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State Representative Tara Mack
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5506
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EMAIL UPDATE
Key budget meetings taking place
Greetings from the Capitol!
A meeting between legislative leaders and Gov. Mark Dayton began in House Speaker Kurt Zellers’ office this morning. The group is working to find a budget breakthrough so we can have a plan in place by the end of the month and avoid a state shutdown.
While a balanced budget offer and two additional compromises have been presented by the Legislature to the Governor over the last several weeks, Governor Dayton has rejected these offers because they didn't raise taxes or spend enough money. Let’s hope this meeting is the start of something that will produce a budget solution. Speaker Zellers has said he wants to keep the discussion going into the weekend, or as long as it takes to come to agreement on a framework. I am optimistic that negotiations will be productive and a needless government shutdown can be avoided. The Governor needs to call us back to work to a special session so we can get the budget resolved.
POLL RESULTS
This week, the results of a KSTP poll show that 87 percent of Minnesota residents agree with the Legislature’s stance on the budget, proposing that we need to either reduce or hold the line on spending. A total of 60 percent say the state should cut spending and another 27 percent favor keeping spending at about the same level. In fact, 61 percent say it is acceptable to cut some state services.
According to the poll, 8 percent of people support growing government and agree with Governor Dayton that we should increase spending.
Here is a link to the survey: http://kstp.com/news/stories/S2165061.shtml?cat=1.
NEW LAWS TAKE EFFECT
A number of new state laws take effect July 1. Among notable changes, synthetic marijuana will be banned and ignition interlock use will be required for some convicted of drunk driving.
A full rundown of all laws passed by the 2011 Legislature is at www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/Newlaws2011-0.asp. The new laws are in the process of being uploaded, so some summaries may not be available until later this month.
A more comprehensive list of new laws will start Aug. 1 and I will pass along more information on them soon.
FREEDOM DAYS BEGINS
For those of you who are interested in what is going on locally this weekend, the annual Freedom Days celebration kicks off tonight with a car show and concert. If you would like more information, check out the city calendar of events at http://www.ci.apple-valley.mn.us/Calendar.aspx.
Have an enjoyable weekend!
Sincerely,
Tara
News Items
- 2013 survey results - (Posted: May 17 2013 5:08PM)
- Rep. Mack's 2013 survey - (Posted: Apr 22 2013 4:37PM)
- Budget news, health insurance exchange and more - (Posted: Mar 22 2013 12:00AM)
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