Dear Neighbor,
Just a quick note wishing you and your family a blessed Easter, along with providing a few legislative odds and ends.
Legislators have been away from the Capitol this week in observance of Easter/Passover. This also has allowed us to spend extra time meeting with people in our districts. Sen. Torrey Westrom and I conducted a series of four town hall meetings this week and the input we received was very much appreciated.
One subject citizens seemed especially interested in talking about during the town halls is the governor's proposed 50-foot buffer strips surrounding bodies of water. People I am hearing from in our area, including opinions expressed at the town halls, are solidly against the buffer plan.
Long-term care, transportation and the governor's proposed budget also were discussed at the town halls. People indicate they like the House's plan that provides an infusion of funding to pay for work on roads and bridges without raising taxes. There does not seem to be very much support for the governor's plan to raise the gas tax by 6.5 percent at the wholesale level.
I also met with representatives of the Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria. One of the items discussed had to do with reimbursement rates that hospitals receive. Another meeting I have scheduled with local school officials will focus on their funding issues.
Thanks for all the helpful comments and I will stay in touch as we pick things up at the Capitol next week and head into the home stretch of the 2015 session. For now, have a pleasant Easter/Passover weekend with friends and family.
Sincerely,
Paul