By Rep. Paul Anderson
Questions and concerns about the governor’s proposed 50-foot buffer strip requirement were the main point of interest at town hall meetings conducted by Sen. Torrey Westrom and me last weekend. One farmer said he would lose a significant percentage of the tillable acres on his small dairy farm if the plan becomes law. Others were concerned about the DNR and their role in the plan. Other drainage issues were also discussed, with over regulation being a point of contention, in addition to the manner in which maintenance costs are assigned to those who benefit from a county ditch system. The subject of green energy and wind towers was a discussion item at one location. Nursing homes and long-term care were also a concern of attendees at all of the meetings.
Questions arose concerning the large pay increases granted by the governor and the one day he still has to grant them again. The subject of transportation and a gas tax increase was discussed at length. Also mentioned was the wheelage tax imposed by some counties, in addition to a local option sales tax in some cities and counties.
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Legislators are in the midst of a week-long Easter/Passover break. The second deadline for policy bills was last Friday so most of those issues still alive will be heard on the House floor soon. Attention now is turning to spending parameters as targets were recently issued, and finance committees will begin their work of putting the major spending bills together upon returning from the Easter break.
House Republicans propose spending roughly the same amount as the current biennium, around $40 billion, but also plan on nearly $2 billion in tax cuts. Governor Dayton’s plan for the coming two years calls for spending $43 billion, including nearly the entire projected state surplus. Senate DFLers released their spending plan late last week, and it was in between the House and governor’s plan, although it was more closely aligned to Dayton’s than the House plan.
One area of government spending that can be confusing is when claims are made that spending is cut. Most often, when that’s said, it’s usually a decrease in the projected increase. Here’s a case in point; some say the Republican spending plan cuts spending in the health and human services area by over a billion dollars. That would be true if all the automatic spending increases built into current law were allowed to take place in the next two years. The GOP plan does make changes and attempts to slow those increases in certain areas, so the net result in HHS spending is actually an increase of around $442 million. That isn’t a spending cut, at least not the way most folks figure it.
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Spring shows some signs of arriving, and for that we are thankful. With our lack of snow this winter, farmers could have an early start to the planting season. May you also have a blessed Easter this weekend as we celebrate His resurrection.