Notes from the Capitol

By Paul Anderson, State House Representative District 12 B 

By Rep. Paul Anderson

While some may wonder what the kerfuffle is about, Minnesota is in the process of changing its official state flag and seal. Our flag flies over state buildings, and the seal is stamped on all official state documents. If you’ve never noticed, the flag features, among other things, a farmer working in a field and an Indian on horseback riding away from the scene. It’s been our flag since 1893, but some feel that it’s offensive and signifies Indian people being driven from the state.

During the past legislative session, the DFL majority passed legislation calling for the redesign of the flag and seal, but interestingly, did not give the Legislature veto-power over the designs. The commission whose charge was to come up with the new designs is to finish its work by Jan. 1.  And when the new flag and seal come before the Legislature in the next session, we cannot veto the designs, but only approve them.

That approval process became a bit more problematic recently when the commission, after selecting the final design of the new state seal, made a couple of late changes that could prove to be controversial. The number “1858.” which signifies the year Minnesota achieved statehood, was removed from the design after one commission member said that year is offensive to some. In addition, the wording in French, “L’Etoile du Nord,” meaning Star of the North, was also deleted. In its place, a Dakota Indian phrase meaning “land where waters reflect the sky” was added.

Those changes were approved despite wording in the statute instructing the commission that wording or symbols can’t represent any one group. The official language states “symbols that represent only a single community or person may not be included in a design.”

The final flag design has also been selected. Initially, over 2,000 entries were submitted for consideration, and the commission, just this past week, made its selection. However, with the way the seal was modified after its “final selection,” there is concern that last-minute changes also may occur with the flag. I think the design is rather bland, with only a green stripe representing agriculture and a blue stripe representing our many lakes.  There will probably be legislation introduced to let the people of Minnesota decide on these new designs, but its chances of passage are doubtful.

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After last year’s $19 billion budget surplus was all spent, the latest economic forecast for Minnesota shows another surplus again. There’s one big caveat, however. That’s because, with current spending already in law, the surplus will be gone by the end of the biennium on June 30, 2025. And, with no changes, that same forecast calling for the current $2 billion surplus also warns of an impending deficit heading into the next budget cycle.

That swing in the budget is the result of massive spending increases enacted last session. Not only was the entire surplus spent, nearly $10 billion in new taxes was enacted. Among those increases is a whopping 38 percent jump in tab fees on vehicles registered in Minnesota. That’s on top of license fees already considered too high by many. Another big increase will take place in the metro area, where sales taxes will increase by 1 percent to add revenue for transit and housing. That will put the sales tax rate in the metro up around 10 percent.By Rep. Paul Anderson