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State Representative Ernie Leidiger
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4282
For more information contact: Jim Greve 651-296-4338
NEWS COLUMN
Reform: The Legislative Priority for Job Creation
St. Paul – Last week I attended a local meeting and was approached by an 83-year-old business owner. This individual has owned several businesses over the years, working to provide local residents with jobs.
He said he was discouraged by our citizenry’s indifference to the erosion of freedom that is taking place in our country. He’s very concerned, and we should be, too.
That is why the Republican-led Legislature is working to reform government and bring it back to the people. For far too long, government has grown beyond its means, and we must streamline its functions so that Minnesotans can once again have faith in State Government.
As part of our Reform 2.0 plan, I have chief authored a bill to streamline county transportation projects across the state. I am proposing to shorten the permitting procedures and to have a single point of contact to provide permits through various different water authorities. Last week, House File 518 was approved by the Transportation Committee and was moved to the Government Operations Committee.
I invite you to visit our Reform 2.0 website’s bill tracker (www.reform2.mn) in order to follow our legislation that will make Minnesota’s economic environment more competitive by bringing freedoms back to our citizenry.
Education Reform Passes House
Our main focus on the House floor last week was education reform. A national study proves that House File 1770 and House File 1870 were passed at the appropriate time.
The National Council on Teacher Quality gave Minnesota a ‘C’ for both delivering well-prepared teachers and retaining effective teachers. In addition, it gave Minnesota an ‘F’ for exiting ineffective teachers. These two bills will are the first steps to remedying our substandard ratings.
House File 1770 requires that teacher candidates pass a basic skills exam before obtaining a teaching license. Current law allows these candidates to teach even if they fail the test. Legislators from both sides of the aisle agree that this is an important step to closing the achievement gap, and it passed unanimously.
On Thursday the house passed House File 1870 that would eliminate the state-mandated “Last In/First Out” (LIFO) policy that prioritizes seniority over teacher performance in the unfortunate event of staff layoffs.
LIFO is the reason that several of our best and brightest teachers have lost their jobs, simply because they were the “last in,” and consequently the “first out.” This bill would allow schools to consider teacher performance along with seniority in making retention decisions.
Overwhelmingly, the public agrees with our bill. This LIFO reform legislation has been endorsed by the Minnesota Business Partnership, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Students First, MinnCan, Minnesota School Boards Association, and Put Kids First. In addition, supportive editorials have been released in the Star Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Duluth News Tribune, and Fergus Falls Journal.
I am hopeful that Governor Dayton will see eye-to-eye with these supporters and sign both bills into law. A well-educated student population translates into a highly-valuable workforce.
State of the State
I was pleased to host a resident of Watertown for Wednesday’s State of the State address. Frank Long, a business owner in the construction industry, was my guest on the floor to hear the Governor’s address.
The Governor was cordial during his speech, as he often has been during his time in office. This was a welcome change from his recent media blasts calling the Legislature “extreme” and “unfit to govern,” and labeling local businesses and chambers of commerce who support our bills “wrong-doers.”
It is the Legislature’s priority that job creation take the forefront this session. The Governor is of the same opinion. Although our overall strategy is the same, he would employ different tactics to achieve that goal.
Over the past year, Republican legislators have traveled the state to hold town hall meetings with local residents, business owners, and civic leaders. Time after time, Minnesotans have expressed their desire for less government interference (such as decreasing excessive taxes and burdensome regulations) in order to grow jobs and expand business. Our Reform 2.0 agenda contains initiatives that echo our citizens’ voices – our legislation is your legislation.
The Governor, however, wants to take an entirely different approach, much, I am sure, at the dismay of these business owners. Governor Dayton would like to utilize taxpayer dollars to institute temporary stimulus spending that would only have a band-aid effect on our economy.
In the same breath that he called for “no more borrowing,” he recommended proposals that would do just that, proposing to borrow $775 million (plus interest) to spend on many projects that we don’t need. What we would be left with is just more government debt. Setting the conditions for private sector growth and reducing government spending is the answer to economic stimulus. One only needs to see what has happened to the failure of the federal stimulus plan to realize that more government spending is not the answer.
As always, it is a privilege to serve House District 34A in St. Paul. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns on state legislation or your ideas for reform.
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Representative Leidger can be reached by phone at 651-296-4282. He can also be contacted via e-mail at rep.ernie.leidiger@house.mn, or via U.S. Mail at 415 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155. Rep. Leidiger also encourages constituents to sign up for his email updates at www.house.mn/34a.
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