Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! I hope your 2014 is off to a good start. Some updates from St. Paul and around our community:
Congratulations Rosemount Marching Band!
I want to wish a belated congratulations to the Rosemount High School Marching Band that participated in the Rose Bowl Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena on New Year's Day. What a wonderful opportunity to showcase our great schools and music program, and represent our community on a truly national stage. Read more about their trip to Pasadena in the Rosemount Town Pages by clicking here. You can watch a video of their performance posted by Rosemount High School on their Facebook page by clicking here.
Recent Events
On January 13th, I attended a District 196 meeting that included Superintendent Jane Berenz, Rosemount High School, Inver Hills Community College, as well as our Senator Greg Clausen, Senate E-12 Committee Chair Senator Chuck Wiger, Senator Susan Kent, and Senator Jim Carlson.
Much of our discussion focused on the College in the Schools (CIS) program, and how we can better prep our students for college and eventual careers. We were able to visit one of the CIS classes and hear from students what they are learning and how CIS is preparing them to be ready for college. And as an added bonus, we also had the opportunity to hear the marching band practice!
On January 15th, I attended the Apple Valley Chamber Luncheon "What If...Session," where Apple Valley Mayor Mary Hamann-Roland and Chamber President Ed Kearney had an informal discussion with the audience of local business leaders and education leaders on how they can improve and collaborate more effectively to best benefit the community. We also discussed how the city and the legislature can better work together on behalf of our community.
Later that day, I attended the Minnesota Inter-County Association (MICA) Legislative Forum, which focused on how Minnesota counties and the legislature can better work together to provide services to citizens, as well as what the legislature can do to make life easier on county governments.
We discussed several issues that are expected to come up in the 2014 legislative session, including bonding proposals, minimum wage changes, and a possible transportation funding bill.
On January 16th, I visited a group home in Rosemount to talk with representatives of the 5% campaign, a bipartisan effort to give a 5% increase to home care workers who care for our most vulnerable citizens. The proposal is likely to be a topic of discussion at the Capitol this upcoming session, and has received pledges of support from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Later that day, my colleagues and I on the Legacy Committee toured the Minnesota Children's Museum and the Minnesota History Center. Both the Museum and the History Center have received Legacy funds, and staff shared with us how the dollars have been used to enhance the exhibits for the vast number of Minnesotans who visit them each year.
At the Minnesota History Center, managed by the Minnesota Historical Society, we viewed historic photos of the State Capitol, saw the 50,000 square foot archives in the basement of the History Center, and explored the "Then, Now, Wow" exhibit funded in part by Legacy dollars. Resources in the archives are available to Minnesotans at the History Center's Library and online. To learn more, visit: http://www.minnesotahistorycenter.org/
To see more photos from the Legacy Tour, visit my legislative Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/RepAnnaWills
This morning, January 17th, I attended the Dakota County Legislative Breakfast, where the Dakota County Board of Commissioners shared their successes over the past year, how legislation passed in 2013 benefited the county, and the county's 2014 legislative priorities.
We also heard a preview of what's to come in the 2014 legislative session from Assistant Majority Leader Senator Katie Sieben and Assistant Minority Leader Representative Tara Mack.
Upcoming Blood Drive
Please consider giving a life-saving gift of a blood donation. The American Red Cross will be holding a blood drive in Rosemount tomorrow, January 18th. Full details:
DATE: January 18th, 2014
TIME: 9AM-12PM
LOCATION:
Caribou Coffee
3868 150th Street
Rosemount, MN
Pre-Session Update
With session just around the corner, activity is starting to pick up again in Saint Paul with the pre-filing of bills that will receive their first reading on February 25th when the legislature reconvenes for 2014. I wanted to update you on the one bill that I've chief authored, and two bills I've co-authored ahead of the 2014 session.
During interim, I've spoken with countless constituents and businesses around our community about the need to repeal the damaging business-to-business taxes that were passed last session. These taxes are an added cost to businesses, which puts jobs at risk and adds costs to consumers purchasing goods and services from businesses impacted by these new taxes. There is a great deal of bipartisan support for repealing these taxes. To that end, I've introduced a bill that would repeal all of the business-to-business taxes using money from the projected billion dollar surplus.
Simply put, with the tax increases implemented last session, government is taking too much money. It's time to undo these mistakes, and ease the burdens placed on Minnesota businesses and families. I plan to work with any legislator, Republican or Democrat, to help make the repeal of these taxes a reality next session.
In addition to my bill to repeal all business-to-business taxes, I've signed on to a bill by Representative Pat Garofalo that would eliminate the tax families have to pay for receiving employer-provided adoption assistance, as well as a bill to repeal only the warehousing tax that begins in April. Taxes are sure to be a hot topic next session, and it remains to be seen which specific provisions, if any, will ultimately be repealed.
What do you hope the legislature focuses on next session? Are there other tax provisions or laws that were passed that you would like to see revisited when the legislature returns in February? My door is always open, and I hope you'll contact me either by phone at 651-296-4306 or by email at rep.anna.wills@house.mn and let me know your thoughts and suggestions. If you'd like to set up a meeting, I'm happy to meet for coffee with constituents in Rosemount or Apple Valley, or in St. Paul at my office, whichever is more convenient. Thank you for the continued privilege of serving our community in the legislature, and I look forward to working hard for Rosemount, Apple Valley, and Coates in 2014.
Sincerely,
Anna Wills