Greetings from the Capitol-
This week, Governor Dayton presented his vision for Minnesota during his State of the State address. The governor started his speech by highlighting many of the good things which have transpired over the last two years, but was light on new, innovative initiatives for the future. He restated his position on taxes but I would like to see him work more with the legislature on job creation ideas. He spoke about the budget deficit we faced two years ago and how our fiscal policies turned a $6 billion deficit into a $2.5 billion surplus, reducing the future deficit down to only $1 billion (which we will tackle this year). You can read his whole speech here.
Dozens of business owners from throughout the state were special guests of House Republican members as Gov. Mark Dayton delivered his State of the Speech Address this week. The business owners participated in a very productive roundtable discussion with House members prior to Dayton's speech. They shared a wide variety of thoughts and concerns regarding Minnesota's business climate. I was happy to bring along Jason Bernick of Bernick Companies as my guest, a great job creator in our area.
The Minnesota House Public Safety Committee spent most of this week debating a series of bills that address gun use in our state. Hundreds of concerned citizens from across the state descended on the Capitol to voice their concerns or support for the bills. The bills included legislation requiring background checks for gun shows and private sales; limiting gun permit access for some Minnesotans; and a ban on “assault weapons.”
Last session, lawmakers approved legislation to fund the state’s portion of a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings with revenue generated by electronic pulltabs. This week, our House Commerce Committee learned that these pulltabs are underperforming. According to a report from the Minnesota Gambling Control Board, electronic pulltab sites were bringing in an average of $76 per day in January — about one-third of the $208 per day projections. While revenues are off to a slow start and not all vendors have moved to this format, it is not a cause for immediate concern. We will move closer to statewide implementation of electronic pulltabs and it’s an issue I will be watching closely.
As always, feel free to contact me with any thoughts or concerns you may have. I can be reached at 651-296-7808 or by e-mail at rep.tim.odriscoll@house.mn.
Sincerely,
Tim