00

The SD 35 Republicans Executive Committee is excited to announce that Jason Lewis is coming to speak to us on August 7. The event will be held at the Brackett’s Crossing Country Club. The event starts at 6:30 with a social hour and we will have a couple of local guest speakers including our own legislative delegation to St. Paul. The details (of the guest speakers) will be announced later.

Tickets will be $25.00 per person in advance and $30.00 at the door.

Requests for tickets can be sent to sd35republicans@yahoo.com.

Weekly Update for 5/19/07

2007-05-20T21:17:00.000-04:00

This Week at the Capitol

At this writing at about 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 19, we are heading into the final couple of days of the 2007 Legislative Session with most of the top budget issues still unresolved – including education, health and welfare, transportation, and jobs/economic development. Legislative leaders and Governor Pawlenty have been in and out of discussions and legislators on conference committees have been meeting to fine tune agreements and work out the details of the (approximately) $35 billion 2008-09 state budget.

We are remaining hopeful that a special session can be avoided. We have until midnight Monday to complete our work during the regular session. Stay tuned.

However, I can update you on some other issues that may affect you or someone in your family. Here is a brief selection of new laws. Some were passed as stand alone bills and others were incorporated in omnibus bills which I supported.

Ticket Resellers. Starting August 1, it will no longer be illegal to sell an event ticket for more than face value in Minnesota, opening the door for ticket resellers who operated outside the state’ s borders to relocate here, and potentially driving down the cost of tickets for consumers.
Veterans’ Programs. Lawmakers have approved about $65 million to help veterans, their families and active military members. Additional funding is available for areas such as medical help to college assistance. The bill provides a nearly 70 percent increase over current funding. Minnesota is preparing for nearly 3,000 National Guard members to return to the state in late summer and has allocated $1.5 million for reintegration programming.

Venison Donation. Encouraging hunters to thin Minnesota's deer herd while also stocking state foodshelves, the Legislature endorsed a bill that funds venison processing through surcharges on nonresident hunting licenses and voluntary contributions from Minnesota hunters.

Crime Prevention. The $2 billion “crime bill” adds new judges, creates an identification procedure for authorized scrap metal sellers to fight theft, tightens protections for domestic abuse victims and stiffens penalties for sexual predators using the Internet. The bill contains law enforcement and courts funding, including youth-intervention programs and funding for 15 new forensic scientists at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Radon Gas. Homebuyers will have some new protections from radon gas in newly built homes. A new law will require the installation of radon protections as part of the state building code for residential buildings. The cost of installation is $400 as compared to a $5,000 estimated retrofitting. Much of Minnesota is considered in high radon zones; radon is connected to lung cancer.

Hunting & Fishing Fees. Hunters must still pay state pheasant and waterfowl stamp fees and their license will show those endorsements, but the actual stamps won't be required in their possession. Nonresident fishing license fees will increase to $37.50 with an additional $2 surcharge. A new three-year license for ice fishing houses will be available for winter anglers.

Predatory Lending. A new law protects Minnesotans against reckless home mortgage lenders by making residential mortgage fraud a felony. Anyone misrepresenting information in the lending process commits a felony punishable by up to two years in prison and must pay restitution to victims. In the past, mortgage fraud was charged under statutes such as mail fraud, money laundering or theft by swindle, making prosecution more difficult.

Cancer Coverage. Like mammograms and ovarian cancer testing, Minnesota insurance companies will now be required to cover colorectal cancer screening.

Electronic Waste Recycling. This legislation establishes a statewide program to collect and recycle used computers and TV monitors from households. The bill requires each manufacturer that sells those products in Minnesota to collect and recycle an amount proportional to the weight of the products sold in the state during the previous year. The type of products manufacturers can collect to meet this target are much broader than just computer and TV monitors, including computer CPUs, printers and keyboards, fax machines and DVD players.

Mercury Restrictions: This legislation further regulates mercury-containing products and prohibits their sale in the state. A fluorescent or high-intensity discharge lamp must be disposed of by delivery of the lamp to a lamp recycling facility, or to a facility that collects and stores lamps for the purpose of delivering them to a lamp recycling facility, including, but not limited to, a household hazardous waste collection or recycling facility. In addition, placing high-density discharge lamps in the garbage is illegal.

Residential Dishwasher Detergent. Effective July 1, 2010, no person shall sell or distribute any household dishwasher detergent that contains more than 0.5 percent phosphorus by weight. This law does not apply to the sale or distribution of detergents for commercial or institutional dishwashing purposes.

Sesquicentennial Funding. A state commission planning Minnesota’s 150th birthday is now authorized to accept donations, educate visitors about Minnesota’s history, and plan the May 11, 2008 event.

Scrap Metals. A new law requires scrap metal dealers keep records of their purchases of scrap metal and make those records available to law enforcement agencies to help them apprehend and prosecute scrap metal thieves.

Smoking Ban. Starting October 1st, smoking will be forbidden in Minnesota’s bars, restaurants, bingo halls, private clubs like the VFW, and nearly all other public areas. Under the law, smokers, owners and managers who don’t stop the activity could be charged with a petty misdemeanor. The new law will allow local governments to impose stricter rules in outdoor areas.

Upcoming District Events

Elko New Market Fire Rescue Days
Saturday, June 30, 2007.The day starts with a parade, fun and food; followed by the Firefighter's Dance in the evening.
Wagner Park

Sunday, July 1, 2007
The NEW Lions Club will have a pancake/sausage breakfast
Elko New Market Area Hall, 601 Main Street.

Prior Lake National Public Works Week
May 23 - May 26For more information visit the APWA website http://www.apwa.net.

Scott Watershed Management Organization Hosts a Raingarden Workshop
to teach homeowners how to design and install a rain garden using native plants.

Saturday, May 19, 2007
10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
New Prague Library

How to Contact Me

Senator Claire Robling
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
143 State Office Building
Saint Paul, MN 55155-1206
Office: 651.296.4123
Fax: 651.767.
sen.claire.robling@senate.mn
www.senate.mn/senatorrobling

Sen. Claire Robling Email Update 5/15/07

2007-05-16T20:38:00.000-04:00

LOOKING FOR COMPROMISE

As of today, Gov. Pawlenty has signed 58 bills, vetoed nine, including seven major omnibus bills, (Higher Ed, Health and Human Services, State Government Finance, Economic Development, Bonding, Transportation, and Taxes), and line-item vetoed two (Ag & Veterans and Environment). The Governor sent clear and concise veto messages to explain each of his vetoes, (check them out at the following website:
http://www.governor.state.mn.us/priorities/legislation/index.htm ) but one of his overriding concerns has been that there has not been a total state budget target set and there has still not been any joint legislative target set for the E-12 bill.

Apparently, this could (and must) change soon. We were informed today (Tuesday) that an E-12 budget proposal would be presented today to the Senate Rules Committee (not a proposal developed by the E-12 Budget Conference Committee), but as I type this around 8 p.m., it has still not been presented. Hopefully, we’ll know more Wednesday morning when we will apparently be expected to start voting on amended versions of the bills vetoed by the Governor. It is my expectation that many of the objections raised by the Governor will be addressed and we can move forward with at least some more of the bills in order to complete our work on schedule.

SENATE PASSES DEDICATED ENVIRONMENT FUNDING
The "Dallas Sams Outdoor and Cultural Legacy Act" - named after the late Senator - was approved by the Senate on Friday. It provides the language for a constitutional amendment increasing the sales and use tax rate by 3/8 of 1 percent on taxable sales for 25 years beginning in 2009. An estimated $295 million per year would be raised by the increased sales tax and dedicated as follows if approved by the voters in the 2008 general election:

● 33 percent of the receipts would be deposited in the Heritage Enhancement Fund and could be spent only to preserve, enhance, or protect the state’s fish, wildlife, habitat, land, and forest resources. This totals approximately $97.35 million annually.

● 43 percent of the receipts would be deposited in the Great Outdoors Minnesota Fund and could be spent only on protection and restoration of the state’s lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, groundwater, parks, trails, and natural areas. This total approximately
$126.85 million annually.

● 24 percent of the receipts would be deposited in the Cultural Legacy Fund and could be spent only on arts, arts education, art access, and historic sites. This fund would receive about $70.8 million a year.

The money dedicated cannot be used as a substitute for traditional funding sources for the purposes specified. Land acquired by the fee with money deposited in the heritage enhancement fund must be open to public taking of fish and game during the open season unless otherwise provided by law.

I voted for the proposal with some reluctance. While I support allowing the people to vote on the provision, I do not believe that we should include the arts in the constitutional dedication, at least not at the 24 percent included in this bill. I supported an amendment to offer two separate constitutional amendments - one for the environment and one for the arts -- for the voters to consider so that they could chose one or the other or both, but they wouldn’t have to choose one just to get the other. I believe a lot of people will support the funding for the environment, but we shouldn’t force them to take a "package deal" if they want it. As legislators, we deal with way too many omnibus bills at the Capitol now, and quite frankly I resent it when they package a variety of measures together and you have to decide if there are more things you like than dislike before you vote.

I also offered an amendment on the bill to reduce the arts funding to 10 percent of the total (it would still add about $29 million to their current base of $14 million annually), and leave 14 percent to be appropriated by the legislature for any of the three funds listed above.
That means the arts could get more than 10 percent, but if we had a waterfowl crisis, or a terrible problem with an invasive species in our lakes, or diseases spread quickly among our deer populations or trees, or we needed to help reforest a large charred forested area (sound
familiar) we could have some money available to address the needs at hand without raising taxes or taking it from areas like education and health care. The amendment received bipartisan support, but it did not pass. I am, however, hopeful that similar language will be supported in the House and that a conference committee might modify the Senate version.

TRANSPORTATION BILL COMES AND GOES

House and Senate negotiators agreed to a $7 billion finance package for highways, buses, rail and other transportation infrastructure, but a wide array of tax increases and new fees resulted in the Governor’s expected veto. The measure called for a 5-cent per gallon tax increase starting in September which would increase gradually another 2.5 cents to pay off $1.5 billion in new construction bonding. (The Governor has a proposal to bond for $1.5 billion in projects, but he uses the recently constitutionally dedicated funds from the sales tax on vehicles to pay the bonds off and doesn’t raise new taxes.) The bill also approved an increase in the motor vehicle registration fees (tab fees) for all new and used cars purchased, a half-cent metro sales tax subject to approval by County Boards, not a voter referendum, and authorized a $10 wheelage fee that could be imposed by each of the metro counties. Similarly, Greater Minnesota counties may impose taxes individually, but are required to pass a referendum. The state’s gas tax is currently 20 cents per gallon.

Although I have supported a nickel a gallon gas tax increase in the past, this proposal surpassed my comfort level for new taxes. I am especially concerned about the half cent sales tax increase proposed for the metro area and the creation of a new joint powers board which would be set up to give out "grants" for transit, road and trail projects.

The bill required that at least 50 percent of the new money raised by the half cent sales tax be used for transit and 25 percent for roads and bridges, up to 5 percent for bicycle trails, and the rest was left to the discretion of the joint powers board to be used for roads or transit.

FREEDOM TO BREATHE ACT

There were, of course, many other bills which were approved in recent days. However, I wanted to mention one more which has received a lot of media attention: The "Freedom to Breathe" bill, also known by opponents as the "smoking ban." The conference committee report passed overwhelmingly, but not before attempts were made by both bodies to send it back to conference committee. While I voted to send it back to consider several additional modifications, after that failed I did vote for the bill on final passage. I would have liked to have seen the ban phased in more slowly (i.e. starting with restaurants and then later including bars) in order to give bars and opportunity to develop new marketing strategies (i.e. food or big screen TVs) so they do not lose business when the ban takes effect. However, the conference report did change the Senate language from an August 1 implementation date to Oct. 1, 2007, which might allow for some quick modifications. The conference report also allows bars to have outdoor patios with smoking and service, unless prohibited by local ordinance. The Senate bill, which I originally voted against, allowed patio smoking areas but no food or beverage service in the patios. The original Senate bill also outlawed smoking at all businesses, even those located in homes and farms, and would have even prohibited truckers from smoking in their semi trucks and farmers from smoking on their tractors. The conference report adjusted that and requires there to be two or more employees before a ban applies for home and farm businesses or in a vehicle. I do believe that the ban will provide everyone with a healthier environment, which should result in fewer illnesses and diseases and reduced health care costs.

VETERANS ASSISTANCE SIGNED INTO LAW

Minnesota National Guard soldiers will get extra assistance in the transition home under a measure signed last week by Governor Pawlenty. Money is set aside for National Guard Armory maintenance, County Veterans Service Officer grants, Higher Education Veterans Assistance Officers, and outreach to Native American veterans, homeless veterans, marketing and veterans service organizations. It also provides educational benefits to surviving family members or veterans killed in action. The plan is part of a larger Agriculture and Veterans omnibus bill which also creates a "Next Generation Energy Board" to guide the state's energy, gives funding to the Clean Water Legacy, funds the fight against invasive species, and funds some marketing efforts of the Minnesota Grown local agriculture program.

PUBLIC SAFETY BILL APPROVED

After a long debate and removal of a controversial insurance litigation provision, the $2 billion Omnibus Public Safety bill was re-passed with nearly unanimous bipartisan support in the House and Senate and signed into law. The "crime bill" adds new judges, creates an identification procedure for authorized scrap metal sellers, tightens protections for domestic abuse victims and stiffens penalties for sexual predators using the Internet. The bill contains law enforcement and courts funding, including youth-intervention programs and funding for 15 new forensic scientists at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Claire Robling
State Senator
District 35
100 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
143 State Office Building
Saint Paul, MN 55155
651.296.4123

GOP has the edge going into final week.

2007-05-13T23:02:00.000-04:00

From today's Minneapolis Star Tribune.

"'Bonding' the wrong thing
It didn't start out this way.
Leveled to their lowest numbers in the Legislature in years, Republicans spent January shell-shocked at their losses, uncertain of their message and vulnerable to being divided by DFLers eager to pick them off with sweetened budget bills.
At the helm of each badly outnumbered GOP caucus was a rookie leader: Senate Minority Leader David Senjem, the Last Standing Republican in Rochester, and House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, a smart- alecky bomb-thrower.
"I was 34 years old and the first new leader for the caucus in 14 years," said Seifert. "It's taken a while, but we've found our place now. We know that if five members are for rent, then the whole caucus is for sale."
Five is how many GOP votes that House DFLers need to win over to override the governor's vetoes. In the even more lopsided Senate, DFLers need only a single Republican vote.
Nonetheless, to date, despite numerous vetoes, DFLers have not put up a single bill for an override effort, suggesting they know they can't get the GOP votes they need.
The turning point, Republicans say, came in early May, when DFLers trotted out an ample public works bill that used loans to pay for DFL projects and cash to pay for GOP items. Pawlenty had warned leaders not to augment the bonding bill with cash spending.
When DFLers did it anyway, said Rep. Michael Beard, R-Shakopee, it was the Republicans wet-rag-in-the-face moment. "We're not rocket scientists, but we realized real fast this was a pretty clever political move on their part."
If Pawlenty had used a line-item veto to trim the bill of its cash costs, he would have had to kill Republican projects.
Pawlenty went to the GOP House caucus that morning and asked for its help.
"We told him 'Veto the whole damn thing,' " Beard said. "He said 'What about your projects?' We said, 'We don't care, governor. We're in this together.' "
It turned out, Beard said, "their bonding bill bonded the wrong thing. We've held together ever since."

Go read the whole thing. It is a fairly balanced (especially for the Strib) look at the legislative session.

Rep. Mike Beard Email Update 5/8/07

2007-05-08T16:17:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends,

The end of the legislative session is a lot like the end of a semester at college. The workload grows, the time frame shrinks and the whole process seems to be going way slower than it should. I really think the next few days are the make-or-break days for whether or not we will be finished by the constitutional adjournment date of May 21.

There are a few underlying dynamics that will help shed some light on how things are going. The St. Paul Pioneer Press ran a good, unbiased summary of where everything stands as of Sunday. I think it really helps explain things, so I encourage you to follow this link and check it out:

http://www.twincities.com/politics/ci_5826871?nclick_check=1

The determining factor, I think, in a timely end to the session is whether or not the major budget bills come through the Legislature in a form that can be signed into law. If you read the summaries in the Pioneer Press link, you'll see that a lot of the bills are headed toward a veto if they remain in their current form. If they remain that way, a special session would seem inevitable. But if these issues are resolved before a veto, a May 21 ending is very possible.

On another topic, there has been no shortage of news about tragic traffic accidents lately. The Department of Public Safety, in conjunction with AAA Iowa/Minnesota, is sponsoring Look Out Teens!, a contest to create the best commercial promoting safe driving among teenagers. You can vote for the best of the five finalists here:

http://www.dps.state.mn.us/ots/teens/voting.asp I think it's a good message for everyone, young and old.

The Legislature will be in the news just about everyday for at least the next two weeks. If you see something that doesn't quite make sense or that you would like to know more about, give me a call or drop me an email. I'm always happy to chat about almost any subject we cover down here.

As always, it's my honor to represent you!

Regards,

Mike Beard
State Representative, 35A
Office (651) 296-8872
Home (952) 445-9374
Sign up for session email updates: http://www.blogger.com/www.house.mn/35A

UPDATE (from SD35 Republican): The Pioneer Press has removed the article from their website. A copy of it can be found here.

Sen. Claire Robling Email Update 5/7/07

2007-05-08T16:14:00.000-04:00

On the final stretch
Work continues to move at a rapid pace at the Capitol as we head into the final two-week stretch. However, even as some bills move forward, others are being held up because of the lack of targets for all areas of the budget.

E-12 Education Finance
Members of the E-12 Education Finance Conference Committee have compared House and Senate bills and reached some agreements, but they are withholding action until a spending target is established. The majority party’s leadership has been holding off on providing a budget target for this bill, which is proving to be extremely frustrating for the rest of us. In general, all budget targets should be set at the same time so that we have a better picture of the entire biennial budget.

Instead, each week the DFL House and Senate leadership team have been setting a few targets and some bills have passed. The ones that have been within Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s budget targets have been passed and signed into law, but many of the other major budget bills will be vetoed largely because the Governor needs to know the total amount of spending before he signs them. His vetoes may actually protect funding for E-12 education because he does not plan to support a tax increase this year.

If the Democrats use up all the current resources on other programs before they complete the E-12 bill, then they will argue that they must raise taxes to fund E-12 because they have nothing left. I agree with the Governor that we should not get caught in that box. He has repeatedly said that the current state surplus of about 10 percent over the last biennium should provide adequate resources for our programs.
While we wait for that final funding bill target, three work groups continue to meet on the issues of accountability, literacy and academic standards. The conference committee also adopted a definition of what qualifications are needed to be considered a highly qualified teacher and approved language that clarifies summer programs as extended school year services. The change reflects that some schools are in regular attendance during the summer.

Economic Development
The Economic Development Conference Committee completed the conference agreement this week, sending to the House and Senate a wide-ranging jobs and economic development plan. The combined bill is slightly more expensive that both houses’ original plan and about $52 million higher than the Governor’s propos al for these areas. (However, a significant amount of that is one-time money that will come out of the $1 billion one-time surplus.) Many Senators outside the committee thought the bill could use further revisions that address excessive spending and heavy emphasis on policy issues, although the Senate ultimately approved the measure on Friday.

Public Safety
A $2 billion public safety funding bill was delayed briefly in both houses of the Legislature last week due to a controversial provision that allowed insurance companies to be penalized for denying some claims, or not acting in "good faith." Gov. Pawlenty told lawmakers that the bill, which also increases overtime for cops on the street and tightens penalties for domestic violence, was in danger of a veto if the insurance provision was not removed. Those who opposed that provision as written, myself included, are very concerned that its implementation could result in more lawsuits and significantly higher insurance premiums. However, when the conference report was sent back to the conference committee, that provision was removed, allowing me (and the Governor) to support the Public Safety bill, which also funds prisons and the judiciary, tightens penalties for Internet predators, and helps crime victims.

Medical Marijuana
On a close vote, the Senate last week passed a proposal to allow the medical use of smoked marijuana, despite federal prohibitions and a wide variety of unknowns. The bill requires a doctor’s approval but would allow approved users to register with the state to obtain 2.5 ounces of the drug from registered organizations, which may grow up to 12 plants for each patient. Violators could still be prosecuted even if state law exempts them from penalties because federal law supersedes states when the two conflict.

Opponents of the plan, myself included, fear that this proposal would make growing and dispensing marijuana a legal business in Minnesota without answering fundamental questions about how regulation would work.

The bill is adamantly opposed by all the major law enforcement groups.

Additionally, little is known about the many other chemicals in marijuana or what their side-effects might be. Smoking marijuana has been shown to be highly addictive, and can cause a variety of other health-related problems.

Domestic partner benefits for state employees
Following a veto promise from Gov. Pawlenty, House and Senate DFLers dropped language that would have allowed domestic partners, including same-sex partners, of state employees to be eligible for health care benefits. The measure was part of the state government finance bill, which funds such state operations as the Legislature, the attorney general's office, and the governor's office. The conference committee approved spending $552 million over the next two years. However, the bill still contains other issues that are opposed by some legislators and the Governor and is likely to be vetoed.

Claire Robling
State Senator
District 35
100 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
143 State Office Building
Saint Paul, MN 55155
651.296.4123

Rep. Buesgens Weekly Email Update 5/3/07

2007-05-03T18:14:00.000-04:00

Friends and Neighbors,

Throughout this session I added a short list of silly bills proposed by the Democrats to the end of each email update. With only a few weeks to go until their assault on taxpayers is over, I can say with reasonable confidence that a lot of those bills died the legislative death they deserve. But not all. Some ridiculous proposals crept their way through the House, buried in bills numbering hundreds of pages. Here is a list of some that have passed.

* $780 million in new taxes.

* $73 million in new fees.

* A task force to reform school funding, with four Senators, four Representatives and the Commissioner of Education. Sound familiar? It should, there are already six legislative committees doing that same thing. Why we need a seventh I don't know.

* A new tax on hockey tickets.

* A new task force to study report cards. They better get an A.

* $2 million for a high-speed train to Chicago.

* A "wheelage" tax. They want higher taxes so bad they had to invent a new word.

* A plan to limit "light pollution" in the cities. With all that crime, I would prefer they keep the lights on.

* A special tuition reduction for illegal immigrants.

* Did I mention $850 million in new taxes and fees? Or that we still have a $2 billion surplus?

Earlier this week, the House debated a bill that would require retailers to post signs next to fluorescent light bulbs to alert consumers that the bulbs contain trace amounts of mercury, a known neurotoxin. A handful of vaccinations also contain mercury, but our attempts to require parental notification when their child is about to be given a vaccine with mercury have been ruled not relevant.

You won't come into contact with mercury in a fluorescent bulb unless the bulb breaks, but the DFL majority says that is a health hazard worthy of government involvement. Injecting the neurotoxin directly into a child's bloodstream is, apparently in their eyes, not a health risk.

The nonsense continues*

Mark Buesgens
State Representative, 35B
Office (651) 296-5185

Rep. Mike Beard Email Update 4/30/07

2007-04-30T20:40:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

We're at that time of the legislative session when we pass the first drafts of major spending bills that will fund state government for the next two years. It's hard to summarize these bills, which can number several hundred pages, but I will try to do so below for the bills we acted on last week.

K-12 Education - My support for this bill (I voted yes) is not without some reservation. I am strongly behind the increased funding and property tax relief, but the provisions of mandated sex education, (very graphic and starting with 7th grade), and a reliance on tax increases give me cause for concern.

Environment,Energy and Commerce - I voted no on this bill for several reasons. I think it goes way too far with regulation and mandates while raising too many fees, including making mortgages more difficult to get, investments more expensive to buy, and redefining wetlands to include puddles as small as 200 square feet!

Ag and Veterans - Our district is largely removed from agricultural issues, but they still have a dramatic impact on our state and I think the bill does good for our farmers. It also contains some vital veterans programs that we need in advance of our soldiers' return later this year. I voted yes.

Public Safety - Like the energy bill, I think this one goes too far in raising fees and also contains some language that could cause car insurance rates to jump significantly. I think we can do better for public safety and I hope the conference committee for this bill can do good work making this a better bill.

Health & Human Services - This bill spends too much money, raising spending by 41 percent over four years. Part of the increase comes from a plan to take people who already have private health insurance and move them onto various government-run insurance programs. I don't think it is wise or fiscally responsible to ask taxpayers to pay the bill for people who already have their own health insurance, and I voted no.

Higher Education - Our higher education bill does a lot of good things, but contains a plan to give illegal immigrants tuition rates lower than the rates we charge some American citizens. I think that is wrong and so do most of my Republican colleagues, but the majority can include the provision because there aren't enough Republicans to keep it out.

However, the governor is on our side and said he will veto the entire bill over this unfair provision. I hope my friends on the other side of the aisle realize that tuition relief for Minnesotans is more important than tuition relief for illegal immigrants and that they drop the poison pill so we can do good.

Government Finance - This bill almost failed on a bi-partisan basis because of its plan to authorize so-called domestic partner benefits.

It also raises funding for the Legislature at a higher percentage than the funding increase for schools. I think that shows misplaced priorities.

So that's where we stand right now. Conference committees will start meeting this week to work out differences between the House and Senate.

With all the vetoes looming, I hope they get their work done quickly.

We will have to start all over again once the vetoes come down, so we will need time in order to avoid a special session. If you're wondering why we are spending all this time passing bills that we know will get vetoed and be rebuilt from scratch, you're not alone. Many legislators are frustrated by this as well and the only ones who can answer that question are the House Speaker and the House Majority Leader. They, unfortunately, aren't forthcoming.

Regards,

Mike Beard
State Representative, 35A
Office (651) 296-8872
Home (952) 445-9374
Sign up for session email updates: www.house.mn/35A

Sen. Claire Robling Email Update 4/30/07

2007-04-30T20:39:00.000-04:00

Last week’s activities:

Conference Committees Dominate Legislative Schedule The 2007 Session began the hectic home stretch as ten conference committees convened to begin the process of wading through major budget bills in search of finding agreement between the Senate and House.
Committees were formed for bills covering agriculture and veterans issues, E-12 education, economic development, environment and energy, health and human services, higher education, public safety, state government, transportation and taxes. I am a member of the Higher Education Conference Committee. These committees have been spending a lot of time meeting, which cut down on other floor action in the Senate last week. A similar schedule is expected this week until conference committee work is concluded.
While the conference process is a necessary step to adopting a budget for the next two years, a number of hurdles remain. It’s been reported that nearly all bills passed by the Senate and House contain provisions that would likely prompt a veto by Governor Pawlenty. It’s unclear if the bills will progress through conference committees with those controversial provisions intact, or if final action will wait for a global agreement between the Governor, and Senate and House DFL majorities. Another point of contention is the issue of taxes. Both Senate and House DFL budget plans depend on new revenue generated by controversial tax increases that have already been promised a veto. The success in finding an acceptable agreement on these issues over the next three weeks will determine whether the session will conclude by May 21st as required by the state constitution.
Bonding Bill Conference Committee Agreement Heads to the Floor The Capital Investment Conference Committee was the first major committee to complete an agreement between the Senate and House.
The Conference Committee funding for the bonding bill totals $334 million. The breakdown includes a General Fund (cash) appropriation of $164 million, highway bond funding totaling $33 million, bond proceeds of $135 million and general obligation user financed funds of $1.2 million. Coming into conference, the original Senate proposal was $320 million, while the House totaled $290 million. In an unusual twist, the negotiated agreement provided funding higher than either of the two original bills. The fact that the bill grew in size and is using a significant amount of one-time money that will then be unavailable for final negotiations in other areas not yet resolved (such as education and health care) resulted in a negative vote by most Republicans, myself included.
The Governor has expressed concerns on both the size and timing of the bonding bill. Debt service for bonding is currently over $1 billion in the biennium. This is not a major bonding year, and both the Senate and House bills are large for a non-bonding year. It’s unclear what action the Governor will take since the bonding bill will now reach his desk before concluding other major budget negotiations.

Dedicated Funding Bill Stalls in Tax Committee The long battle over using sales tax proceeds for constitutionally dedicated funding hit a roadblock in the Senate Tax Committee this week.
Senate File 6 sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller was rejected on a committee vote that would have moved the bill closer to the floor for action by the full Senate. The plan calls for a constitutional amendment increasing the sales and use tax rate by 3/8 of one percent on taxable sales for 25 years beginning on July 1, 2009. 33 percent of the receipts would be deposited in the Heritage Enhancement Fund and may be spent only to preserve, enhance, or protect the state's fish, wildlife, habitat, and land resources. Forty-three percent of the receipts would be deposited in the Great Outdoors Minnesota Fund and may be spent only on protection and restoration of the state's lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, groundwater, parks, trails, natural areas, and historic sites. Finally, 24 percent of the receipts would be deposited in the Cultural Legacy Fund and may be spent only on arts, arts education, and arts access.
Opposition came from both Democrats and Republicans. Some cited a concern over raising the state sales tax, while others had concerns over using the state constitution as a mechanism to provide funding, as well as expanding the original proposal that was limited to funding outdoors priorities. The bill remains in the tax committee and could be revisited before the conclusion of the legislative session.

Stem Cell Research Proposal Prompts Strong Debate A controversial bill concerning the emotional issue of stem cell research passed the Senate after significant debate on the floor this week. Senate File 100, sponsored by Sen. Richard Cohen (DFL – St Paul) would allow the University of Minnesota to use state funds to perform stem cell research. In part, the proposal establishes a statewide policy for stem cell research, which permits research involving the derivation and use of embryonic stem cells, human embryonic germ cells and adult stem cells from any source. The research would be reviewed and approved by an institutional review board. The companion bill, House File 34, has been sent to the House floor and is awaiting action by the full House. A vote could be scheduled within the next couple of weeks. I supported efforts to remove from the Senate bill approval of embryonic stem cell research which results in killing the embryo, but the amendment failed.
Largely because of that provision remaining in the bill, I voted against it.

Ditch Legislation Passes Senate This past week, Senate File 642 passed the Senate and now awaits action in the House. This bill related to natural resources provides clarification to how a drainage authority determines where the point of beginning is, where a buffer strip is required, and how the required width is determined.
Impediments and disincentives are removed to the use of federal and state conservation programs, such as Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) adjacent to public drainage ditches by making it clear that the drainage authority is responsible to restore the conservation practice that is damaged as the result of a repair, improvement, or construction, of a public drainage ditch.
This bill enhances the ability of a drainage authority to implement buffers where needed for maintaining the efficiency of the ditch or for water quality, by providing for a modified procedure, which will reduce costs to the drainage system. Support for the bill includes all of the major state wide farm organizations, environmental organizations, conservation organizations, and the state’s drainage authorities.

Saving Mom and Pop Resorts Another proposal on the Senate floor pending further action is Senate File 961 which would provide consistent state-wide policy regarding maintenance, rebuilding and ownership of small resorts throughout the state. The intent of this bi-partisan legislation is to support survival of the small, family owned, resorts. Thousands of Minnesota residents and tourists enjoy our natural resources through local resorts. This tourism activity has a dramatic economic and employment impact in Minnesota. The legislation is a response to Minnesota having lost thousands of these vacation properties to private development and rising lakeshore values.
The legislation would apply statewide and preempt inconsistent local ordinances, though a county or a municipality may by ordinance impose upon resorts reasonable regulations to prevent and abate nuisances and to protect the public health, welfare, safety, and environment.

Claire Robling
State Senator
District 35
100 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
143 State Office Building
Saint Paul, MN 55155
651.296.4123

Rep. Mike Beard on the floor of the House.

2007-04-26T17:00:00.000-04:00

Rep. Beard had a couple of good speeches on the floor of the House in the last week. The first was on Tuesday. Rep. Beard was speaking on H.F.854 (the E-Cycling bill). The second was this morning on the Omnibus Tax Bill. Video of the first speech can be found here. Rep Beard's speech starts at the 2:02 mark. The second speech can be found here and Rep. Beard's speech starts at the 40:36 mark.

Rep Buesgens also had some great remarks in the second clip. Rep. Buesgens remarks start at at 30:30 mark.

Rep. Mike Beard Email Update 4/17/07

2007-04-17T22:32:00.000-04:00

Hello again friends,

The Finance Committee took center stage in the House last week as the major spending bills passed through on their way to the House floor. We will start debating these bills for final passage on Tuesday. Governor Pawlenty also held a news conference on Wednesday to reiterate the bills he would veto if they pass in their current form.

It will be interesting to see how the new legislative leaders respond.

Will they allow their bills to pass early enough that the governor can veto them with enough time left to negotiate an agreeable solution? Or, will they wait until the last minute in the hopes of forcing the governor to call another special session? I would prefer a third
option: Start cooperating now and send the governor good bills that he can sign and let us adjourn without a special session. That seems like the reasonable thing to do, don't you think?

In case you missed the news report earlier this week, Mn/DOT announced that traffic congestion eased slightly in the last year as compared to previous years. You can read its announcement here:
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/newsrels/07/04/09tccongestiondec.html

If you dig deep into the Mn/DOT report, you'll see in the graphs that the Crosstown Commons experiences some of the worst congestion in the morning and evening rush hours. The good news is that the Crosstown reconstruction is one of many projects that will begin this year across the metro area. The Crosstown project will begin on June 4 and run through November 2010. Mn/DOT says to expect periodic weekend lane closures during construction seasons. For more of this year's projects, visit Mn/DOT's map at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/construction/

Next week I will have news of what is - and is not - in the omnibus bills that start passing the House. As always, I'm proud to serve you and I appreciate your thoughts, concerns and occasional compliments.

Sincerely,

Mike Beard
State Representative, 35A

Rep Mark Buesgens at the Tax Cut Rally

2007-04-15T17:49:00.000-04:00

For those of you who could not make it (I was there) SD35's very own Rep. Mark Buesgens was one of the featured speakers at the Tax Cut Coalition rally. AAA at Residual Forces has video of his speech posted. This speech is further evidence of how fortunate the residents of SD35 are. We have fantastic representatives who are looking out for the district.

Rep. Mike Beard Email Update 4/2/07

2007-04-10T22:34:00.000-04:00

Hi everybody,
I recently spoke to the Shakopee Chamber of Commerce to give them an update on the status of the 2007 legislative session. I thought I would pass along this summary of my remarks so that everyone can get an idea of where things stand.
HEALTH CARE
* New leadership in the House and Senate have delayed attempts at major health care changes until 2008. According to the chairman of the House health care committee, "We will not be able to tackle the health care problem this session."
* Most notably, the "cover all kids" push from the governor and Senate leaders has receded while House leadership maintains its position to provide health care to the 70,000 uninsured Minnesota children
* Governor Pawlenty's initiative to remake the health care market with individual and consumer based options has floundered as legislative leaders in the House and Senate focus their efforts on the government's role
EDUCATION
* Early childhood education is not the hot topic it once was as House leaders proposed funding at a fraction of what advocates were hoping for
* The Senate has lessened its emphasis on early childhood and has indicated its preference to use money to bring some relief to schools hit with rising special education costs
* There is universal agreement that basic school funding should increase, proposals range from 2-4 percent per year
ENERGY
* By 2025, 25 percent of our electricity must be produced from renewable sources
* For Xcel and our metropolitan area, the mandate increases to 30 percent by 2020 - only 13 years away!
* Most of the energy will come from windmills in western Minnesota
* We currently lack the capability to move that much new electricity to east central Minnesota
* Building the transmission lines could raise rates significantly in 7-10 years
TAXES
* The recent proposal from House leadership would create a fourth tier to the income tax
* 9 percent rate for married couples making more than $400,000; individuals $226,000
* Nonpartisan House Research estimates that 16,500 "s-corp" businesses would be hit with the 9 percent tax bracket
* It estimates that 60 percent of the $433 million the tax brings in will come from s-corps (most of our small businesses)
* Senate leaders have passed a tax increase of their own
* Governor Pawlenty will veto this increase and House Republicans will uphold his veto
When we return from the traditional Easter break our focus will shift to passing the full state budget. This, as they say, is when things get interesting. Expect the issue of tax increases to be even bigger as the session wraps up, and remember that we still have a $2 billion surplus.

Mike Beard
State Representative, 35A
Sign up for session email updates: www.house.mn/35A

Sen. Claire Robling Email Update

2007-04-10T19:52:00.000-04:00

A Flurry of Senate Activity Before the Easter/Passover Recess

Over the course of the last ten days of March, the Senate passed off the floor a total of 13 major tax, spending and bonding bills. I must say, it was a terribly hectic pace, but at least the bills have made it this far in the process. Most companion bills still await action by the House, which will also mark the beginning of the conference committee process to negotiate differences between Senate and House bills. I’ve included below a recap of the Senate proposals. You may not be interested in all of them, but you can always scan the headings and decide which ones you want to read more about. Since we’re on our spring break, I won’t have another e-newsletter for about 10 days. Have an enjoyable holiday weekend.

Last week’s activities:

Higher Education Bill
On Thursday, March 22, Senate File 1989, the comprehensive budget and policy bill for higher education, was passed out of the full Senate and sent to the House of Representatives. However, preceding the lopsided vote on final passage were lengthy debate and split votes on several amendments, all of which were defeated.

Several members of the Senate questioned the adequacy of the funding provided for a state version of the federal "GI Bill," and proposed doubling the amount from 10 to 20 million dollars in order to meet the estimated demand. Another amendment attempted to remove provisions in the bill that would provide in-state tuition rates to certain Minnesota high school graduates even if they entered the United States without authorization. And separate amendments were also offered to freeze and cap at three percent tuition increases by public higher education campuses in order to let students and families recover from significant back-to-back increases over the past several years.

In brief, Senate File 1989 would increase higher education spending above current levels by $296 million, which is a 10.6 percent addition but still below the Governor's proposal by $67 million. Of the increase, $31 million is for the Office of Higher Education (mostly financial aid in the form of the State Grant), and $128 million of the new funding is for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and $136.5 million for the University of Minnesota (to subsidize tuition rates for residents). In contrast, the Governor put more funds into financial aid and fewer into MNSCU and the UMN. Some of the money the Governor was proposing to spend was one-time money which would be given to institutions if they met specific goals, such as having the University of Minnesota bring additional research to market and find matching non-public funds for certain programs. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the Senate bill contained no incentives for improvements.

Agriculture and Veterans Budget Bill
On Thursday, March 22, the Senate passed the Agriculture and Veterans Budget. Senate File 1925 spends $27.5 million more than the forecasted growth and $12.2 million less than the governor proposed. The total Senate budget in general fund spending for these two areas is $162 million over the next two years.

The bill funds many of the governor’s initiatives, such as livestock identification upgrades, funds to eliminate bovine tuberculosis, and millions to help our veterans returning from war. The bill also includes a 3.25 percent salary increase for department employees and begins the process of developing energy and fuel from cellulosic material such as switchgrass and native prairie grass. This budget awaits a House version before a conference committee can meet to work out the final budget.

Transportation Finance Bill
On Friday, March 23, the Senate passed the Transportation Finance Bill (SF 1986), including base appropriations and several tax increases. The bill consists of fund transfers and tax increases for highway and transit spending. It includes a ten-cent per-gallon gas tax increase (collecting $330 million/yr) and indexes the gas tax to increase the rate annually with inflation (adding another $21million/yr). It eliminates current license tab fee caps and creates a new depreciation schedule, generating an additional $137 million annually.

In accordance with the motor vehicle sales tax (MVST) constitutional amendment question approved last November, this bill allocates 60 percent of the motor vehicle sales tax to highways, four percent to rural transit, and 36 percent to metropolitan transit. This proposal transfers $56 million annually from the general fund to transportation accounts. These accounts will receive an additional $260 million from MVST annually once the transfer is completed. Additionally, the bill appropriates 50 percent of the motor vehicle lease tax to highways, 12.5 percent to rural transit, and 37.5 percent to metro transit. This would transfer $49 million annually from the general fund to transportation accounts.

The transportation finance bill also authorizes every MN county to impose a $20 wheelage surcharge on vehicles registered in the county, generating as much as $90 million per year. The bill requires a half-cent metro-area sales tax increase in the seven-county metropolitan area and authorizes these counties to collect $20 on every new car purchase in lieu of the half cent sales tax being imposed on vehicles. The sales tax increase would collect an additional $220 million dollars from metropolitan taxpayers annually. Under this proposal, a full 75 percent of this sales tax (about $170 million) would be used for buses and trains, ten percent would be allocated to metropolitan roads, and five percent is dedicated to bicycle and pedestrian trails.

The transportation finance bill also includes $2.2 billion in trunk highway bonds to improve state highways and complete various capital projects like a new regional headquarters in Mankato. Under the bill, consumers would pay an additional gas tax increase through a fuel “surcharge” to finance debt service on the $2.2 billion in trunk highway bonds. The surcharge is expected to cost as much as 8.7 cents per gallon, providing as much as an 18.7-cent gas tax increase. Including the surcharge and inflationary increases, the gas tax rate is projected to be 43.7 cent in FY 2017. In total, this bill spends about $4.5 billion in state funds on transportation over the FY 08-09 biennium and increases transportation-related revenues by $1.35 billion over the same period.

State Government Budget Bill
The State Government Finance Bill passed by the Senate on Saturday, March 24, provides money for additional spending on various initiatives related to the legislature, constitutional officers, and administrative agencies. By eliminating several deputy and assistant commissioners of state agencies, the bill saves $7.3 million over the FY 08-09 biennium. The Department of Revenue is appropriated $15.2 million for additional tax compliance personnel, which are expected to capture $71.2 million in tax revenues currently uncollected. This tax compliance money is then used to finance a 3.25 percent compensation increase for state agency employees, increase the Senate’s budget by $2 million annually, and provide an additional $3.9 million annually for information technology through the Office of Enterprise Technology. In total, the bill spends $593.8 million on state government functions; this is $44.6 million over the FY 08-09 base, but $63.2 million below the Governor’s recommendations, which included a one-time investment in technology for a variety of state agencies.

This bill also included numerous controversial policy proposals, such as authorizing same-sex domestic partner benefits for state and local government employees, requiring automatic voter registration when applying for a driver’s license, and creating a Commission on New Americans to study the impact of immigrants on Minnesota’s workforce.

Public Safety Budget Bill
The Public Safety Budget bill (Senate File 1992) passed the Senate on Saturday, March 24. The total budget approved by the Senate with a 64-0 vote is $1.1 billion over the current biennium. This amount is $75 million over the forecast base and $25.4 million less than the governor proposed. The departments covered in this budget are Public Safety, Corrections, Human Rights, the Private Detective Board, the Sentencing Guidelines Commission, the Fire Marshal and the Peace Officers Standards and Training Board (POST Board).

The bill funds many of the governor’s initiatives, as well as several other Senate proposals brought forward in the Public Safety Budget and Judiciary Committees. Some of the measures will increase funding for items important to our communities, such as law enforcement, investigative resources, probation officers and community public safety.

For example, the bill includes law enforcement overtime grants ($2.5 million), 20 new forensic scientists for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, squad car camera acquisition and upgrades ($1 million), Youth Intervention Programs ($1 million), and Crime Victims Grants for Sexual Assault ($387,000) and Domestic Violence ($388,000). The proposals for Office of Justice Programs that were included in the budget are more funds for the Gang and Drug Task Force ($2.5 million), and the Victim Notification System ($450,000). The Department of Corrections section of the bill funds many new intensive supervised release agents ($2.2 million total), probation officers ($2.4 million total, with a 20% increase in funding for county probation officers) and offender reentry grants ($1.5 million).

A key project that will receive funds is the final phase of the state-wide completion of the 911 Emergency Services system known as the ARMER system. There will be a small increase in the fees on all phone bills to help pay for this project completion (beginning with $.10 per month in July, 2008, $.20 per month in July, 2009, and finally $.30 per month in July, 2010). Under this provision, the 55 counties not accounted for in current budgets would then be completed and included in the statewide system by 2012.

Senate File 1992 will be taken up in conjunction with Senate File 1972 (the Judiciary Budget) by a Senate and House conference committee sometime after the Passover/Easter break.

E-12 Budget Bill
Following the previous week's passage of an omnibus higher education bill, the Senate turned its attention on Monday, March 26, to early childhood through grade 12 education (E-12). The E-12 bill (S.F. 2095) is a $13.5 billion proposal that represents an approximate one-half billion dollar increase over the baseline with spending in both the current and upcoming biennium. Yet it is less than the Governor's $13.8 billion proposal (an increase of $760 million, which again includes some one-time surplus money).

There is no change in basic classroom revenue (the "formula allowance"), which will remain at the current level of $4,974 per pupil unit. This is very different than the Governor's proposal (two percent basic revenue increase each year, plus additional money for meeting certain goals) or the House plan (three percent increase each year).

Nearly all of the new funding is being put into special education, which is not distributed equally to each school district but depends on what a district claims for caseload. Proponents argue this action will have the effect of freeing-up regular education dollars that schools are now using to subsidize special education. The school districts in my Senate district all fare well under this plan. However, this action will also cause a loss of flexibility because under federal "maintenance of effort" requirements special education funding cannot be reallocated.

The bill also completely restores the Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) allowance to its pre-2003 level of $120 per resident pre-schooler, and it makes $10 increases in the aid for school screening of pre-schoolers.

The Governor's proposals to reward "Successful Schools" for academic accomplishments, to increase high school graduation requirements including foreign languages and college-level courses, and to expand the Q-Comp program are completely left out. In fact, Q-Comp ("quality compensation," which promotes reform of teacher compensation in order to move away from complete reliance on "steps and lanes") is ended although the current participating school districts are allowed to continue and to qualify for additional funds.

Charter schools are also negatively targeted by the Senate bill through a newly-imposed cap of 150 (this allows the current 131 to continue as well as some that are about to open, but state start-up funds for the newest schools would be cut-off). These public schools operate independently of school districts but are considered public schools.

Economic Development Budget Bill
On Tuesday, March 27, the bill containing funding allocations for FY 2008-09 for the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development (DEED), Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA), the Department of Commerce, the Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI), the Historical Society, the Arts Board, and various smaller boards passed the Senate.

The net General Fund appropriation for FY 08 – 09 in this bill is $318.1 million. The FY 08 – 09 February forecast base is $284.1 million. This represents an unofficial Senate target that is $34.0 million over the base. The Governor’s proposed FY 08 – 09 budget for these areas is $383.5 million, reflecting an increase of $99.4 million over the base (again, using some one-time money without “tails”). Note, however the Governor’s budget includes items that are considered in other Senate budget divisions or separate one-time funding recommendations, notably funding for Commerce energy and telecommunications activities, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), and funding for the UM-Mayo partnership.

While appropriations were generally in line compared to the Governor’s recommendations, a number of policy provisions remained somewhat controversial, and will surely prompt further negotiations with the Governor and the House. Notably, the bill repeals the decrease in the assessment for the Workforce Development Fund from .01 to .085 percent scheduled for January, 2008. The repeal of the decrease would cost employers an estimated $10 million in FY 08 – 09. The bill also creates a private right for enforcement for prevailing wage violations. While expanding DOLI enforcement powers, this provision would also provide for private remedies for a violation of prevailing wage laws including collective action. The bill also eliminates three citizen members from the IRRR board leaving only the 10 legislative members. The legislation also proposes to create a new Plumbing Board, and a new High Pressure Piping board. The Department of Labor and Industry is opposed to this approach, and in part argue these new boards would allow the industry to regulate itself. Those opposed to the boards, myself included, are concerned they are empowered to set rules and fees without the balance of participation from other stakeholders.

Environment and Energy Budget Bill
The Environment and Energy Budget bill (Senate File 2096) passed by the Senate on Tuesday, March 27, funded allocations for FY 2008-09 for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Minnesota Conservation Corps (MCC), Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), Zoological Board, Science Museum and Metropolitan Council, the Department of Commerce and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Highlights of the proposal include the following:

SCORE Grants to Counties. An additional $3 million is available to counties for SCORE grants. The additional funding will be used to support Minnesota’s recycling system.
Ethanol, Mining, and Other Developing Economic Sectors. The Senate appropriates $6 million to support increased demands on PCA’s regulatory programs from economic growth experienced in the ethanol, mining, power, and other industries.
Environmental Health Tracking and Biomonitoring. $1 million is appropriated from the Environmental Fund for environmental health tracking and biomonitoring.
Portable dark and fish houses. Non-resident fishing licenses are raised by $2 so that dark houses or fish houses that are not left on the ice overnight do not need to obtain a license for the houses. This legislation is cost neutral, estimated at $173,000 annually (new estimates show that $3 is actually needed). A three-year fish house or dark house license is available at three times the annual cost.
Fishing Tourney License Fee. The DNR will establish a fee schedule for fishing contest permits that would recoup current and future costs associated with administering the permits: collecting applications, determining that contest limits are met, conducting a drawing, and reporting. Currently, no fee is required. This would raise an additional $108,000 annually.
Deer Hunter Voluntary Donation. This provision would bring in an estimated $485,000 donated annually to process deer at food shelves. The $1 surcharge was dropped due to opposition.
Metropolitan Council. An additional $1,250,000 for the Metropolitan Council parks.
Minnesota Conservation Corps. An additional $500,000 for the Conservation Corps.
Methane Digesters Grants for five additional on-farm digesters in the next two years at a cost of $1 million
Solar Rebate program This program provides a rebate of up to $2 per watt for solar power systems up to ten kilowatts (up to $20,000) which won a US DOE design award in 2005. This program is appropriated $1 million.
Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTS) This program provides technical assistance directly to communities for the implementation of cost-effective renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
Renewable Hydrogen Initiative. The Commissioner of Commerce shall operate a competitive grant program for projects to assist the state in attaining its hydrogen energy goals with an appropriation of $1 million.
Rural Wind Energy Revolving Loans. $1 million is appropriated for this purpose.
University of Minnesota Renewable Energy and the Environment Grants. An appropriation of $8 million shall be disbursed as grants to the initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment at the University of Minnesota to fund renewable energy research in Minnesota.
Carbon Sequestration Study. The Board of Regents of the University if Minnesota is requested to conduct a study assessing the potential capacity for carbon sequestration in Minnesota’s terrestrial systems with an appropriation of $475,000.

Judiciary Budget Bill
The Judiciary Budget approved by the Senate on Wednesday, March 28, in a 63-0 vote is $762 million. This amount for FY 08-09 is $73.5 million over the February forecast and $19.2 million more than the governor proposed. This includes money to cover the base of operations for the courts, Uniform Laws Commission, Board of Judicial Standards and Public Defense Board, and includes pay increases for judges and employees in these different departments.

An important initiative that made it into this Omnibus bill, Senate File 1972, is to increase the number of judges in Minnesota. To increase capacity and alleviate caseloads across the state, the Senate approved both a new three-judge panel in the Court of Appeals and seven new Trial Court judges. The cost for these judges and their support staff will be $3.2 million and $5 million, respectively.

Other funding measures approved by the Senate are increases for Civil Legal Services for low income persons ($2.5 million), maintaining the current drug and problem solving courts throughout the state ($3.9 million) while adding to them ($1.3 million), and keeping the Public Defender Board operational at its current levels ($6.9 million).
The Senate Judiciary Budget bill will most likely be combined with the Public Safety Budget bill, and then taken up in a conference committee with the House to iron out differences between the two bodies.

Capital Investment Bill
The bonding bill (Senate File 2157) passed by the Senate on Wednesday, March 28 totaled $306,605,000. The breakdown includes a General Fund appropriation of $136,932,000; Trunk Highway Bond funding totaling $33,420,000; Bond proceeds of $134,986,000 and General Obligation User Financed of $1,267,000. By comparison, the Governor proposed a total of $79.8 million. Highlights of the Senate’s bonding proposal includes the following:

Scott County Regional Training Center. Provides a $2.5 million cash grant to the public safety training center being built in rural Jordan at the site of the former Scott County Jail Annex. Last year’s bonding bill provided a $1 million grant. The joint effort between several counties and numerous cities will include a shooting range and safety training facilities for firemen, police and public utilities workers. I put in the bill to request $4 million for the facility in next year’s bonding bill and was somewhat surprised to see it appear in this year’s bill. Although a very worthy project, neither the House nor the Governor have the proposal in this year’s bill so it’s difficult to predict if we’ll see it in the final bill.
Biomedical Sciences Research Authority. Creates the Minnesota Biomedical Sciences Research Facilities Authority and authorizes $292 million in $233.6 obligation debt and $58.4 million by the University to support the program.
Central Corridor Transit Way. A General Fund appropriation of $40 million is to the Metropolitan Council for final design and construction of the central corridor transit way between the city of St. Paul and the city of Minneapolis.
St. Paul and Chicago. There is a $2 million appropriation from the General Fund for the state’s share of a high-speed rail line between St. Paul and Chicago.
St. Paul Union Depot. A grant of $4 million to the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority to acquire land and structures, to renovate structures, and for design, engineering, and environmental work to revitalize Union Depot for use as a multimodal transit center in St. Paul. The General Fund portion is $2.8 and remainder is from the Bond Proceeds Fund.
Transit Way Study. A General Fund appropriation to the Metropolitan Council of $250,000 is for a comprehensive feasibility study of a number of transit way corridors.
HEAPR. A Bonding appropriation of $22 million to the University of Minnesota and $30 million to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MNSCU) is for Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement.
Local Bridge Funding. A Bond appropriation of $30 million is for local bridges. There were requests for over $100 million.
Mankato District Transportation Headquarters. An appropriation of $20,673,000 is from the Bond Proceeds Account in the Trunk Highway Fund is to design, construct, furnish, and equip a new Department of Transportation district headquarters facility in Mankato.
Minnesota Department of Transportation Building Repairs. A $12,715,000 bonding appropriation is to repair the transportation building next to the State Office Building.
Oak Park Heights Correctional Facility. A total of $6,117,000 from the General Fund is for perimeter system renovation and ventilation system renovation.
Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM). A total of $10 million is appropriated from the General Fund is for RIM reserve conservation. This action captures $13 to $15 million in federal dollars.
Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. A General Fund appropriation of $37 million is a grant to the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center Authority to design, construct, furnish and equip renovations at this Center.
Itasca County Steel Plant Infrastructure. A General Fund appropriation of $30 million is a grant to Itasca County for public infrastructure needed to support a steel plant in Itasca County.
Mayo Civic Center Complex in Rochester. A $2.5 million General Fund appropriation is for a grant to the city of Rochester to design the renovation and expansion of the Mayo Civic Center complex.
St. Cloud State University National Hockey Center. A $11 million appropriation from the General Fund is to pre-design, design, const, furnish and equip the renovation of the National Hockey Center.
Browns Valley Flood Mitigation. $2 million form the Disaster Relief Contingency Fund to assist with the rehabilitation or replacement of housing damaged as a result of the Browns Valley flooding of March 2007.

Health and Human Services Budget Bill
On Thursday, March 29, the Senate passed the Health and Human Services (HHS) Budget. Senate File 2171 spends $271 million more than the forecasted growth and $239 million more than the governor proposed in his budget. The total net HHS General Fund budget over the biennium is $9.7 billion, an increase of $1.5 billion from the 2006 – 2007 spending.

This budget makes many investments to help uninsured children receive healthcare coverage. The bill provides children with greater access to MinnesotaCare by eliminating barriers due to employer sponsored insurance and a requirement that the child be without insurance for four months. The bill also fully funds the governor’s mental health initiative that will provide targeted increases in the mental health infrastructure, school based mental health services for uninsured children, and an expansion of the mental health crisis intervention and stabilization infrastructure for children and adults.

Long term care facilities receive the majority of the Senate DFL target in this bill. SF 2171 contains a 3.25 percent Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) each year of the biennium for all direct care employees at nursing homes and other facilities that receive Medical Assistance reimbursements. In addition to the COLA, the bill phases in over five years a system to rebase payment rates for nursing homes so their payments are more in line with their costs. This rebasing phase-in begins in 2009.

There is concern that this bill continues to provide increased funding for state subsidized healthcare programs that will eventually surpass education in funding needs. Many changes made in 2003 to control the growth in spending have been reversed in this bill. Some of these MinnesotaCare changes include eliminating the limited benefit set, increasing the hospital inpatient cap from $10,000 to $20,000, increases eligibility for adults without children to 215 percent over the biennium, and permits eligibility for undocumented children. Due mostly to MinnesotaCare expansions, this budget spends all but $20 million of the $531 million surplus in the Health Care Access Fund by FY11.

Omnibus Tax Bill
On Friday, March 30, the Senate Democrats passed the Omnibus Tax Bill. (No Republicans supported the bill.) The DFL proposal would increase corporate income taxes, and the C/I statewide property tax by a total of $465.9 million in FY 08 - 09, and by $660.7 million in FY 10 – 11. Revenue generated by these provisions is primarily used to fund the DFL’s property tax relief plan which includes additional LGA funding, additional county aid, reestablishing township aid, an increase in the market value credit and property tax refund programs, and additional education aid to buy down property taxes. The bill passed the Senate out of balance. An additional $88.1 million in new revenue would be required in FY 08 – 09, with tails of $184.3 million in FY 10 – 11. It was expected at the time this revenue would be identified in a follow-up tax bill. Controversial provisions in this bill include the following:
· Increases corporate income taxes by $244.0 million in FY 08 - 09 and $194.0 million in FY 10 – 11 by restricting Foreign Operating Corporation (FOC) activity.
· Increases the Statewide Property Tax by $221.9 million in FY 08 – 09 by freezing the tax rate for C/I property at the rate imposed for taxes payable in 2004. Seasonal recreational property is removed from the levy, and utility personal property is added.
· Provides $150 million in additional LGA annually beginning in FY 09 from current law funding of $485 million. Also adopts a number of formula changes, including the elimination of the taconite aid offset.
· Creates a new Education Improvement Account used to buy down property taxes. $78 million is dedicated in FY 09, and $83.3 million annually beginning in FY 10.
· Increases the maximum property tax refund by reducing the percentage paid by homeowners across all existing income brackets.
· Increases the residential and agricultural homestead market value credit by increasing the maximum allowable credit. Residential credit also adopts a slower phase-out schedule.
· Halts the JOBZ program by providing that no qualified businesses will be eligible for JOBZ benefits unless the business subsidy agreement was entered into before May 1, 2007.
· Increases the utility property class rate over a three year period from current law 2.0 percent to 3.0 percent by taxes payable 2010.

Tax Bill 2 with Supplemental Education Funding
Following Senate passage of the Omnibus Tax Bill (SF 1024) that increased corporate income taxes, and the C/I statewide property tax by a total of $465.9 million in FY 08 - 09, this DFL proposal that passed the Senate (again, without any Republican votes) on Saturday, March 31, increased individual income taxes by $993.1 million over FY 08 – 09. Specifically, the proposal adds a new top fourth income tax bracket of 9.7 percent beginning in tax year 2007, and increases the alternative minimum tax rate from 6.4 percent to 7.75 percent and adjusts the AMT exemption phase-out threshold for inflation starting in tax year 2007.

Slightly over half of the revenue generated by these provisions is used to fund $443.7 million in supplemental education funding, and pay for the $88.1 million that was left out of balance in FY 08 – 09 in the Omnibus Tax Bill. The remainder is left as a carry forward to pay for tails in the Senate-DFL budget for FY 10 – 11, and to buy back an additional portion of the current law June accelerated sales tax payment shift.

The education related articles in this bill come on the heels of two other recently-passed Senate DFL omnibus bills - S.F. 1989, which appropriated funds and established policies for higher education; and S.F. 2095, which appropriated funds and established policies for K-12 education.

Both of the earlier bills were below the Governor's spending proposals, and, in the case of the K-12 bill, no basic classroom funding was provided with nearly all the money being spent on special education. Additionally, both bills contained "poison pills" for the Governor (in K-12, it was an end to the Governor's Q-Comp program and a cap on charter schools, and in higher education it was inclusion of the "Dream Act").

Article one of S.F. 1611 follows-up the previous action with an increase of two percent each year of the next biennium in basic education revenue (the formula allowance) per pupil unit. This amounts to $100 in FY2008 and another $102 in FY2009. Linked to this increase are other smaller programs (for example, nonpublic school transportation), which also receive a boost. Altogether, this accounts for $294.3 million of the bill's total $443.7 million spending over the upcoming biennium.

Article one also establishes a major new "pre-kindergarten education allowance" program, which isn't fully implemented until the second year of the FY2008-09 biennium. This is in essence a "scholarship" provided to any family living in Minnesota (whether illegal or legal residents) with children who are three or four years old. The biennial funding for this measure amounts to $56.4 million.

Lastly, a $100,000 "all-day kindergarten facilities assessment" is ordered by the legislation to study the state's readiness and capacity to implement all-day kindergarten.

Article two of S.F. 1611 adds to the previous higher education appropriations by providing another $51.4 million to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, $27 million to the University of Minnesota, and $14.6 million to the Office of Higher Education for more generous State Grant financial aid awards. This amounts to a total of $93 million. The legislation states that the extra aid to MNSCU and UMN is intended to keep annual tuition increases at 3 percent and 5 percent respectively.

Legislative Update from Mike Beard

2007-03-21T17:55:00.000-04:00

http://www.plamerican.com/node/1479

As the 2007 legislative session hums along, I'd like to update readers on some local initiatives and talk about a new energy plan that I think leaves a lot to be desired.

There are three bills important to Scott County that I am carrying in the House. First, we are back again asking for some state bonding for the Scott County public safety training center. Last year we succeeded in getting $1 million of the $4.2 million needed and, hopefully as bonding bills unfold over this year and next, we will get the funding necessary for completion.

The second bill I am carrying will allow Scott County to streamline and energize its personnel administration system. The third bill will transfer direct budgetary control of the Scott County library system to the elected county commissioners, while retaining the appointed citizen board for operations and policy.

The "25/25" renewable energy bill has become law. It's not a perfect plan, but it earned my support because its sponsors effectively reached out to all the affected groups and developed something they could all accept. Now that energy has become a major topic in the Legislature, the 25/25 model is a good standard for how other energy bills should be developed.

But the second bill in this year's energy wave does just the opposite. The authors behind the "Global Warming Mitigation Act" have made barely any attempt to bring people together. The result is a poorly written bill that stands to do more harm than good. Instead of working with energy companies and expert professionals to set reasonable targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the bill arbitrarily imposes draconian targets and then allows the government to impose heavy fines and taxes on utilities that don't meet them. That means higher rates for us, because we all know taxes and fees are added to the prices we all must pay.

If our demand for electricity goes up (which it will no matter what, simply because we are a growing area) we will be in for a nightmare.

The bill stops electric companies from building new generators or getting power from another facility until the state has its bureaucratic regulations in place. If demand outruns supply, we're just out of luck. When that happens, get ready for California-style rolling brown-outs.

But who will lose their electricity first? A rural customer who keeps the barn light on all night or folks like us in the metro area, where most of the state's electricity is used? This poorly conceived bill fails to even consider that simple question.

I get the feeling that my legislative colleagues are rushing way too fast with this bill. Only 30 years ago, scientists warned that we were in for disastrous global cooling. Imagine if we had pushed through hastily crafted legislation in reaction. We would be stuck here today trying to undo a mess that we thought was going to be a real solution.

I think a more reasonable approach is to slow down, bring all the relevant parties together and develop a reasonable and workable plan that controls pollution without turning off the lights, destroying our economic and cultural security or draining our checkbooks.

Beard is state representative in District 35A.

Legislative Update from Mark Buesgens

2007-03-16T17:32:00.000-04:00

http://www.shakopeenews.com/node/1719

Friends,

Earlier this year I told you of my belief that the budget surplus should be returned to taxpayers. Very simply, the government overcharged its citizens over the last two years and the people deserve their money back. I've also been strong in my belief that we can run our government without further tax increases.

If we apply the same common-sense budgeting to our government that families follow on a daily basis, our state can afford to spend roughly $32.7 billion without increasing taxes. That includes returning the one-time portion of the budget surplus to taxpayers via property tax relief. The rest of the budget surplus, roughly $1.1 billion, is on-going money and demonstrates that not only are tax increases unwarranted, but an income tax cut is surely justified.
This philosophy is core to Republican principles. It is based on our governing principles of common sense, fiscal responsibility and lower taxes. It is based on the fundamental belief that you can better spend your money than can government. While there are a few activities government can and should do, (public safety, infrastructure development, etc.), the simple fact is that our government has become fundamentally intrusive and incredibly expense. All of this is to the detriment of the decent people who've worked to make this state great. If this trend isn't reversed, we will soon lose our greatness.

In this last few updates I've shared some of the "silly bills" that have been introduced so far in 2007. Today I'll share the laundry list of proposed tax increase that have been introduced by our tax-and-spend legislators. Hold on to your hats! (or should I say "wallets"?):

INCOME TAXES ON WORKING MINNESOTANS

Rep. Mindy Greiling (D-Roseville) wants to raise income taxes by $252 million. (House File 1738)

Rep. Ann Lenczewski (D-Bloomington) wants to raise income taxes on 170,000 taxpayers. She added this tax increase with an amendment to House File 1258. It would collect millions more in income taxes.

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SALES TAXES ON CONSUMERS

Rep. Melissa Hortman (D-Brooklyn Park) wants to impose an extra sales tax to pay for transit and other purposes. In the Metro area, there would be one tax increase. In the rest of the state, the new tax could be proposed by any two or more county boards. (House File 1463)

Rep. Rick Hansen (D-South St. Paul) would impose an extra sales tax to raise at least $500 million a year pay for new parks, trails, and habitat projects. (House File 1449)

Rep. Shelley Madore (D-Apple Valley) wants to impose an extra sales tax on the three million people in the metro area to pay for more buses and trolleys. (House File 1112).

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TAX THE DEAD, THE DRIVERS, THE HOMEOWNERS, AND THE PAINT ON THEIR HOMES

Rep. Tom Anzelc (D-International Falls) wants to authorize a new tax on dead people in his area to pay for the Lakeview Cemetery Association. (House File 213).

Rep. Bernie Lieder (D-Crookston) wants to triple a tax on hearses. (House File 946)

Rep. Ken Tschumper (D-La Crescent) wants to raise fuel taxes by 50 percent on gasoline, E85, M85, liquefied petroleum gas, propane, liquefied natural gas, and compressed natural gas. (House File 1469).

Rep. Bernie Lieder (D-Crookston) wants to raise your gas taxes by 50 percent, and allow counties to charge you a wheelage tax, and triple the tax on cars and hearses, and allow counties to raise the sales tax, and put a transportation-impact tax on every building permit, and raise the cost to register vehicles. (House File 946)

Homeowners would face a 50 percent increase when filing any papers related to the purchase, transfer, mortgaging, sale, or other transfer of property. Money from those taxes on homeowners would be given to non-homeowners seeking to rent property or buy their own homes. Rep. Scott Kranz (D-Blaine) wrote House File 939.

Rep. Melissa Hortman (D-Brooklyn Park) wants to collect more taxes on local deeds and mortgage documents in Anoka County. (House File 362)

Rep. Erin Murphy (D-St. Paul) wants to collect more taxes on local deeds and mortgage documents in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. (House File 1042)

Rep. Joe Atkins (D-Inver Grove Heights) wants to collect more taxes on local deeds and mortgage documents in Dakota County. (House File 1466)

*-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAXING ALCOHOL AND COSMETIC SURGERY

The Democrats are trying to raise taxes on alcohol and cosmetic surgery.

Rep. Phyllis Kahn (D-Minneapolis) wants to tax cosmetic surgery. This would be a bad precedent the sales tax, which generally has applied only to goods (except for food, clothing, and a few other exceptions). (House File 1027)

Rep. Michael Paymar (D-St. Paul) wants to pile enormous tax increases on beverages containing alcohol. He would raise taxes on metric sales beverages by the following percentages: distilled spirits (up 228%); wine (up 450%); hard cider (up 800%); regular beer (up 790%); and 3.2% beer (up 457%). (House File 1050) It would collect over $110 million in new taxes.

Rep. Karen Clark (D-Minneapolis) is seeking similar increases in taxes on alcohol, but for other purposes. (House File 1446)

*-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAXES ON DOTING FRIENDS AND RELATIVES

Rep. Joe Mullery (D-Minneapolis) wants to put a 10% tax on people who give gifts. If the donor does not pay the tax, then the tax liability shifts to the person who received the gift. In such cases, the donor would still be liable for a $100 penalty for not paying the gift tax. Under the bill, you could be required to show the gift to the Commissioner of Revenue to determine its true worth. (House File 1212)

*--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAXES THAT WILL DESTROY JOBS AND CHASE AWAY EMPLOYERS

You have seen the television ads for Pacific Mutual Insurance, with whales swimming through the air, and splashing their tails in the rolling waves.

California decided to cut back on deductions that local companies took for business expenses they incurred in other states. So the whales moved to the cornfields when Pacific Mutual decided to move its headquarters to Nebraska.

A similar fate could await major Minnesota employers if the same types of tax burdens are piled on them by Rep. Joe Mullery (D-Minneapolis). He wants to punish "foreign operating corporations," which are major local employers whose success has allowed them to do business in other states and countries. (House File 943)

*----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"REACH OUT AND TOUCH SOMEONE," WITH TAXES

Rep. Debra Hilstrom (D-Brooklyn Center) wants to raise a tax on cell phones, land-line phones, and other telecommunications devices by 46%. (House File 1464)

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"GIVING" BEGINS AT HOME

Rep. Frank Moe (D-Bemidji) wants to raise local sales and use taxes in Bemidji. (House File 1103)

Rep. Bernie Lieder (D-Crookston) wants to raise local sales and use taxes in Crookston. (House File 1820)

Rep. Will Morgan (D-Burnsville) wants to create special tax increment financing districts in Burnsville. These districts often shift property tax burdens onto current landowners for years. (House File 1054)

Rep. Carolyn Laine (D-Columbia Heights) wants to create a special tax increment financing district in Columbia Heights. (House File 1879)

Rep. Terry Morrow (D-St. Peter) wants a new local sales tax authorized for North Mankato. (House File 108)

Rep. Bill Hilty (D-Finlayson) wants a new local sales tax authorized for Cloquet. (House File 885)

Rep. Mike Jaros (D-Duluth) to raise taxes on food and beverages in Duluth to help to pay for a new hockey arena in that city. (House File 134)

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FEE INCREASES AHEAD

Democrats campaigned against fee increases last fall. But now, they are introducing bills with lots of fees. Some of the tax increases described above are called "fee increases" in part or in whole (phone fees, alcohol fees, health impact fees). Then there are these bills:

Rep. Larry Haws (D-St. Cloud) wants to raise fees for county and regional jails. (House File 161)

Rep. Brita Sailer (D-Park Rapids) wants to raise fees on video and electronic equipment sales. (House File 854)

Rep. Joe Atkins (D-Inver Grove Heights) wants to impose an extra $250 fee on cigarette manufacturers. (House File 1737)

Rep. Erin Murphy (D-St. Paul) wants to raise pharmacy fees automatically on an annual basis. (House File 1722)

Whew! Hope I didn't just ruin your week! Until later,

Mark BuesgensState Representative,
35BOffice (651) 296-5185
Home (952) 492-2992
Sign up for my legislative email update!
Visit my official website, www.house.mn/35b and click "Subscribe to E-Mail Updates"

Legislative Update from Mike Beard

2007-03-16T17:20:00.000-04:00

http://www.shakopeenews.com/node/1645

Friends and Neighbors,

The biggest news item from the State Capitol this week was that the projected budget surplus remained well above the $2 billion mark, even though it dropped a fraction of a percent from earlier forecasts. Earlier this session I explained how "a fraction" in state budget terms can actually be a huge amount of money, and that is true in this case. State economists lowered their surplus projection by $7 million,which to any of us is a fortune. But in terms of a $31.5 billion state budget, it's relative pocket change.

How will this affect the rest of the session? Probably not a whole lot. The forecast is that we will have just shy of $34 billion to spend, and that is the number we will use to set the state budget. The economists warned that there is still an amount of uncertainty in the economy (witness this week's unexpected fall in the stock market) and we need to be prudent with spending and not leave ourselves in a tough situation if the economy takes a sudden downturn.

Of course, the good news is that half the surplus is already in the bank - it won't change. I'm of the opinion that we should use that money to fund things that result in real and immediate economic growth. Boosting our state's economy will help prevent a sudden downturn. We need to even out our economic roller coaster so future generations do not have to deal with the volatile surplus-deficit-surplus cycle we have dealt with for the last 30 years.

Thank you again for taking the time to read my update and stayinformed!
Sincerely,
Rep. Mike BeardDistrict 35A
Mike BeardState Representative, 35AOffice (651) 296-8872Home
(952) 445-9374
Sign up for session email updates: www.house.mn/35A

John Kline Town Hall Meeting

2007-03-15T17:59:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday April 3, at 7pm Congressman John Kline will be hosting a town hall meeting at the Lakeville South High School. The subject of the town hall meeting will be the Iraq War. Congressman Kline has called this town hall meeting in answer to the demands of several anti-war groups including Code Pink. If you are interested in hearing more about the issue, please be sure to attend the meeting.

UPDATE AND BUMP!!! I just heard from Chaz Johnson, 2nd CD chair, and he is asking that we try to arrive at 6:30 if possible. I suppose for traffic control reasons.

In the news.

2007-03-15T17:44:00.000-04:00

http://www.jordannews.com/node/2156

Buesgens, Beard prepare to propose local government bills
Submitted by Mathias Baden on March 11, 2007 - 12:45pm. Filed under: County Politics Next Door Sand Creek Township Spring Lake Township State Politics
Bills authored by two state representatives from Scott County are scheduled to receive a hearing in the Minnesota House of Representatives Local Government and Metropolitan Affairs Committee on Monday.
State Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan, is proposing House File 868 in regard to trust funds for postemployment benefits to be authorized for political subdivisions. To read the full text of the bill as it was introduced, go to http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=H0868.0.html&session=ls85.
State Rep. Michael Beard, R-Shakopee, is proposing House File 531 in regard to the Scott County Library Board becoming an advisory to the county board. To read the full text of the bill as it was introduced, go to http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=H0531.0.html&session=ls85.
The hearing is set for 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. March 12 in the basement of the State Office Building in St. Paul.

Feeling power shift

2007-03-10T18:40:00.000-05:00

Mike Beard (HD35A) did an interview with the Minnesota Christian Chronicle regarding the start of the 2007 Legislative session.

"MCC: How has the political landscape changed in Minnesota since the elections last November?Beard: We’re not in charge and you can sure tell when you look at the bill roster. Conservatives don’t set the agenda here anymore; we have to react to what the liberals are doing. My job now is to clearly and cogently state a conservative position, and I try to do that as clearly as I can in the committees I serve on.MCC: Who is “in charge” now that the political majorities in the House and Senate have shifted?Beard: Committee chairs with agendas that are different than someone with a conservative worldview. For instance, we’ve got several people now that think government education is the “be-all-end-all solution” to education.
The environmentalists pretty much own the place and they’ve got an agenda that is an anti-traditional prosperity kind of thing. Some of the bills that are getting heard never would have been in the past.
We just try to let God’s light shine through our lives and keep a godly attitude. My job is to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly."

Rep. Beard talked about two issues that specifically concern the evangelical wing of the base.

"MCC: Local media outlets have made much of Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s public comments on government funding for stem cell research. What’s the status of that issue currently?Beard: One of the things that hasn’t been very partisan has been the bio-tech area. Into this mix, however, Rep. Phyllis Kahn (D-59B) was all too happy to throw in her embryonic stem cell research funding bill.
(Her bill would allow state funding for research on human embryonic stem cells and stem cells created by a cloning method. The legislation would create an oversight board to review the work and ban the sale of embryos or fetal tissue.)
This is not a discussion about whether we are for or against stem cell research; it’s about embryonic stem cell research.
When we are talking about the foundations of human life, let’s have some respect and not throw the taxpayer money at it. It’s interesting that the private money is going into adult stem cell research where there has been some success. Private money has been staying away in droves from embryonic stem cell research....MCC: Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life has introduced legislation attempting to end taxpayer funding of abortion. Any predictions for that bill?Beard: We no longer have pro-life majorities in the House or Senate, and that is a first.
I sign on to these bills because I believe in them, but I don’t think the bill will pass or even get to the floor. If it gets to the floor, I will vote for it.
It’s now very difficult to get pro-life legislation to the floor—unless you describe early childhood education or more money for the homeless as pro-life."

He also addressed education, taxes and the Governor's budget.

"MCC: Early childhood education is another topic often discussed. No legislative action has been taken yet, but what is the motivation behind these initiatives?Beard: There is a real push to get kids from homes without biological parents into early childhood education by the age of 3 to get ready for schooling.
Some of us are old enough to remember that that was what kindergarten used to be for. Now they are saying we need a full day of kindergarten. The success of those programs is very unproven.
I’m afraid we are going to throw a lot of money into creating more jobs and more members for Education Minnesota. That’s why some of us are very concerned about the state stamp of approval. If we have to hire only those with a curriculum approved by Education Minnesota, then we’ve just handed our kids over to the government.
To apply that to all children is the endgame, but they know they can’t go there yet....MCC: What can readers expect in the area of tax increases?Beard: There are several tax increases floating around in the Senate, but they’ve got to see if they can get them originated over here in the House.
When we were in charge, we already had targets set by now. In this brave new world, they are out there gathering up the “need.” Then they’ll tell the tax committee what they “need” and how they are going to get it.
It’s too soon to tell, but the governor has already said that when it comes to that stuff, he’s going to veto it.MCC: Any comments on Pawlenty’s proposed budget?Beard: I wish he would have started a little more lean. It’s a 9.3 percent increase, even though it doesn’t include many tax increases. That’s a pretty fast government growth for a conservative governor."

Hello everyone

2007-03-05T22:27:00.001-05:00

My name is Cindy and I am the new Chairperson of the SD35 Republican Party of Minnesota. This is the official blog of the SD35 Republican Party of Minnesota. This will be the place to go for news about what is going on with the Party, the candidates and the community. Check back later for links to a community calendar and much, much more. In addition, we will be linking liberally to information from our three sitting legislators.

Thanks to the Lady Logician for setting this up for us.

Cindy W
Chair SD35 Republican Party of Minnesota

New SD35 Executive Committee

2007-03-04T21:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, the SD35 Republican Party held it's annual convention at the Prior Lake VFW. The new Executive Committee was elected. The new Executive Committee Chair - Cindy W will start officially blogging here next week.

I will not be contributing to this blog as I have my own blogging home (link in the sidebar), but I hope you will check back here to find out all the goings on within the Senate District 35 Republican Party of Minnesota.

Welcome to SD35 Reppublicans

2006-12-31T22:04:00.000-05:00

Check back later for updates on the happenings for Minnesotas 35th Senate District.