Thanks to Shaina Kirckof of Brooten for stopping by my office in St. Paul this week. Shaina is a farming, snowmobile-racing mother of two and she still found time to come to St. Paul and share some valuable perspectives with me. It always is nice to have visitors from District 12B come to the Capitol to talk.
Dear Neighbor,
Greetings as we near the end of another busy week during the 2019 session. As always, we are facing a wide variety of challenges in the Legislature and your input is helpful as we prepare to make some difficult decisions. One way you can provide feedback is by attending any of the four town hall meetings Sen. Torrey Westrom and I will be co-hosting in District 12B on Friday, March 8.
Here is the itinerary:
Friday, March 8 Town Hall Meetings
- 9:15 a.m., Albany City Hall (400 Railroad Ave.)
- 10:30 a.m., Melrose City Hall (225 1st St. N.E.)
- 11:45 a.m., Sauk Centre City Hall (320 Oak St. S.)
- 2 p.m., Glenwood Pizza Ranch (14 E. Minnesota Ave.)
Hope you can join us for any of these informal discussions. One thing we can discuss is today’s state economic forecast issued by Minnesota Management & Budget. The report calls for a budget surplus of around $1 billion for the upcoming biennium, with state revenue collections $492 million less than anticipated in the November forecast. The drop-off in revenue is something we need to keep an eye on and it should underscore the importance of not overextending ourselves in setting the new two-year budget later this session.
Budget work will pick up now that we have these figures from the forecast to provide the framework for proposals from the House and the Senate, while the governor likely will go back and modify some portions of the budget plan he recently put forward.
Otherwise, most of our work remains focused on getting finance-related bills through the preliminary committee stages ahead of the first deadline on March 15. A bill of mine that would provide short-term financial help to dairy farmers by compensating them for conservation efforts received a hearing in an ag. committee this week and I look forward to continuing this discussion.
I will pass along more news as these and other subjects develop.
Sincerely,
Paul