By Rep. Paul Anderson
With the legislative session beginning this week, much work needs to be completed during the 10 weeks we’ll be in St. Paul. The $1 billion-plus surplus was trimmed by 25 percent in the February forecast, which could make large tax cuts or spending plans more difficult to pass. I also believe an added note of caution needs to be addressed because of the downturn in the ag. economy. Not only are farmers feeling the sting of negative cash flows as they get ready for spring, but their belt-tightening will have a ripple effect on Main Street, as well.
Three main items top the agenda as session begins. A transportation bill needs to be hammered out, in addition to a tax bill and a bonding proposal. When earlier forecasts called for a larger surplus, Gov. Mark Dayton himself said a gas tax increase was off the table. Now, it seems the gas tax may be back on the table. How that one issue plays out will go a long way in determining how much gets done this year. Time will be of the essence – because of the short session – and it’s also an election year. All 201 seats in the two chambers are up for election this fall.
Another area of contention may be the governor’s plan for pre-kindergarten classes to be offered by school districts. Many are already doing just that, but it’s up to each district depending on how much additional space they may have and if they have enough staff. Schools made it clear last year during budget negotiations that they would rather have the additional funding put into the general school formula instead of new offerings for 4-year olds.
***
It was a pleasant surprise to learn last week that child care providers in Minnesota had soundly rejected plans to unionize their business. Despite concerns about just who was eligible to vote in the election, the voting came in about 3-to-1 against the plan. About 1,400 ballots were returned from the approximately 2,400 that were sent out. Hopefully, this puts an end to the DFL initiative to unionize day care providers, which has been controversial ever since legislation passed in 2013 setting up this vote. These providers run their own businesses, set their own hours, and their rate of compensation. In all my years in St. Paul, this unionization push was the least popular in our district of any legislation I can recall. It just didn’t make sense and probably would have increased the cost of child care for all families. In addition, allowing only one-fourth of the total number of providers to actually vote in the election didn’t sit well either.
***
I attended the governor’s water summit a couple of weeks back. Interest was high, as evidenced by the nearly 1,000 in attendance. There are lots of different ideas about addressing water quality issues, with many of them aimed at farming practices. That’s part of the solution, but so are better storm water-retention plans, salt-reduction ideas, and stream-bank stabilization. Gov. Dayton’s opening remarks were interrupted by protesters voicing their opinion on pipelines that would carry crude oil from North Dakota across northern Minnesota. I talked with one of the protesters on my way into the summit. He was handing out stickers with wording pertaining to stopping the pipelines. I asked if he really though it is safer to transport oil in rail cars rather than through pipelines. He replied, “We want to stop all of it.” I then asked how he had gotten downtown that morning, to which he replied that he had driven. I shook my head and walked away.
-30-