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State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
GUEST COLUMN
STATE FAIR POLL RESULTS RELEASED
Notes From the Capitol
By State Rep. Paul Anderson
Thanks to near perfect weather conditions, attendance records were set at this year’s Minnesota State Fair. No rain during its 12-day run and temperatures that stayed in the 70s made fair-going this year a very pleasant experience.
More than 8,700 votes were cast at the House of Representatives booth in the Education Building during the fair. Conducted by nonpartisan House Public Information Services, the poll is an informal, unscientific survey of issues discussed in prior legislative sessions and ones that may come up again in the next session slated to begin Feb. 4.
More than three-fourths of polltakers believe the legislative process should be more transparent by requiring budget negotiations between the governor and legislative leaders be done in a public setting.
Nearly as many, 69 percent, said that terminally ill patients should be able to use medical marijuana to ease their suffering.
A large majority, 81 percent, felt that homeowners should be entitled to attorney fees and other costs related to legal action against a builder or contractor to have a warranty enforced.
By a 68-to-24 margin, polltakers said that if a charter school does not offer a specific extracurricular opportunity, such as hockey or debate, its students should be allowed to participate in such activities in their resident school district.
A slight majority, 51 percent, felt that the Minnesota State Lottery should not be permitted to operate slot machines inside the ticketed area at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, meaning only air travelers with valid tickets could use the machines.
By nearly 8 percentage points (48 to 40), polltakers said they believe the governor should not have the power to use unallotment to prevent an anticipated budget deficit.
And, even though Favre-mania has swept Minnesota, support for public funding of a new Vikings’ football stadium is not popular. By a 2-to-1 margin, those who took the state fair poll said voter approval should be required before any taxpayer money is used for a new or refurbished stadium. The team’s lease at the Metrodome expires after the 2011 season.
According to an article in “State Legislatures,” a magazine of the National Conference of State Legislatures, the state of Virginia has joined three others in prohibiting drivers from smiling for their license photos. Because of issues related to facial recognition software, the European Union and several other countries also have smile restrictions on passport photos. The software used by licensing agencies to verify IDs measures the distance between eyes, the width of the mouth and other cues, but it seems that smiles can impede the photo comparisons.
With Labor Day behind us and school back in session, summer parades have given way to church breakfasts and dinners. Two of the largest dinners are at the parish of St. Francis in late August and St. Rosa this past weekend (Sept. 6).
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Rep. Anderson encourages constituents to contact his new office with input regarding any state legislative issue. He can be reached on the web at www.house.mn/13A and via email at rep.paul.anderson@house.mn. To contact Anderson by phone, call (651) 296-4317. Mail can be sent to Rep. Paul Anderson, 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.
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