Dear Neighbors and Friends,
It’s a little busier at the Capitol this week, because committees are holding hearings about bills that might come up during the next session starting in late February. I thought this might be a good time to update you on what I’ve been up to the past few weeks.
Meeting with Local Officials
Recently I’ve met with the local city councils and county boards in our area to gather input about their priorities for 2014. Some of the major projects on their minds include transportation improvements for the south metro and the outlet mall development in Eagan. Aside from local officials, I’m always looking to gather more input from local residents as well, so feel free to contact me with any suggestions or concerns you have for projects in our area.
Economy Adding Jobs, Bringing in a Surplus
Minnesota has seen a lot of economic success and optimism recently. The 2013 jobs numbers were released last week and according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), we added 9,500 jobs in December. December’s job gains bring us to a growth of 45,900 jobs in 2013, a growth rate of 1.7% in Minnesota compared to the national rate was 1.6%. The state unemployment rate currently stands at 4.6%, well below the national rate of 6.7%. Minnesota’s economic success has also appeared in our state budget. Minnesota Management and Budget recently announced that their forecast shows a projected budget surplus of $1.08 billion for the 14-15 fiscal year. This surplus will allow us to re-pay the money borrowed from our schools by previous legislatures while still leaving us a balance of $825 million.
Work for this Session
But we still have work to do this session. One of the key issues I’ll be supporting this session is the repeal of the warehousing tax. Repealing the tax will be supporting our local businesses as they continue to move our economy forward. I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to address it this session and make 2014 an even better year for Minnesota’s economy.
Sandy Masin