Dear Neighbor,
Greetings from the Capitol, where two bills I am offering as the lead author received hearings this week and remain up for consideration to be enacted.
One bill I wrote about in a recent update (H.F. 1969) states housing plans developed by the Met Council must receive approval from the Legislature before being implemented. This is a big issue in the northern part of our District 20A, which lies in Scott County and falls under the Met Council's auspices. The ripple effect extends beyond that panel's official reaches, so this bill potentially protects the concerns for all the people in the southern part of our district as well.
Another bill I presented in a hearing (H.F. 1977) pertains to energy standards. It allows flexibility in methods used to achieve energy reduction goals while complying with various codes. The thinking behind this is to urge private citizens to take advantage of advancing technology to gain efficiency instead of the state prescribing more standards.
This subject is part of a column I submitted to newspapers in our district this week. I encourage you to keep an eye out for the column in its entirety, but here is a snippet:
"Our mission is to provide Minnesota with cleaner, more affordable energy by incentivizing and supporting private initiatives rather than passing more layers of prescriptive legislation.
"A number of policies have been passed over the last decade or so that have helped bring clean energy, but also have made things more expensive. The key for us is to take advantage of advances in modern technology that allow us to protect our environment and achieve greater affordability at the same time. A prime example is converting our diesel fleet to natural gas, which would benefit the environment and also help our transit lines and school districts save money."
On another note, Gov. Mark Dayton issued his State of the State Address on Thursday. There were no real surprises, but he did underscore his proposal to create a 50-foot buffer strip around all state waters. This has become something of a source of controversy since he sprung this plan on the public several weeks ago. It seems as if the growing sentiment is that we need more time to study this issue before we act, especially since this proposal is so new.
Please stay in touch regarding these and other issues, such as long-term transportation plans, as we make our way to the end of the session. You can reach me by emailing rep.bob.vogel@house.mn or by calling (651) 296-7065.
Sincerely,
Bob