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State Representative Pam Myhra
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4212
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Legislative Update (April 22, 2013)
Dear Friend,
Starting last Monday, April 15, the MN House of Representatives is hearing, debating, and voting on omnibus bills. These bills have common themes: taxpayers pay a lot more for wasteful Democrat spending on inefficient government programs.
Here is some information on four omnibus bills the House worked on last week:
The Jobs, Commerce & Housing Omnibus Bill, House File 729, spends $436.4 million or approximately 24% more than the forecasted base. One example of the wasteful spending in the bill is an additional $28 million for advertising through a 45.97% sales tax increase on car rentals. The car rental sales tax is a misery tax, because it primarily hurts Minnesotans when they rent a vehicle to have car repairs completed. Additionally, the bill includes a provision to give 3 years (156 weeks) of unemployment benefits to individuals who have stopped working as a result of a lockout, while other Minnesotans will be only eligible for 26 weeks. I voted against this bill.
The Environment and Agriculture Policy and Finance Omnibus Bill, House File 976, establishes duplicative, cumbersome, and confusing recycling programs for carpet, paint, and batteries, despite existing effective county programs. The additional cost of the new programs will be added to the price of products. The bill also spends $300,000 for bee habitat restoration along state trails with $50,000 for bee habitat signage and public awareness. I voted against this bill.
The State Government Finance Omnibus Bill, House File 1184, spends more funds than requested by agencies, eliminates the Sunset Commission established in 2011 to review the effectiveness of state government programs, and allows government spending to be on auto-pilot for up to an additional year without legislative approval. I voted against this bill.
Because the Public Safety Omnibus Bill, Senate File 671, was amended on the House floor to remove $258,000 for two Department of Human Rights compliance officers, was focused on public safety, and included no gun control bills, it passed with my support.
Later today, Monday, April 22, the House will take up the Health and Human Service Omnibus Bill and tomorrow the House will take up the Education Finance Omnibus Bill.
If you are interested in following House proceedings, there is live, unedited web and mobile streaming video coverage of all floor sessions, as well as, selected hearings and press conferences. All programming is archived. House web and mobile streaming video schedules and links to the captioned, live webcasts can be found at: www.house.mn/htv/schedule.asp . Windows Media Player is required for the Internet webcast stream. Mobile streaming is available to iPad, iPhone, or iTouch devices; and Android phones running software version 4.1 or better. Finally, House video archives are available on YouTube at: www.youtube.com/MNHouseInfo, and House audio and video archives can be found at: www.house.mn/audio/default.asp .
One other news item I would like to bring to your attention is the commencement of the construction on the new County Road 5 - Trunk Highway 13 interchange. Reconstruction of the frontage roads, Williams Drive, and County Road 5 are scheduled to take place in 2013. Much of the construction of the bridge, ramps, loop, and work on Trunk Highway 13 are planned for 2014. And completion of the project is expected in early summer of 2015. For more information, please visit www.dakotacounty.us and search for County Road 5 Interchange.
My 2013 legislative survey is now posted on my House webpage. I encourage all of my constituents to fill it out and provide feedback on issues before the legislature.
As always, please feel free to contact me with your comments or concerns.
Sincerely yours,
Pam
Representative Pam
News Items
- Legislative Update (May 16, 2013) - (Posted: May 16 2013 1:49PM)
- Legislative Update (April 30, 2013) - (Posted: Apr 30 2013 5:06PM)
- Legislative Update (April 22, 2013) - (Posted: Apr 22 2013 4:34PM)
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