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State Representative Rick Hansen
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-6828
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
Column/LTE
MAKING RESPONSIBLE CHOICES WITH LIMITED RESOURCES
To the Editor:
Facing a record $6.4 billion budget shortfall, state lawmakers have to make responsible choices. Schools, nursing homes, the sick and jobless need our attention. Keeping the doors of our hospitals open, our students learning, and putting our economy back on track are my top priorities this session.
But making each of those priorities a reality means making difficult decisions with limited resources. Lawmakers need to prioritize based on what works and what doesn’t.
To pinpoint new efficiencies in government, we often rely on the input of the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA). Recently the OLA released a report that recommended ending the millions Minnesota spends every year to subsidize record profits in the state’s ethanol industry.
That’s why I voted last week to end the $24 million in ethanol producer and deficiency payments made every biennium in Minnesota. Unfortunately, the measure was defeated 50-80. However I successfully authored an amendment to require those ethanol producers receiving these payments to comply with environmental laws, to have the payments posted on the Ag Department’s web site and to end the payments if the ethanol producer is sold. I believe these requirements are responsibilities needed for the firms receiving the subsidies.
In the end, we were able to pass these important new reforms and reduce the ethanol producer payment by 20%. That’s a good start. The $4 million we would save in this effort could be used to fund the more pressing priorities of our state in this time of severe economic crisis.
Rick Hansen
State Representative
District 39A
(651) 296-6828
rep.rick.hansen@house.mn
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