Accessibility menu
State Representative Joe Hoppe
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5066
For more information contact: Jodi Boyne 651-296-0640
HOUSE BRIEFS
MAJOR SPENDING BILLS PASS THROUGH
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
First this week, an announcement courtesy of MN/DOT. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) and Zumbro River Constructors will be holding informational meetings about the upcoming 2007 construction schedule for Hwy 212:
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Chanhassen Library (Wilder Room)
7711 Kerber Blvd.
Chanhassen, MN 55317
Thursday, May 3, 2007
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Chaska Community Center (Community Room)
1661 Park Ridge Drive
Chaska, MN 55318
These meetings are for anyone who has questions or concerns about the construction. Discussions will primarily focus on construction in 2007, but will also include information about construction work in 2008.
Last week was the longest week of this session so far. We stayed past midnight almost every night to debate and ultimately pass the big spending bills. Here’s a brief summary of some of them and what their outlook is in the next few weeks.
EDUCATION. The education bill increases funding for schools, but relies on tax increases. The other half of the education equation – reform – is mysteriously absent. It’s a step backwards from the accountability improvements we’ve made in the last few years in that regard.
AG AND VETERANS. This is a good bill and I supported it. Most notably, it contains funding for the veterans support programs we will need when the soldiers start coming home in August. I think all sides did a good job recognizing that there are no partisan differences when it comes to supporting veterans.
HEALTH CARE. Under the Democrats’ health care bill, spending would rise 41 percent in just four years! Setting aside the other problems, like undoing welfare reform and a total disregard for nursing homes, this bill is at its core fiscally impossible. Which part of state government would you like to eliminate to pay for this bill? Transportation? Higher education? That’s the kind of drastic action that would be necessary to get the money this bill costs. Or, we could just double your income taxes.
GOVERNMENT. This bill is so bad, 17 Democrats voted against it – the largest number to vote against any of the spending bills. The bill included a $14 million plan to give “domestic partner benefits” to virtually anyone who knows a state employee and would bump up our legislative budget by 8.5 percent. By comparison, schools stand to receive about a 6 percent funding bump. I think that shows backwards priorities.
This week we expect to see the tax bill. As expected, it will have tax increases in it as the check comes due for the massive spending bills passed last week. As the partisan accusations start flying, remember that we have a $2 billion budget surplus. If we can’t keep our spending desires below that amount, perhaps we are spending too much rather than taxing too little.
News Items
- TAKE REP. HOPPE'S 2009 LEGISLATIVE SURVEY - (Posted: 2009-02-11 00:00:00)
- Make Nursing Homes a Priority - (Posted: 2008-04-30 00:00:00)
- Halfway Through the 2008 Session - (Posted: 2008-03-18 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.