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Minnesota House of Representatives

State Representative Sheldon Johnson

549 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4201

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Posted: 2012-04-26 00:00:00
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E-Update

2012 SESSION UPDATE

Dear Friends,

This is crunch time at the State Capitol. We lawmakers have either been locked in caucus debating the tough issues or on the floor of the House and Senate debating them. Depending on the bill, things are either moving at a snail’s pace or at the speed of light!

We still have yet to address as a body the most controversial issues of the session – bonding, taxes, and a new stadium for the Vikings. That will all happen soon.

In the meanwhile, we are making headway on some other issues. One thing we did this week was pass the Omnibus Health and Human Services Finance conference committee report. The best news out of this bill is that it reverses the 20 percent wage cut to Personal Care Attendants (PCA) providing care to a relative that was the result of last year’s budget stalemate. The cut would have forced nearly 7,000 Minnesotans into the choice of leaving their job or earning less than $10 an hour. At that wage, many PCAs would fall below the poverty line.

Reversal of this PCA cut is only for this fiscal year and will still go into effect in the next biennium. Additionally, the bill requires the Commissioner of Human Services to study and report on the feasibility of licensing Personal Care Attendant Services by Jan. 15, 2013.

These Minnesotans have some of the hardest, most emotionally taxing jobs a person can imagine. Restoring these ill-advised cuts is the least we can do to help them and their families.

Talking bonding

As I said, one of the issues yet to be dealt with is bonding. It’s my opinion that the Legislature must pass a robust, balanced and strategic bonding package that focuses on higher education, transportation, housing, public safety, water and wastewater systems, and regional economic development to give the private sector a shot in the arm.

The DFL’s balanced and strategic bonding package would take advantage of record low interest rates and create thousands of construction and long-term permanent jobs throughout the state. It also includes money for the badly needed renovation of the State Capitol – but as part of a strategic statewide effort, not a narrow stand-alone bill.

It also includes $31 million for a science education center for Metropolitan State University, $27 million for a new St. Paul Saints baseball park in downtown St. Paul and $12 million for the Children’s Museum in St. Paul.

We need these projects to put Minnesotans back to work. And the only way we can pass a bonding bill this session is if both Republicans and Democrats work together on it. Time is running short this session, but if we truly work together we can salvage this session and pass a bonding bill that maximizes the jobs we can create that benefits the entire state of Minnesota.

As session winds down, please feel free to contact me with your questions, suggestions and concerns. My office is room 217 in the State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-4201 and by email at rep.sheldon.johnson@house.mn. You can also monitor activities at the House, track bills, watch live video and sign up for my email update list by going to http://www.house.mn.


Sheldon Johnson

State Representative

District 67B

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