Dear neighbors,
Last week marked the beginning of the 2014 Legislative Session. I’m looking forward to working with you to build on the progress we made in 2013.
We accomplished a lot of great things last year: We balanced our state budget, paid back our schools and invested in our students, and provided property tax relief. As a result Minnesota employers added over 45,000 jobs last year, lowering our unemployment rate to 4.6 percent – one of the lowest rates in the country. Thanks to our outstanding businesses and talented workforce, our state has a $1.23 billion budget surplus. And our graduation rates are the highest they’ve been in the last decade. Minnesota is making progress, but we have more work to do to grow our middle class.
With Minnesota on sound fiscal footing for the first time in years, we need to stay focused on helping families and businesses who have not yet felt the economic recovery. Thanks to a growing economy and a projected surplus, we are in a position to pay for additional middle tax cuts while maintaining a structurally balanced budget.
I support raising the minimum wage to help working Minnesotans provide for themselves and their families. Minnesota has the third lowest wage in the entire country, well below the set federal minimum wage of a mere $7.25. The last time we increased the minimum wage happened nearly a year ago. Many Minnesotans of their families struggle daily to keep up with the rising costs of things like gas, groceries, housing and other necessities. It is time we raise the minimum wage to give hardworking Minnesotans more economic security and stability that they need and deserve.
We must also work together this session to pass a strategic and bipartisan bonding bill. Putting aside our partisan differences to create good jobs and to invest in our state’s infrastructure is not only smart economic policy, it’s simply the right thing to do. The Springbrook Nature Center is one such project I will advocate to include in the 2014 bonding bill. Springbrook is a staple of our community, connecting our growing residential developments with the land and offers a diverse habitat that attracts 150,000 visitors per year. We need to invest in Springbrook Nature Center for our environment and our community.
Another challenge we must address in the disproportionate barriers to economic security facing women in Minnesota. Women make up half our Minnesota’s workforce but 58 percent of women are paid less than $9.50. This is why my DFL colleagues and I are working to pass the Women’s Economic Security Act this session to ensure women have an equal opportunity to succeed. Our priorities include closing the gender pay gap, expanding access to high-quality and affordable childcare, support women-owned small businesses and promote policies that allow women to secure high-wage jobs.
Lawmakers are focused on making government better, faster, simpler and more efficient for people and businesses – and idea Governor Dayton coined as the “Unsession.” I’m hopeful that we can take some serious steps to cut red tape for businesses and streamline our state government by improving services, shortening wait times, and eliminating old and outdated rules.
Please stay in touch during this year’s Legislative Session by sharing any questions, comments or other feedback. You can reach me by phone at 651-296-4331, by email at rep.carolyn.laine@house.mn, or by postal mail at 485 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Sincerely,
Carolyn