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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: 2006-04-30 00:00:00
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NEWS COLUMN

NEWS AND VIEWS FROM DENNY MCNAMARA

Hi everybody,

We've just concluded another busy week at the Capitol. I wanted to
let you know what's been going on. On Wednesday the Minnesota House
approved a bill that would construct a new Minnesota Twins baseball
stadium in Minneapolis without using state tax dollars. According to
the bill, the $522 million Twins ballpark would be paid for only by the
Minnesota Twins and Hennepin County. The team is responsible for $130
million and Hennepin County will pay off the rest by raising its sales
tax by 15-hundredths of 1 percent. This amounts to an additional 3
cents for every $20 spent.

I have always felt that the Minnesota Twins are too valuable of a state
asset to lose. This was a good bill that should keep our Minnesota
Twins playing baseball here for a long, long time. There are no state
general fund dollars allocated to this new ballpark. In my opinion,
this bill represents the best of both worlds, as it keeps the Twins
where they belong without using State taxes. That is why I supported
the bill.

Here's some good news for hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts.
On Tuesday, the Minnesota House passed a bill allowing voters to decide
if they would like to amend the Minnesota Constitution to dedicate
3/16ths of the existing sales tax to game & fish, clean water, parks &
trails, and the arts & public broadcasting. I also supported this bill,
and wanted to give you a brief breakdown of how the funds would be used.


*60% would be dedicated to the Game & Fish Preservation Fund.
Approximately $83 million would provide access and to improve, enhance,
or protect game & fish habitat.

*30% would be sent to the Clean Water Fund. Approximately $41.5
million would be spent on protection and restoration of the state's
lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, and groundwater.

*5% would be allocated to the Parks & Trails Fund. Approximately $6.9
million would be spent on the state's parks & trails.

*5% would be dedicated to the Arts & Public Broadcasting Fund.
Approximately $6.9 million would be spent on the state's arts & public
broadcasting.

Regarding the bonding bill, Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum this
week appointed me to the House/Senate conference committee that will
craft a compromise version of the 2006 Capital Investment bill. I'm
pleased to have been one of the 5 House members appointed to the
committee which will negotiate the final version of the bonding bill.
We will look at the differences between the House and Senate bills, and
eventually prioritize which statewide projects will receive bonding
proceeds. Hopefully, we can finish our work quickly.

Next week I expect us to take up the supplemental spending bill for the
current biennium. Another bill before us will be the Mercury reduction
bill that will lower mercury emissions at our coal-fired power plants. I
am sure it will be a past-paced week. Please keep in touch about any
issues or concerns.

Have a great week!

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