Dear Friends,
Last weekend I participated with Sen. David Osmek and Rep. Cindy Pugh in holding a series of meetings within our district in order to better understand the views and concerns expressed by constituents residing within the whole of senate district 33 and how those concerns may be influenced by legislation moving through the legislature during this 88th session. The meetings were held in Chanhassen, Mound and Maple Plain.
In Chanhassen the discussion was largely dominated about gun control and the 2nd amendment. Opening with a constituent concern for the need of stricter gun laws, this opinion was met with strong opposition from many of the other attendees, who expressed strong opposition to any more gun laws or gun restrictions contrary to the opening statement. In addition, frac sand mining, higher education costs and gay marriage were also concerns.
In Mound, the discussion was varied among topics and included funding for schools, the Governor's proposed budget and taxation of different income groups, the so called "snow bird tax", the business to business tax (B2B) and its impact upon local units of government, local government aid (LGA) and property tax.
In Maple Plain, the discussion was also varied and included topics such as homelessness, women's exploitation and prostitution, puppy mills, gay marriage, high voltage power lines, and water use.
Thank you for your participation and the comments and concerns as expressed at these meetings. Letters and emails simply cannot share the heartfelt passion as expressed in person. If you did not have the chance to share your thoughts, or were not able to attend, I hope you'll email or call me with your thoughts at rep.jerry.hertaus@house.mn or 651-296-9188.
"Jobs" Bill passes the House
On Monday, I voted against HF677, the Jobs, Commerce and Housing Omnibus bill put forward by the majority. It was the first of the 2014-2015 biennium budget bills.
I voted against the bill for a number of reasons:
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The bill increased spending by $100 million dollars over the projected baseline for 2014-2015.
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Tens of millions in wasteful spending items, many of which would not create a single job.
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Nearly $30 million dollars in fee increases that would hit hardworking taxpayers to pay for their wasteful spending items.
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Lockout language that would give three years of unemployment benefits to workers who have stopped working as a result of a lockout. Meanwhile, all other Minnesotans would still only be eligible for 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. I firmly believe we need to ensure that all Minnesotans are playing by the same set of rules and that we aren't giving special privileges to special interests.
You can view my floor speech during the jobs bill debate by clicking here.
Yesterday, we debated the Environment & Agriculture Finance Bill that features another round of dramatic fee increases, including even a fee increase on water use for residential homes. I voted no on this bill. We are expecting to take up the Judiciary and Public Safety Omnibus bills today on the floor.
As always, I welcome your input, suggestions, and comments. Your thoughts help me better represent our district.
Have a great weekend,
Rep. Jerry Hertaus