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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
NEWS COLUMN
THE END IS IN SIGHT
By Bob Dettmer
State Representative
District 52A
There are a few days left to go in this legislative session. The end of the session is starting to look a little clearer. Some of the minor finance bills have been passed, but several large bills are still left to do.
One of the bills that recently passed is the Omnibus Transportation Finance Bill. This bill funds MN/DOT. Part of the bill I am particularly pleased with is that the State Patrol is fully funded. This means our state troopers will not have to cut their numbers or reduce the protection services they provide for our state.
Another part of this bill takes money out of maintenance and construction funds for roads, bridges, and bus transit and puts it towards rail transit. The bill takes over $130 million out of the funds that build roads, plow them in the winter and fill the pot holes in the spring and gives it to rail transit. The bus line from Forest Lake to Minneapolis may be affected due to the shift away from bus transit funding.
I completely support fully funding the State Patrol; however I have serious concerns about funding rail transit over roads and bridges. With these concerns I voted no on this bill.
Another bill passed was the Omnibus Environment, Energy, and Commerce Bill. This bill imposes over $14 million in new fees on the public. The bill also dictates what kinds of bags you can use when you rake your leaves in the fall. You will have to buy special bags that are compostable for your leaves, instead of the lawn bags we have used for years. Because of these provisions, and many other concerns, I voted against passage of this bill.
The Omnibus Economic Development and Housing Finance Bill was given approval by the Legislature. Originally money for the Hugo tornado recovery was included in this bill. However that money was stripped from this bill and is now in the bonding bill.
This bill also had many misplaced priorities. One example is the money it provides the city of St. Paul so they do not have to pay back some of the debt incurred when they built the Excel Center. This would cost the state about $32 million. Given the current deficit we are facing I could not support money being spent like this.
We still have several larger bills to pass such as Health and Human Services, Education, and Taxes. But as we get closer to the constitutional deadline for adjournment I am hopeful that a final plan can be reached. I believe we can finish this session without raising taxes. We simply need to prioritize our spending. If we fund the needs of our citizens first, there will be plenty of money to go around. And it won’t require a special session.
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News Items
- Memorial Day Message - (Posted: May 27 2013 2:18PM)
- Dettmer Statement on HF956 - Omnibus Energy Bill - (Posted: May 8 2013 3:10PM)
- Minneapolis Veterans Deserve Better - (Posted: May 3 2013 3:31PM)
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