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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
LOOKING AT THE VETO PILE
By Bob Dettmer
State Representative
District 52A
The session is almost over, and a lot of bills have been debated. Some bills contained good things; others were filled with many bad provisions. Most spent too much money, and they were not fiscally responsible. A few of the bills are highlighted below.
Take for example the State Government Finance Omnibus Bill. The bill was filled with provisions to allow local units of government to expand “domestic partner” benefits to virtually anyone who knows a state employee at an estimated cost of $14 million. The bill loosened fair election laws, which would make it easier for people to vote illegally. It increased appropriations to the Legislature by 19%. I voted against this bill and it was vetoed by the governor for these reasons, and many others.
The Environment, Natural Resources, Energy and Commerce Omnibus Bill is another bill that has a few good things, but a lot of wasteful spending. It increased fees on hunting licenses and fishing tournament license fees. The worst example of wasteful spending is a $4 million grant to the city of St. Paul to study the potential of a renewable energy facility in St. Paul, even though the state is already studying this option. The same groups will be back next year asking for bonding to help cover the facility’s $200 million cost.
The E-12 Education Omnibus Bill addresses many of the requests we’ve been hearing from teachers and parents. It increases basic education funding for all K-12 students. The bill makes significant property tax relief, but bases it on money from a fourth-tier income tax increase that we know will not be passed. A few of the other provisions in that I do not like are the mandatory sex education and the lack of reforms.
The Higher Education Omnibus Bill delivers the tuition relief parents and students have been asking for. However, the bill received the veto stamp from the governor for numerous reasons. The bill did nothing to freeze the rising cost of the tuition. It did not provide enough money for our soldiers who want to go to school as well. It does not put enough money into the State Grant program, which would help the students who need the money the most.
The Agriculture, Rural Economies and Veterans Finance Omnibus Bill is a great bill. That passed the House by a vote of 131-2. It provides money to keep Minnesota on the leading edge of producing and using E-85. It also supports our Veterans. We have more Minnesotans serving overseas today than any time since World War II. In August, they will return and we are making sure they receive the support they deserve by nearly doubling our outreach efforts. The Governor line item vetoed two items in this bill. The items funded programs that are not need, or duplicated funding.
Currently we have one week until the end of the legislative session. The Legislature has presented three bills to the Governor which he has signed, but in two of them he used the line item veto to remove some provisions. He has completely vetoed five bills which were sent to him. And the Legislature still needs to send him three bills. There is much work to get done, and the timeframe which we have to do it in is quickly dwindling.
I continue to support the Governor’s $34 billion budget with the $2.2 billion surplus to meet the budget needs of our state.
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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