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State Representative Sarah Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5511
For more information contact: Jodi Boyne 651-296-0640
NEWS RELEASE
REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON PROMOTES TELECOMMUTING FOR PLYMOUTH RESIDENTS ~More telecommuters mean less traffic, less pollution, Anderson says~
ST. PAUL – As flexible work hours become more popular, State Representative Sarah Anderson wants to help employers and employees adopt another flexible scheduling option: telecommuting.
Anderson represents House District 43A, covering Plymouth and Medicine Lake. According to the Missouri Census Data Center, which compiles census information for legislative districts across the country, 84 percent of District 43A residents drive to work alone and about 5 percent of employed residents telecommute. Most parts of the metro area have 3 to 5 percent of their employed residents working at home.
“My goal is to make more people aware that telecommuting is an option for many of today’s high-tech jobs. Growing the number of telecommuters by just a few percent would have a noticeable impact on traffic, and less congestion has a ripple effect that lowers pollution,” Anderson said.
Anderson is proposing a tax credit for employers or their employees who telecommute at least one day per week. A one-time credit would cover part of the cost of purchasing or installing equipment necessary to work from home. An ongoing annual credit would cover part of Internet, cellular, wireless or other service costs necessary for telecommuting.
“Telecommuting has a lot of benefits, most notably lower gas consumption and less pollution from fewer cars sitting in traffic jams,” Anderson said. Other benefits include less wear-and-tear on a worker’s car and potentially lower child care costs for families, she added. Census data from 2000 showed the average each-way commute time for a worker in the west metro was 23 minutes. Anderson said that number has likely gone up since then and working from home would allow parents to spend more time at home, especially in the evening.
“My own commute has increased from 35 minutes to one hour over the last seven years,” Anderson said.
Anderson said she will discuss the telecommuting tax credit, along with other proposals, at her two upcoming town meetings. The first is on Saturday, February 24, at 10 a.m. in the upstairs conference room at the Lunds grocery store in Plymouth (3455 Vicksburg Lane). The second is the following Tuesday, February 27 at 7 p.m. in the Plymouth Public Library Community Room.
“I hope everyone can come out to discuss the telecommuting issue along with property taxes, health care and the rest of the 2007 legislative agenda,” Anderson said.
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