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
NEWS RELEASE
STATE OF THE STATE HITS AT THE REAL BUDGET PROBLEM; SHOWS A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
ROCHESTER, MINN. – Governor Tim Pawlenty delivered his 2005 State of the State Address Tuesday in Rochester, and State Representative Joe Hoppe, R-Chaska, said the speech showed the kind of vision Minnesota needs.
“The governor spoke to where we are at and where we need to go,” Rep. Hoppe said.
In outlining his agenda for the 2006-2007 state budget, the governor reiterated his pledge to not raise state taxes and singled out state spending growth – especially in government health care – as the main factor driving the budget deficit.
“Without raising state taxes, state tax revenue continues to go up,” Rep. Hoppe said. “The governor is correct when he says we have a spending problem and that is what we need to address in the current session,” he added.
The governor also gave a preview of his budget proposal, which will be announced next week. He laid out his goal of providing more funding for K-12 education and changing the way the state distributed higher education aid. He also proposed creating a new university in the Rochester area.
Governor Pawlenty gave his speech in the Mayo Clinic Superior Drive Support Center in Rochester. The center processes thousands of blood and tissue samples every day, but one year ago, the building sat empty after its previous tenant moved its 800 jobs overseas. Now, thanks to the Job Opportunity Building Zones program created in 2003, 700 of those jobs have been replaced and more are on the way. This is the first time the governor delivered his speech outside the State Capitol.
Full-text of the speech is available on the web at www.governor.state.mn.us.
-30-
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.