This Wednesday I had the pleasure of visiting Paynesville Middle School’s “Discovering Agriscience” class. I enjoyed meeting with this group to hear more about the great things they are doing. Thanks for being such gracious hosts!
Dear Neighbor,
Our May 20 constitutional deadline for the Legislature to adjourn is rapidly approaching and by the end of next week we may be down to the final 10 “legislative days” we are allowed to meet as full bodies.
Here is a look at where things stand and other notes from the House:
Omnibus finance bills
Most of the session’s unfinished business revolves around omnibus finance packages the majority has assembled. We should note the state already is fully funded after the Democrats spent the $18 billion surplus and raised taxes by $10 billion. This new spending is additional, on top of the 40-percent they already raised the state budget less than one year ago.
So, while there are some issues that could be addressed or have arisen in the last several months, the issues we truly needed to address have been taken care of this year. Most notably, this includes a fix to the tax bill, getting school resource officers back in all the buildings they had been serving, and correcting a net-operating loss issue.
Also, work continues on a capital investment bill to fund essential infrastructure projects around our state. This package will need to be tight and stick to priority projects if it is going to gain super-majority support that is required for bonding bills to pass.
It remains to be seen what will pass and what will fall by the wayside as we adjourn, and how a recent development in the Senate will impact the course we take. We would be best off focusing on bills that have broad, bipartisan support.
Paynesville Chamber event
I enjoyed attending a mid-session legislative update event hosted by the Paynesville Area Chamber of Commerce this morning. It’s always good to spend time meeting with groups in our local communities. Sen. Howe and I enjoyed the opportunity to share our thoughts on the issues but, more importantly, we appreciated hearing directly from people we represent. Thank you to everyone who participated in this meeting.
Sincerely,
Lisa