Accessibility menu
State Representative Michael Beard
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-8872
For more information contact: Jodi Boyne 651-296-0640
HOUSE BRIEFS
Mid-session news and notes
News and notes from State Representative Mike Beard, District 35B – Shakopee & Prior Lake
Friday, April 3, 2009
In this week’s edition: Mid-session update; Nuclear power is defeated in the House but passes the Senate; A partial fix for Green Acres; Addressing our energy needs and global warming
Mid-session update
Last week we hit the mid-point of the 2009 legislative session and we finally received our budget targets from the House Democrats. A “target” is the total amount of tax revenue that legislators will plan on spending in about 14 major budget areas: K-12 education, health and human services, public safety, etc. Adding up all the numbers from the different budget areas and including the federal stimulus dollars that are coming our way, and House Democrats plan on spending $36 billion; a number which represents a 5% increase over spending during 2008-2009. While I happen to think that Minnesota taxpayers can’t sustain that level of government spending – especially during difficult economic times – some of the Democrats’ traditional special interests groups aren’t happy with what they see as too small of an increase. Since the start of the session back in January, I’ve been predicting that the major funding struggle will be between K-12 education and health and human services spending. Based on the numbers we’ve seen so far that is still the case. There’s a lot of work to be done between now and May 18th, but even with that much time it’s still shaping up to be a nasty budget fight.
Nuclear power is defeated in the House but passes the Senate
For those of you that know me, you know that one of my primary legislative goals has been to make Minnesota a national leader in the production and use of one of the cleanest, safest, most reliable sources of energy we have: nuclear power. Since I entered the Legislature in 2003 I have worked every session to overturn the state’s ban on new nuclear plant construction. This year I thought we had a very good chance of passing legislation that would reverse 15 years of bad energy policy. Unfortunately, after more than seven hours of testimony in the House Energy Finance and Policy Division last week a proposal to reverse the ban was defeated on a nearly straight party line vote: 12-9. That might have been the end of the nuclear energy conversation this year except for a surprising vote in the Senate. On Thursday, an amendment to an energy policy bill that would reverse the 15 year old ban passed by the overwhelming majority of 42-24.
With approval by the Senate now behind us, all that’s left is to bring up an amendment on the House floor and get a bill to the Governor’s desk.
A partial fix for Green Acres
One of the most contentious issues of this legislative session has been addressing the changes that were made to the Green Acres program in 2008. For many farmers and landowners the changes made to Green Acres resulted in a lot of confusion and the potential for tax bills that they couldn’t afford. Despite the efforts of my colleagues and I to pass a full repeal (a repeal that would have returned the program to the way it functioned for nearly 40 years), we were forced to settle for a compromise that really only tinkered with fixing the program. The changes that are on the way to the Governor’s desk for his signature will provide some relief for farmers and those making the transition out of the Green Acres program. For my colleagues and I, however, we fully expect Green Acres to be an issue that receives much more legislative attention next session.
Addressing our energy needs and global warming
Another issue of great importance to all of us is making sure that when government tries to address the issue of global warming, they do so in a responsible way that includes the use of good science and respects basic principles of economics. In the last few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to give a couple of talks to groups about what I think are the important issues surrounding global warming alarmism and its profound and nonsensical impact on the very foundations of our economy and our way of life. Next week I’ll be speaking to the Minnesota Valley Electrical Cooperative and addressing some of concerns I have about the recent demonization of carbon dioxide, proposals for a carbon “cap and trade” system and our state’s energy policy. If you’ve got any thoughts on the matter or know of a group that might like to hear some more about the topic, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for subscribing to my email updates. If you ever have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me at my office.
News Items
- Less Government Regulation Encourages Economic Growth - (Posted: 2012-02-27 00:00:00)
- MNDOT Awards Funding for Highway 101 Bridge Replacement - (Posted: 2012-03-30 00:00:00)
- Reform a Priority in 2012 - (Posted: 2012-01-25 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.