Neighbors,
New Town Halls Coming
I want to invite you to two Legislative Town Hall Forums held towards the end of this month. The first will feature me, Rep. Wagenius, and Senator Torres Ray. The second will feature me and Sen. Torres Ray. We’ll provide an overview this year’s legislative session.
Wednesday, May 27th
6:30-8:00 PM
Keewaydin Park Recreation Center, Multipurpose room
3030 53rd St East, Minneapolis
Saturday, May 30th
10:00-11:00 AM
Longfellow Recreational Center, multipurpose room
2318 29th Ave South, Minneapolis
Update in the final days of Session
Five months of legislative activity largely comes down to these last weeks of the session and the final negotiations of the state budget. With only seven days to go before reaching our constitutional deadline for adjournment, the State House has only recently started negotiating with the Governor and State Senate leaders over differences in how we fund necessary state agencies. This is happening weeks later than where we were in the last budgeting cycle. I’m concerned with the slow pace of decision making by the majority party in the House and the risk of not finishing our duties in time for session adjournment.
The House Republican Tax Bill
House passed the centerpiece of the majority party’s budget plan for the state: a $2 billion tax reduction package, which sounds enormous – because it is. While $2 billion is a lot, the bill is structured in a way that the reduced revenue to the state balloons in future years to over $6 billion, putting the state at great risk of again going back into deficits as we had over the past decade.
I’m also disappointed with the priorities reflected in the bill. The vast majority of the money in House Republicans’ Tax bill goes to corporate tax reductions and high income earners. Over the next four years, for every $1 of tax relief for average Minnesotans, $29 would go to corporations and wealth estates. Estates wouldn’t pay any taxes until they reached $5 million in worth. Foreign and domestic companies would eventually not have to pay the statewide business property tax. There is no money for direct individual property tax relief for homeowners, renters, or funding to assure communities across the state can provide vital services at an affordable level. This is an unbalanced approach in my opinion and doesn’t put enough money into the pockets of average consumers.
Health and Human Services
The House Republican Health and Human Services bill cuts $1.1 billion even though the state faces a roughly $2 billion surplus. One of the chief cuts in the bill is a measure to end MinnesotaCare, a program that for decades has provided affordable, sliding-fee health insurance for working Minnesotans whose employers don’t offer insurance. It is currently serving individuals who make between $15,521 and $23,340. In a huge break with tradition, the bill counted $300 million in savings when the non-partisan budget analysis showed only $17 million. Read more about this here. Obviously we can’t agree on programs if we don’t first agree to use the same financial projections.
When Governor Tim Pawlenty proposed ending MinnesotaCare, it led to a state shut down. Again I question whether this level of brinksmanship benefits our state.
Environmentally Risky Policies being considered
House Republicans also passed an Environment and Natural Resources bill that has gone to conference committee with the Senate. On this bill, reportedly the Governor and legislative leadership have agreed on a funding level for these programs that could allow this bill to be resolved soon. Unfortunately, the bill cuts the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. It also significantly overhauls the Pollution Control Agency’s Citizen Board, essentially halting the public’s ability to have a say in the state’s permitting process. That would allow corporate special interests to have more say. Additionally, the bill suspends the current sulfide standard for waters, potentially endangering wild rice beds in northern Minnesota under threat from different mining proposals. I believe that part of my job as a state legislator is to protect what is unique about Minnesota. Wild rice is certainly that, but I also need to respect all the cultures in Minnesota. Wild rice is an important cultural tradition to some northern Native American bands and worthy of protecting.
I am very concerned at the level of partisanship and brinksmanship coming from the leaders of the House, as well as the length of time they used to issue a budget. My hope is that we’re able to arrive at a state budget, but it will be much less easy than it should be. I will continue to work for the things that make our community and the state so exceptional. Please contact me with any questions or suggestions by email at rep.jim.davnie@house.mn or by phone at 651.296.0173.
Sincerely,
Jim Davnie