By Rep. Mark Anderson
I would like to pass along the results of a legislative survey I conducted in our district this session. Thank you to the hundreds of people who participated and provided me with valuable information on where local people stand on the issues.
A few things are very clear: People in our area favor government efficiency over government growth, want their tax dollars to be protected and prefer flexibility in making local decisions.
Oh, and people in District 9A do not think the Obamacare exchange is working in Minnesota. In fact, 52 percent of respondents say the best approach for addressing problems with MNsure is to repeal it entirely. A group of 20 percent says it can be fixed through reform and 17 percent advocates more options outside of MNsure. Only 11 percent says MNsure is working and we should keep it. Count me in the 72 percent that says either repeal it or enact significant reforms.
Another question on the survey asks how we should handle the state's $1.9 billion budget surplus. The top two responses are to keep that money in the reserves (47 percent) and return it to the taxpayers (43 percent). Only 10 percent says we should increase spending. I am in favor of reducing state spending overall, so I favor returning most, if not all, of it to taxpayers. The House's tax bill would do accomplish that with around $2 billion in tax reductions.
On another tax-related question in the survey, local residents say the best tax-reform policy we could enact would be exempting seniors' Social Security income from taxation. Minnesota is one of only six states to fully tax Social Security and the aforementioned tax bill includes a provision to phase out this practice. This proposal would be a big help for people living on fixed incomes and I support it.
Transportation is a big issue at the Capitol this session and two of the questions on the survey pertain to that subject. The overwhelming majority (80 percent) of respondents indicate they drive themselves to work – instead of using trains, buses or carpools.
Along with that, a 48-percent majority says we should improve transportation by dedicating all transportation-related revenue to transportation needs. Making transportation a higher priority in the budget (20 percent) and increasing funding for roads and bridges by decreasing funding for trains (17 percent) were the next most popular answers. I agree with all three of those positions and the good news is the House recently passed the Road and Bridge Act of 2015, which helps us advance each of those points.
Both bodies of the Legislature recently voted against allowing Sunday liquor sales in Minnesota. This is in line with 60 percent of the survey respondents indicating we should not repeal the law banning Sunday sales. A 30-percent minority favors repealing the law and 10 percent is undecided.
The House did recently pass legislation that would allow school districts to consider teacher performance along with seniority when making personnel decisions. A wide 79-percent majority supports this position.
Long-term care is another big topic in the Legislature this year and the House has approved a bill that would provide increased funding for these facilities and their employees. The survey responses are fairly split, with the top two responses for how to improve long-term care being: create a tax-exempt savings plan to encourage people to save for future long-term care costs (34 percent), and relieve burdensome administrative and paperwork requirements for long-term care facilities (25 percent). I fully support reducing red tape and bureaucracy and also think people in our society need to better prepare themselves through fiscal literacy. The latter is a discussion for another day all by itself and maybe it can be the subject of a future letter.
Thanks again to all the people who took the time to participate in this survey. This information will be helpful as we make our way toward the May 18 date for adjournment in the Legislature.
Log on to www.house.mn/9a for complete results of the survey.
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