Dear Neighbors,
Thanks for all of your recent calls, letters, and emails. We’re closing in on the final days of session, and your input is invaluable. I always appreciate hearing from people and listening to various perspectives on the issues.
Current Status of Budget Bills
We are almost finished with the process of passing our joint agreements between the House and Senate, and have put together a responsible budget that we hope the governor will sign into law. Highlighting these bills are a $1.1 billion tax relief proposal, a plan to invest $2 billion in our roads and bridges, as well as funding and reforms to help our students succeed. We have just over a week left in the legislative session.
Here is a link to a short video explaining why we are moving forward with our bills at this time and sending them to the governor. My colleagues and I, representatives and senators from both sides of the aisle, have worked incredibly hard to meet early deadlines, including those that the governor set. Our goal in this is to increase transparency and avoid last-minute lawmaking. We are extremely disappointed and frustrated that negotiations have not moved as quickly as they need to in order to end on time. We're now sending our budget to the governor and hope that, if he's not able to sign them, he will work with us and present his compromise budgets on all bills — not just the few he's offered thus far.
The public expects us to get our work done on time and I am committed to that goal. You can count on me to push our leaders and the governor to end on time with a budget that will help Minnesota families. I’ll keep you posted next week as things keep moving.
Buffers
A huge issue in our area is the agricultural buffer legislation that is set to start soon. This impacts every farmer in our area and likely around the state. Yesterday, agriculture groups - including Minnesota Farm Bureau, Minnesota Farmers Union, Minnesota Corn Growers Association and many more - sent a letter to Governor Dayton asking him to listen to farmers’ concerns about this legislation.
Farmers from throughout our area have reached out to me to share their valid concerns with the one-size-fits-all approach to buffers. These hardworking Minnesotans want to protect our water quality, but feel all sides need to be heard in order to strike a compromise that works for everyone. We need to give our farmers a seat at the table so they can have their voice heard on this important issue.
If you’d like to read the letter, please click here.
Civil Air Patrol
I am now an official member of the Minnesota State Legislative Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol! The Civil Air Patrol is an auxiliary of the United States Air Force. It is a volunteer organization that performs a lot of necessary functions for communities in our state and country, including emergency response, diverse aviation and ground service, and youth development. Thank you to the Civil Air Patrol for all they do for our state and country!
Please Contact Me
As always, please call or email me if you have a question. Hope you enjoy what looks to be a beautiful upcoming weekend, and happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in our area!
Peggy