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State Representative John Lesch
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4224
For more information contact: Michael Howard 651-296-8873
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District 66A Update - Governor Dayton Budget Edition
In this Issue:
• Governor Dayton Budget – Fair, Responsible Honest
• What Comes Next?
• Republican bill would prosecute 10 year old children as adults
Governor Dayton Budget – Fair, Responsible, Honest
During the 2010 campaign Mark Dayton promised Minnesotans he would balance the state’s budget, invest in K-12 education, and ask the wealthiest Minnesotans to pay their share to accomplish these goals. This week, Governor Dayton upheld that promise with his plan to solve our state’s $6.2 billion budget deficit.
Here are some of the specifics of Governor Dayton’s plan:
Investing in Education
Dayton’s education plan includes additional funding to educate the 14,000 new students schools can expect next year, as well as over $30 million to make All-Day Kindergarten available in every district in the state. He also puts in place a plan to pay-back the school shift.
No tax increases for 95% of Minnesotans
Governor Dayton preserves funding for local governments in order to prevent forced property tax increases. This reverses the trend during the Pawlenty administration in which middle class Minnesotans saw their property taxes increase by $3 billion.
Wealthiest Minnesotans pay their fair share
While most Minnesotans have been hit hard by past budget deficits, the wealthiest Minnesotans have not paid their fair share. In fact, the wealthiest 5 percent of Minnesotan pay fewer total taxes as a percentage of their income than any other Minnesotans. Governor Dayton’s plan restores tax fairness to Minnesota.
The plan includes a new 4th income tax tier at 10.95% for joint filers over $150,000 and head of household filers over $130,000; and a temporary income surtax of three percent for all filers over $500,000. He also proposed a statewide property tax on home values over $1,000,000 and closes many tax loopholes.
Raising this revenue helps balance our budget while protecting the most valuable Minnesota values like public safety, veterans services, education and basic safety net services.
Painful spending cuts
Governor Dayton has correctly acknowledged there is no easy way to solve a $6.2 billion budget deficit. Both new revenue and painful cuts are required to responsibly solve the record shortfall. The Governor’s plan includes $500 million in spending cuts, mainly in health and human services.
Honest solutions without gimmicks
Governor Dayton doesn’t use one-time money to solve the deficit. His plan increases revenue and reduces spending to significantly address our structural budget deficit. It’s a refreshing change to see a budget proposal that doesn’t kick the can down the road.
What Comes Next?
Now that Governor Dayton has delivered on his promise to Minnesotans it is time to see if Republicans will deliver on theirs. On the campaign trail Republicans said we can “live within our means" and pass an all cuts budget. Once Republicans release their budget we will have a clear contrast about the priorities and direction of our state. They have yet to do so. Stay tuned.
Issue Alert: Republican bill would prosecute 10 year old children as adults
This past week a bill was introduced and heard in committee that would allow 10 year old children to be tried as adults for some violent crimes. The youngest child to ever be charged as an adult in the United States is 11, so this would make Minnesota a dubious nation leader.
Prosecuting children this age is a bad idea for several reasons. Perhaps most important, clear scientific evidence indicates children at this young of an age simply don’t fit the criteria of adult in any shape or form. In addition, once adults are charged with crimes as adults they very rarely break free of the criminal justice system. This is costly and unproductive.
Community treatment and rehabilitation programs have proven far more effective in helping troubled children who have committed crimes. If our goal is reducing crime and bettering our society, prosecuting 10 year old children as adults is not the right direction.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at rep.john.lesch@house.mn or 651-296-4224.
News Items
- Rep. Lesch, Senator John Marty and Revenue Commissioner Frans to talk tax reform with area residents at St. Paul town hall meeting - (Posted: 2012-12-12 00:00:00)
- Rep. Lesch Named Chair of the House Civil Law Committee - (Posted: 2012-11-16 00:00:00)
- EARTH DAY A CHANCE FOR REFLECTION, ACTION - (Posted: 2012-04-17 00:00:00)
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