Minnesota House of Representatives
District 12A 651-296-4929 – rep.jay.mcnamar@house.mn
431 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Matt Privratsky – 651-296-6860
January 8, 2013
STATE REP. JAY MCNAMAR SWORN-IN AS
LEGISLATIVE SESSION BEGINS
ST. PAUL, MN - State Representative Jay McNamar (DFL – Elbow Lake) was officially sworn in as the State Representative for District 12A as the 88th Legislative Session convened at noon on January 8th at the State Capitol. Rep. McNamar is beginning his first term in the Minnesota House of Representatives serving the counties of Grant, Wilkin, Big Stone, Stevens, Traverse, and part of Douglas and Pope.
“I’m honored and humbled to be our communities’ voice in St. Paul,” said Rep. McNamar. “Folks have said loud and clear that they want their legislators to focus on the basics: balancing the budget responsibly, improving our schools, and lowering property taxes.”
Economic forecasts revealed early last month that lawmakers must tackle a $1.1 billion budget shortfall this year. When the money still owed to schools and inflation is included the shortfall rises to over $3 billion.
“We’re facing a number of challenges and in coming up with solutions, we need to set clear priorities,” said Rep. McNamar. “My priorities include improving K-12 education, making higher education more affordable, and restoring aid to our local communities. The cuts to Local Government Aid (LGA) have driven up property taxes and forced our communities to cut important services — like public safety. We need to reverse these downward trends.”
Recognizing the difficult task ahead in balancing the state budget, Rep. McNamar signaled a desire to work in a bipartisan fashion on a solution.
“We’ve seen what happens when legislators refuse to work together,” said Rep. McNamar. “I’m committed to bipartisanship and am willing to work with anyone truly interested in finding solutions to the problems we face — whether they are a Democrat or a Republican.”
Work will begin in legislative hearings throughout the coming weeks and months. This session Rep. McNamar will serve on the Capital Investment, Agriculture Policy, and Judiciary Finance and Policy Committees.
“I’m pleased to be serving on these important committees, and I’m ready to get to work,” said Rep. McNamar.
Throughout the legislative session, Rep. McNamar encourages all constituents to contact him directly with any questions, comments, or concerns on any legislative issue. Rep. McNamar can be reached by phone at (651) 296-4929 or by email at rep.jay.mcnamar@house.mn.
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