Comments from our State Legislators
Joe Gimse
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
State Office Building, Room 105
St. Paul, MN 55155-1206
651.296.3826
Email Address: sen.joe.gimse@senate
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Paul Anderson
239 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-4317
E-mail:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Check out my Website:
www.paulandersonmn.com
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State Legislators Comments
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Written by Paul Anderson - State House Representative 13A
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Monday, 30 January 2012 15:40 |
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Monday, Jan. 30, 2012
 Town hall meetings have been scheduled for Sauk Centre and Glenwood in District 13A. Senator Joe Gimse and I will host the gatherings, in Sauk Centre this Saturday and in Glenwood the following week. Both will start at 8:30. Locations are the Lynx National Golf Course in Sauk Centre Feb. 4th, and at the Glenwood Retirement Home the following Saturday, Feb. 11th.
After a short opening-day session Jan. 24th in the House of Representatives, our Education Finance Committee held its first meeting later that same afternoon. The bill we debated dealt with changing the way local levy referendum dollars are allocated when charter schools are located within the boundaries of a school district. Under current law and based on student numbers, the state-equalized portion of referendum dollars goes to charter schools in the district, while all of the locally-raised dollars stay with the school district.
It was argued by those favoring the change that since referendums are based on per-pupil funding amounts all the money raised should follow students who may be attending charter schools within the district. I raised the point that since it's the district who conducts referendum elections, and because voters have given their approval based on the assumption that all referendum dollars would be going to the district, to change the funding stream now would not be what district residents originally voted for.
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State Legislators Comments
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Written by Paul Anderson - State House Representative 13A
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Monday, 23 January 2012 10:27 |
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Monday, Jan. 12, 2012
Action in the areas of government reform and job creation are at the top of the list for many here in St. Paul, as we start the new legislative session. It seems both the Governor and legislative leaders agree on that premise so, at least starting off, there seems to be more of a spirit of compromise. I find that encouraging.
There will be work done in the area of tax reform, specifically property taxes. The major change put into effect last year removing the Homestead Credit and replacing it with an exclusion will probably stay in place. We will work in the area of commercial property taxes and put together a plan to gradually reduce and eliminate the tax, which is collected on all commercial/industrial property in the state and sent directly to St. Paul.
There is also discussion about streamlining our entire property tax system and its multiple classifications of property. We have probably the most complicated system in the nation with over 50 different classifications. It's hard for local officials to explain the system, and even harder for residents to understand it.
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State Legislators Comments
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Written by Paul Anderson - State House Representative 13A
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Monday, 19 December 2011 10:34 |
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Monday, Dec. 19, 2011
As we gather with family for the holiday season, it’s my wish that you have a blessed Christmas. This is a wonderful time of year, one that’s meant to be shared with others. It can also be a difficult time, especially for those who are alone or who have recently lost a loved one. Let’s remember them as we share this holiday with others.
Looking back at the past year, it has seen its share of ups and downs. The legislative session was challenging as we faced a huge potential deficit with a divided government, that is, a Democratic governor and Republicans in control of both the House and Senate. Those budget differences weren’t resolved by the time the regular session ended so we went into a state shutdown. That unpleasant situation lasted 19 days, with pressure mounting as each day passed. An agreement that no one fully embraced was finally reached, and the state slowly started returning to normal.
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State Legislators Comments
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Written by Paul Anderson - State House Representative 13A
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Monday, 05 December 2011 09:11 |
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Monday, Dec. 5 2011
Two well-known economists addressed the annual meeting Nov. 16th of the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council. The first, Dr. Michel Swanson, is chief agricultural economist for Wells Fargo, while the second, Dr. Jason Henderson, serves as director of the Omaha branch of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Although both were very positive about agriculture’s role in leading our nation’s economy out of the recession, they also raised caution flags about what could happen in the next few years.
Swanson predicted that volatility, which has plagued financial markets in recent times, will only get worse. That will increase the need for working capital, he said, and make the management of risk more important than ever. Two of the reasons grain prices reached their recent highs, according to Swanson, are this country’s monetary policy and our mandates as they relate to bio-fuels. America’s farm exports have exploded in recent years; in fact, they are the only area of our national economy that shows a positive balance of payment when compared to imports that enter this country. If our monetary policy changes and interest rates increase, which they eventually will, according to Swanson, that will make our products more expensive on the world market. And our policies relating to bio-fuels are political, and public sentiment toward ethanol seems to be changing. If food prices keep increasing dramatically, according to Swanson, there may be enough political pressure applied in Washington to change those bio-fuel policies.
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State Legislators Comments
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Written by Paul Anderson - State House Representative 13A
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Monday, 21 November 2011 15:32 |
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Monday, Nov. 21, 2011
Despite the threat of a Republican legislative challenge, Gov. Dayton last week ordered a state-wide vote among certain day care providers to see if they want to form a union. Only those licensed providers who receive state subsidies would be allowed to vote and potentially join the union. It’s estimated that approximately half of Minnesota’s nearly 11,000 child care providers would be affected by this order.
I am not in favor of this move by the Governor and don’t understand the need for a day care union. These people run their own businesses and are not employees in the usual sense of the word. The Legislature sets the amount they receive in state subsidies for working parents who can’t afford to pay the full cost for day care. It seems to fly in the face of good government that we should have to bargain with a union to set those rates.
I haven’t talked with a single day care provider in our district who favors unionization. And certainly, those who utilize day care are concerned about the increased cost of services this might cause because of the payment of union dues. According to the Governor, joining would be voluntary and anyone could choose not to belong to the union or pay dues. But, what about the concept of those not joining having to “pay their fair share” for the union negotiating certain aspects of a contract? What about a provider currently having clients who receive the state subsidy and, later on, not having any such clients? Could they then leave the union? It also seems to me that truly “voluntary membership” in a union would not work.
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