Accessibility menu
State Representative John Ward
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4333
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
Press/News Releases
HOUSE PASSES BUDGET BILLS, ENDS ON TIME
ST. PAUL, MN – State Representative John Ward (DFL-Brainerd) said he is pleased the 2007 Legislative session ended on time Monday night, and believes that good progress was made this year on many fronts that will benefit Minnesotans.
"This is the first time the legislative session has ended on time in a budget year since 1999,"said Ward. "We worked very hard, and passed reasonable and responsible budget bills that begin to address our top priorities."
Ward said that as the committees moved through the budget process, it became apparent that the first priority needed to be restoring some of the cuts that were made in 2003 and following years.
"I'm happy to report that our education bill is bringing more money into our schools, more Minnesotans will be covered by insurance and we took a swipe at property tax increases," said Ward. "We made some good improvements over the cuts of the past few years."
The major pieces of legislation passed in the final hours on Monday night appropriated close to $35 billion on areas such as K-12 Education, Early Childhood and Higher Education and Health Care.
The K-12 Education bill addresses school funding shortages by offering nearly $800 million in new funding. This includes $329 million for unfunded special education mandates and $33 million for voluntary All-Day Kindergarten. Both of these appropriations will free up more money from the General Fund for other areas, according to Ward. The bill also provides the first increase in library funding in nearly twenty years.
In addition, the 2003 funding cuts to ECFE, Head Start, School Readiness and Adult Basic Education were restored, and for the first time in many years, students at state colleges and universities won't see double-digit tuition increases.
The Health and Human Services Bill will phase in health insurance to almost 40 thousand children in Minnesota, offers MinnesotaCare to self-employed farmers, and eliminates MinnesotaCare premiums for military families. It also offers significant funding for nursing homes, especially those located in Greater Minnesota.
"Our budget bill will help kids, seniors, property owners and veterans," said Ward. "I'm very hopeful that the Governor will sign all of these bills into law."
Several local projects introduced by Ward were approved this session. A few examples include funding for Teen Challenge, a long-term residential chemical dependency treatment center in the Regional Treatment Center in Brainerd; legislation that allows for a hose bib vacuum breaker backflow preventor to be used at water supply connections in RV camping areas (offering as much as $20 thousand a year in savings per campground) and defibrillators will be placed in hundreds of police vehicles throughout the state.
"It's been a busy and productive session, and I'm just beginning to grasp all of the good legislation we passed," said Ward. "I look forward to sharing the accomplishments of the session when I return home to my district."
Rep. Ward can be reached at (651) 296- 4333, or 1-800-683-4205, by mail at 533 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155 or via e-mail at rep.john.ward@house.mn
News Items
- 2013 Legislative Session Preview - (Posted: Jan 11 2013 8:39AM)
- Assistant Majority Leader Rep. John Ward Sworn-In as Legislative Session Starts - (Posted: Jan 8 2013 2:39PM)
- Rep. John Ward Elected Assistant Majority Leader and Selected to Serve as Vice Chair of Capital Investment Committee - (Posted: 2012-12-19 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.