Dear Neighbor,
It is going to be a working weekend in St. Paul as we inch closer to the Legislature's May 20 date to adjourn. We still have not received a complete budget from the majority and the tax bill is a work in progress as well.
The House majority has brought a number of other bills to the floor as we await budget bills. Bills pertaining to same-sex marriage, bullying, the minimum wage and more have recently passed our floor. We even took time Thursday to talk about partly decriminalizing underage drinking.
I expected that the budget would have gotten more priority and now the question is whether it will get done on time.
Today, we will debate the bonding bill that would borrow more than $800 million to fund a variety of projects.
We expect to spend much of Saturday discussing a bill that would unionize day care providers and personal care attendants. This important issue deserves a lengthy debate as the Senate spent 17 hours discussing it one day earlier this week.
Last night, we received word the governor and legislative Democrats have reached an agreement on a tax plan. Their proposal would increase our taxes by $2 billion. It would give Minnesota the nation’s fourth-highest top income tax bracket (9.85%), raise taxes on cigarettes by $1.60 per pack with more additional taxes and fees.
It appears the business-to-business tax the governor abandoned after receiving significant backlash is back in the mix. This will increase costs for businesses across our state, resulting in higher prices for consumers.
I will let you know what unfolds in St. Paul. Until then, below is a news release my office issued this week regarding a survey I conducted throughout the district to gain input on some of this session's most important topics.
Sincerely,
Jeff
REP. HOWE GAINS LOCAL INPUT
THROUGH SURVEY
ST. PAUL – A survey Rep. Jeff Howe, R-Rockville, conducted in District 13A indicates citizens reject a state budget which increases taxes to fund additional spending, and want the state to uphold constitutional values.
A 58-percent majority oppose Gov. Mark Dayton’s budget proposal which would have raised taxes by billions in order to fund spending growth. Legislation making its way through the Legislature would raise taxes by around $3 billion the next two years to fund a state spending spike.
The same 58 percent oppose new gun restrictions that have been introduced in the Legislature. An overwhelming 72 percent say they do not support same-sex marriage in Minnesota. At this time House and Senate majorities have advanced bill to allow same sex marriage to become legal this summer and is headed to the Governor.
“This survey was extremely valuable to me as we considered this session’s most important issues,” Howe said. “I really appreciate the time hundreds of people took to provide me with their thoughts. In addition to responding to the questions, I received some helpful personal comments from participants. All this will help me as I represent the people in our area.”
The most lopsided response to a question on Howe’s survey pertains to requiring private day care providers and personal care attendants to join a union. A large 81-percent majority do not support this measure, which also is making its way through the Legislature.
The other two questions on Howe’s survey pertain to energy issues. Most respondents (38 percent) say the current process for determining routes for high-voltage transmission lines does not support economical power transmission while protecting both the land-owner and environment. Undecided respondents make up another 34 percent.
A firm 64-percent majority say they do not support a proposal that would bring a solar-energy mandate to our state. This measure passed the House and currently is subject to action in a conference committee before being considered for final passage.
Complete survey results are available by clicking here.
-30-