Dear Friends,
After a week of rest and time with family, it was good to be back in Saint Paul as we dig in and get to work for the final six weeks of session. Some news from this week:
State of the State
Governor Dayton delivered his 2015 State of the State address, his fifth speech since taking office in 2011. As a first-term legislator, this was my first State of the State, so it was exciting to have a great seat with the House chamber packed with House members, Senate members, members of the Minnesota Supreme Court, former Governors, and even former Vice President Walter Mondale.
It was great to have Dan Erickson, a local farmer from Alden, Minnesota joining me as my guest for the speech. Dan is also the regional representative for the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, and has been keeping a close eye on the Governor's buffer strip proposal.
With the speech coming so late in session, there was little new content that we haven't heard before from the Governor. One positive part of the speech was that the Governor seemed willing to compromise and make changes to his buffer proposal. I hope he is willing to continue working with farmers and members of the legislature on a plan that helps protect our water in a way that addresses the concerns farmers have raised about the proposal.
I wrote about the need for compromise on the buffer issue in my column that will appear in this Sunday's Albert Lea Tribune. You can find a link on my Facebook and Twitter pages once it is posted online this weekend.
Budget
With just six weeks to go, we will be spending more and more time on the House floor debating and passing our budget omnibus bills. Omnibus bills are large pieces of legislation, often hundreds of pages long, that pack dozens of smaller bills into one big bill. I don't think anyone from either party will always like all of what is contained in these bills, but I will be weighing each bill on its merits, and whether as a whole it will make a positive difference for our community and the state of Minnesota.
I will keep you updated as best I can on each of the budget bills so you can stay informed and let me know what you think. Please don't hesitate to email me your questions as the budget process continues at
rep.peggy.bennett@house.mn.
Last call for online survey
On Monday I will be closing down the online version of my 2015 survey so we can combine them with the paper copies that were mailed in and tabulate the final results. If you haven't had a chance yet, please take my online survey sometime this weekend by clicking
here. Paper copies will still be available after Monday, and you can request one in the mail by calling my office at
651-296-8216.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Peggy Bennett
State Representative, District 27A