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State Representative Bob Dettmer
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4124
For more information contact: Austin Bleess 651-296-5529
OP/ED COLUMN
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Dear Friends,
As part of an effort to keep you informed of activities at the
Legislature, I send periodic email updates outlining items of interest.
If you would prefer not to receive such updates, simply let me know and
your name will be removed from the list.
Session Update:
It is crunch time for setting our state budget and completing our work
this session. All major spending bills have passed the House floor, and
some have returned from conference committee and have been sent to the
Governor. Governor Pawlenty has already vetoed the Capital Investment
Bill that spends 4 times the amount he recommends. I support this veto,
as the so-called "emergency" bonding bill contains many earmarked
projects and pork.
Governor Pawlenty has indicated that many more major spending bills
will be vetoed unless compromise language can be agreed upon. Many of
these bills have very troubling policy provisions, and many require tax
and fee increases that are not acceptable.
One bill that the Governor has said he will veto is the House Tax bill.
Quite simply this bill raises income taxes by $784.1 million dollars.
59% of small business owners would be affected. This bill would also
raises taxes on Minnesota's most successful and largest job providing
companies. This bill is a job-killer and is completely unnecessary
given our $2.2 billion dollar surplus.
As we begin the final three weeks, much work and much compromise must
completed on the state budget. I am committed to working across party
lines, but I will not support any tax increases. I will also join my
colleagues in upholding any veto by the Governor. It is going to be
long couple of weeks.
National Day of Prayer in Minnesota:
On May 3rd the House passed a resolution recognizing our National Day
of Prayer. I was honored to participate in the reading of this
resolution. A gathering was also held on the Capital mall for people to
celebrate their faith and belief in prayer. I was also honored to be
invited to address a gathering in Forest Lake and to provide a prayer.
Unfortunately due to the House being in session, I was unable to attend.
My wonderful wife Colleen was kind enough to stand in and address the
crowd.
2007 Legislative Survey Results:
I am proud to release the results of my first legislative survey. I
greatly enjoyed seeing the results of this survey and the views of our
district. I was thrilled with the great return response. Thank you to
all who participated!! Here are the results:
1. The state government recently forecast a $2 billion budget surplus.
What should be done with the surplus?
18% Education
17% Health Care
15% Transportation
22% Tax Relief
13% State grants for higher education
14% Funds should be kept in a Rainy Day Fund
2. Which of these three do you think is the biggest transportation
issue facing our community and therefore should receive the most funding
from the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax?
26% Need more for transit (buses, rail, etc.)
36% Need more for roads
41% Better, more frequent maintenance
3. Do you support a gas tax increase?
27% Yes
73% No
4. Should an immigrant's driver's license list the date when their
permission to stay in the country expires?
94% Yes
6% No
5. Do you support limiting overall state spending growth every two
years to the rate of inflation plus population growth?
81% Yes
19% No
6. Should taxpayer dollars subsidize abortions?
18% Yes
82% No
7. Do you support a statewide smoking ban in bars and restaurants?
59% Yes
41% No
8. Do you support the construction of light rail through Forest Lake?
59% Yes
41% No
9. Are you willing to pay additional taxes so the government can
provide universal health care coverage to all Minnesotans, regardless of
their income?
41% Yes
59% No
10. Do you support the Governor's education initiatives to reward
schools for better performance?
65% Yes
35% No
11. Do you consider yourself to be pro-life, pro-choice, or somewhere
in between?
42% Pro-life
30% Pro-choice
27% Somewhere in between
12. Are you a military veteran?
22% Yes
Have a great weekend!!
Bob Dettmer
State Representative, District 52A
News Items
- LIMITED SPENDING AND COMPETITVE TAXES GROW OUR ECONOMY - (Posted: Jan 11 2013 3:29PM)
- BOB DETTMER SWORN IN TO FOURTH TERM AS STATE REPRESENTATIVE - (Posted: Jan 11 2013 3:28PM)
- April 5 Legislative Update - (Posted: 2012-04-05 00:00:00)
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