ST. PAUL – With hundreds of votes tallied, State Representative Greg Davids (R-Preston) is releasing the results of a District 28B legislative questionnaire he distributed earlier this year.
“I’m very pleased with this year’s response to the district survey,” Davids said. “As always, the input I receive from the questionnaire helps me as I vote on issues that will likely receive votes at the State Capitol.”
When asked what the Legislature should do with Minnesota’s projected $900 million surplus, 51 percent want to keep it in budget reserves, while 34 percent would like to return it to the taxpayers. Fifteen percent chose “increase state spending.”
In order to provide more money for statewide road and bridge improvement, 83 percent said they would rather redirect tax revenues that are already being collected by Minnesota for transportation purposes, while 17 percent want to increase gas taxes by a minimum of 16 cents per gallon.
Regarding their feelings on MNsure, 46 percent say it isn’t working and lawmakers should repeal it entirely; 24 percent think they should give Minnesotans more options outside of MNsure; 20 percent believe it can be fixed by enacting significant reforms; and ten percent feel it is working and that lawmakers should leave it alone.
In addition, 64 percent of respondents prefer using surplus funds to provide tax relief rather than to increase spending for Local Government Aid; 71 percent do not want to provide state tax dollars to fund all day pre-Kindergarten programs; and 67 percent said they do not support the DNR’s approach to expand its authority for water buffer zones to include ditches.
“I want to thank everyone who took the time to respond to my survey,” Rep. Davids concluded.