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State Representative Debra Kiel
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5091
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
SESSION UPDATE
News With Representative Deb Kiel
Friends
House File 959 appropriates $28,000,000 from the bond proceeds fund to the commissioner of natural resources. This is to be used for the state share of flood hazard mitigation grants for publicly owned capital improvements to prevent or alleviate flood damage under Minnesota Statutes. I am unsure how much money House District 1B will receive. It is my hope that through this fund allocation that we will be able to provide some flood mitigation in House District 1B for future flood years.
I was able to author a couple bills that have passed the House floor this week.
H.F. 1105 is a bill that establishes a distinction in registration and license plate display between commercial and noncommercial full-size pickup trucks. It (1) defines and modifies vehicle classifications, (2) eliminates an impending provision allowing registration of certain pickup trucks and vans as passenger automobiles instead of trucks (set to go into effect in 2012), (3) establishes a "noncommercial" plate inscription for certain one-ton pickup trucks not used for commercial purposes, and (4) clarifies that certain commercial one-ton pickups can display special plates, if it is otherwise allowed for one-ton pickups.
Under current law, pickup trucks with a rated capacity of one ton are registered as trucks, whereas smaller pickup trucks are registered as passenger automobiles (paying a registration tax on the same schedule as other passenger-type vehicles). A 2008 provision, set to go into effect in 2012, will allow certain pickup trucks that are under a weight limit, or not used for commercial purposes and not subject to commercial motor vehicle regulations, to be registered as passenger automobiles.
H.F. 922 is a bill that permits a vehicle to have red or other colored lights that do not meet lighting requirements in law, if the vehicle (1) was originally manufactured as an emergency vehicle (such as a fire truck), (2) bears one of the various collector and classic car license plates, and (3) is not used for general transportation purposes. This bill will make it easier for these vehicles traveling to parades and car shows.
Other major issues that have come up at the Capitol include the constitutional amendments regarding spending and taxes.
H. F. 1612, authored by Rep. Keith Downey, proposes an amendment to the Minnesota constitution requiring that state expenditures from all sources for a two-year state budget must be limited to the amount of revenues received by the state for the previous biennium (two year period). It specifies that one-time repayments are exempt from this requirement and allows additional expenditures for a declared national security or peacetime emergency.
Rep. Rep. Steve Drazkowski has introduced a bill that would require a super-majority of the legislature to increase taxes, just as bonding (borrowing money) requires a super-majority to pass. A super-majority would be 81 votes in the House. Requires a three-fifths vote by each house of the legislature to enact a law that:
Increases the general rate of an income or sales tax
Increases the tax base of an income or sales tax
Increases property taxes
Enacts a new statewide tax of any type
As always I am happy to help and if anyone would like to make an appointment to see me please dont hesitate to call my office and schedule an appointment with my assistant Stacey.
Thank you,
Deb
News Items
- 2013 Legislative Session Kicks Off - (Posted: Jan 9 2013 10:11AM)
- News form Representative Kiel - (Posted: 2012-05-25 00:00:00)
- News from Representative Kiel - (Posted: 2012-05-08 00:00:00)
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