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State Representative Rod Hamilton
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5373
For more information contact: Jason Wenisch 651-296-2317
NEWS RELEASE
REP. HAMILTON PLEASED WITH POSITIVE END TO 2008 SESSION
ST. PAUL – State Representative Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) said he was encouraged to see legislative leadership and Governor Pawlenty put their differences aside and work out a compromise proposal that brought the 2008 Legislative Session to a close.
“Whenever lawmakers can work together in a bipartisan fashion, Minnesota wins,” Hamilton said. “In the end, we solved the budget deficit, we helped our nursing homes, and we provided property tax relief to the home and landowners who need it.”
The top priority for lawmakers this session was to eliminate Minnesota’s $935 million budget deficit. Lawmakers agreed to do this by taking $500 million from Minnesota’s rainy day fund, making $355 million in spending cuts, and making changes to the corporate tax system, which will yield roughly $100 million in new revenue.
Also included in the deal negotiated between the Minnesota House, Senate, and Governor Pawlenty is property tax relief. $25 million is dedicated to a property tax relief program; $60 million is used for additional Local Government Aid; and a 3.9 % property tax cap is instituted in order to protect property owners from excessive local levy increases.
Nursing homes will also benefit, as cost of living adjustments were increased by one percent, with an additional one percent as a one-time funding bonus.
Hamilton pointed out other success stories from 2008, including a transportation bill that ensures the completion of a four-lane freeway for Highway 60.
“Senator Vickerman and I worked extremely hard to leverage funding for Highway 60 and put it on the accelerated priority list,” Hamilton said. “In addition, I worked with Transportation Chair Bernie Lieder to ensure that any local option transportation sales tax in Greater Minnesota would first need voter approval.”
Hamilton noted that he was not pleased with the K-12 education outcome. He had previously voted against this year’s K-12 finance bill because it continued the funding disparity between Metro Area schools and those in rural Minnesota.
“If you looked at the way the bill was structured, the Roseville School District – which is the bill author’s home district – would have received $2 million, while Mountain Lake would have brought home $25,000,” Hamilton noted. “It was blatantly unfair and I wasn’t going to stand for it.”
And while Hamilton was pleased nursing homes received a two percent raise, he was disappointed that there was no increase in funding for people with disabilities.
“While we accomplished much this session, there are still a few issues waiting to be addressed,” Hamilton said. “And I look forward to coming back to the Minnesota House in 2009 to fight for these priorities and finish the job.”
News Items
- WITH ECONOMIC TURNAROUND, HAMILTON SAYS IT’S TIME TO PAY BACK SCHOOLS - (Posted: 2012-03-16 00:00:00)
- REP. HAMILTON: LEGISLATURE’S 2012 AGENDA BASED ON INFORMATION FROM STATEWIDE LISTENING SESSIONS - (Posted: 2012-01-30 00:00:00)
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