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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Kelby Woodard (R)

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Legislative Update

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Dear Neighbor,

The legislature returned to St. Paul on Tuesday, February 25th in hopes that many of the mistakes from the last session can be quickly addressed. There appears to be a renewed bi-partisan spirit in tackling at least some of the excessive government spending and historic tax increases resulting from the 2013 session. That session saw Democrats raise taxes on a purely partisan vote that made us the 4th most taxed state in the union.  They also increased spending by a factor of $1500 per every man, woman and child in the state.

The House began the 2014 session with passing a $20 million appropriation for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). A propane shortage, along with an unusually cold winter, caused demand to rise and prices to skyrocket. The bill included an additional 120,000 households and increased the maximum crisis payment per applicant. It was a good way to begin session in a bipartisan effort to help Minnesota families struggling to heat their homes this winter. Governor Dayton signed the bill into law.

I am very concerned, however, that some other priorities my Democratic colleagues have this session do not match the priorities of most Minnesotans. For example, a new $90 million Senate Office Building is moving forward this year. This profligate project, passed last spring in the dark of night without sufficient public input, is a gift from legislators to themselves and a prime example of wasteful government spending.

 

Image of design proposal for new Senate complex

 

Thanks in large part to the fiscal restraint of the budget passed by the former Republican majorities and an improving economy, Minnesota now has a projected surplus of $1.2 billion.  I am joining my Republican colleagues in saying, “Give it Back.”  Minnesotans work hard for their paycheck and a surplus should not be squandered or locked away in a vault in St. Paul. I fully support returning the surplus as a down payment in returning our state to a more reasonable tax climate.

It now seems that repealing the business-to-business taxes of 2013 has bipartisan support. The business-to-business taxes include a sales tax on telecommunications, farm and commercial equipment repairs as well as a tax on warehousing services. A bill to roll back some of these harmful new taxes will be up for a vote on the House Floor Thursday, March 6th.

I support this effort and hope it will be signed into law quickly. We need to do what is in the best interest for Minnesotans and these harmful anti-business taxes have done nothing but threaten an already fragile economic recovery.

Other priorities this session should include streamlining government regulations to foster job growth, improve our state’s education system by rolling back unfunded mandates and mitigating the negative impact MNsure has had on Minnesota families.

I look forward to working on your behalf this session. Please contact me if I can ever be of assistance to you.

Thank you for the honor and privilege of being your representative.

 

Sincerely,

Kelby