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State Representative Dan Fabian
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-9635
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
COLUMN
Questions Answered in Warroad Pioneer
I submitted this to the Warroad Pioneer at their request:
I’d like to address a few issues that some of my constituents had regarding the government shutdown and state services.
The amount of my pay during the shutdown, when we are not in session, is being donated to area charities and organizations. To date I have written checks to the Badger Veterans Memorial, Kittson Memorial Hospital (for new x-ray equipment at the Karlstad Clinic), ALS fund raiser(Lou Gehrig disease), and the Roseau Veterans Memorial. More donations will be made in the coming days.
The fact that some DNR and other state employees are working and some are not is determined by which jobs, employees and services are declared ""essential"". This declaration was ultimately determined by Judge Kathleen R. Gearin from Ramsey County District Court. She is the one who was designated to make those determinations because of the Capitol’s location in Ramsey County. As you may be aware the local loggers are able to continue logging on state land during the shutdown, also the runway project at the Thief River Falls airport is continuing because of Judge Gearin’s orders. Joe Hedrick, the airport manager, contacted me about the possible shutdown of the project. After that call I worked with him, MPCA commissioner Paul Aasen, and encouraged them to go before Judge Gearin, to keep the project moving forward.
The Miller/Coors situation is in the process of being resolved by Judge Gearin. This situation brought to light some of the overreach of and ineffectiveness of state government. I had a conversation with the Twin Cities regional sales manager for Miller/Coors and he told me that all of their paper work had been completed and received by the state on time. The problem was the check that was written was for about $200 to much. Rather than issuing the ""permit"" and a refund, the state sent the check back and instructed Miller/Coors to issue a check for the correct amount. They did that and it arrived in the state office near the end of June. The processing of the permit did not make the July 1st deadline and was then delayed and the shutdown came on July 1st. That resulted in the state order to remove the products from retailer’s shelves.
As a result of this situation and others like it, I am quite sure that legislation will be brought forward next year to reduce the size and scope of state government. Also there will continue to be a push for more reforms that will streamline and make state government more responsible and responsive.
It is my hope that the Governor will call a special session very soon and put Minnesotans back to work. As more details become available I will be happy to answer further questions.
Respectfully,
Dan Fabian
News Items
- Stand Up for Rural Minnesota! - (Posted: Jan 9 2013 1:31PM)
- Rep. Dan Fabian named Top 10 of best freshman legislators - (Posted: 2012-08-27 00:00:00)
- State Rep. Dan Fabian recognized for his work to help business expansion, economic growth - (Posted: 2012-07-10 00:00:00)
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