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Minnesota House of Representatives

State Representative Denny McNamara

359 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-3135

For more information contact: Jason Wenisch 651-296-2317

Posted: 2006-03-08 00:00:00
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NEWS COLUMN

NEWS AND VIEWS FROM DENNY MCNAMARA

March 6, 2006

Hello from the Capitol!

The 2006 Legislative Session is underway, and so far the action has been fast-paced. Lawmakers received a bit of good news last week when state economists projected Minnesota to have a budget surplus of $181 million for the 2006-2007 budget cycle. Obviously, increased revenues and decreased spending resulted in the surplus, but its important to note that $93 million of this must be used to complete a school shift buyback, meaning $88 million of the budget surplus remains.

This is the first time in five years a February economic forecast has yielded a surplus, so this is positive news and the economy is clearly headed in the right direction. It will allow us to make good on the education shift buyback, while leaving us with $88 million for future distribution. And it will also allow us to work on legislation that matters most to Minnesotans, instead of focusing the majority of our efforts on solving a budget deficit.

Precinct caucuses are just around the corner. Be sure to attend yours tomorrow night at 7:00 and take an active role in your government. If you are unsure as to where your caucus is being held, check out the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website at http://www.sos.state.mn.us/home/index.asp for additional information.

I hope you’ll also be able to join me for my town meetings on March 18. I’ll be in Hastings from 9:00-10:15 a.m. in the Community Room at City Hall, 101 4th Street East; in Afton from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon at the House Inn, 3291 South St. Croix Trail; and in Cottage Grove at 1:00 p.m. at the City Hall Council Chambers, 7516 80th Street South. I strongly encourage you to pick a time that works best so you can share your legislative opinions with me. I’ll be giving a brief overview of topics I expect to see debated this session, then I’d like to hear your input. Hope to see you there!

Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you soon.

Denny

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