Dear Friends,
10 days from today, May 19th, the legislature will reach its constitutional deadline and finish its business for the 2014 session. It's been a fast-paced session with several major accomplishments including the repeal of the harmful business-to-business taxes passed in 2013; bipartisan efforts to boost the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) after a particularly harsh winter, a bill I co-authored; and a tax cut bill that will provide property tax relief to farmers and other families in Greater Minnesota that is expected to be finalized in the next few days.
Legislative leaders are also working on finalizing a bonding bill that will be used to fund a wide variety of projects across Minnesota. Republicans have been pushing for a bill that is geographically balanced and focuses on critical needs like roads and bridges, asset preservation, and critical infrastructure projects rather than wants like funding for the Minneapolis Sculpture garden and $50 million for a museum.
I hope to see a bill that funds worthy projects and balances the needs of Greater Minnesota with those of the Metro area. Too often over the past two years, we've seen Minneapolis and St. Paul prioritized over Greater Minnesota.
Town Hall Meeting
Thanks to those of you who took time out of your busy lives to attend my town hall meeting on Tuesday. It was great to be back in Owatonna for the evening after session concluded to give you an update on the closing weeks of session, and I appreciated the thoughtful questions from those in attendance.
You can read a writeup about the town hall meeting from the Owatonna People's Press by clicking here.
If you weren't able to attend Tuesday's meeting, I hope you'll mark your calendars for my next town hall meeting which will take place on Thursday, June 05th at the HyVee Club Room in Owatonna from 6:30-8PM.
Full details:
Owatonna Town Hall
Thursday, June 05
6:30PM-8PM
Owatonna HyVee Club Room
1620 S Cedar Ave
Owatonna, MN 55060
If you have any questions, comments, or additional thoughts on the 2014 session and aren't able to attend a town hall meeting, please don't hesitate to send me an email at rep.john.petersburg@house.mn or call my office at 651-296-5368.
Have a great weekend,
John Petersburg
State Representative, District 24A