Notes From The Capitol

By Paul Anderson, State House Representative District 12B

It was a legislative session unlike any that I’ve been a part of. The DFL had control of all three aspects of lawmaking, both the House and Senate, along with the governor’s office, and they ran the table on their agenda. There was not much in the way of compromise, with most Republican amendments defeated as the major spending bills made their way through the process.

The one exception came on the last night of session, and it involved the bonding bill, which is the only type of legislation requiring a super majority for passage. With the large surplus at hand, there was always the possibility the DFL could use some of it and do a totally cash bonding bill, which does not require a two-thirds vote. Agreement was reached on bonding, and it also included badly needed funding for the state’s nursing homes, several of which were facing the prospect of shutting down. Three hundred million dollars were allocated for nursing homes, which had been a Republican priority all session long. Cheers broke out among members as that provision was passed with a unanimous vote.

Our part of the state fared well in bonding, which was actually two separate bills – one utilizing strictly cash and the other general obligation bonding by the state. Central Square – the old Glenwood High School building now utilized as an arts and cultural center for the area – received $4 million for a major renovation project. Pope-Douglas Solid Waste, the collaboration between the two counties in a waste-to-energy partnership, received $12.8 million to finish a project that will improve the efficiency of their operation. In all, seven counties make use of the facility in Alexandria and haul a portion of their waste there. And the small city of Beardsley, located in Big Stone County, received $2 million for a project that will alleviate a drainage issue in an area known as Dry Lake.

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The main feature of the session just ended was the enormous increase in the state’s budget, taking it from $52 billion to over $70 billion for the new biennium starting next month. That’s an increase of nearly 40 percent, and it was done by spending much of our budget surplus, in addition to raising nearly $10 billion in new taxes. Two of the most talked-about issues during the last campaign were eliminating the state tax on Social Security benefits and giving residents some of their money back in the form of rebate checks, with amounts talked about being several thousand per resident. Neither item was fully carried out, as the Social Security tax exemption was raised from $78 thousand to $100 thousand for a couple. The rebate checks were also slimmed down, finally being set at $265 per person, with income limitations.

The newly enacted tax increases will hit all state residents, with the most notable probably being a hefty increase in license tab fees. Already thought to be too high by many, these tab fees will increase the cost of registration by nearly 30 percent over the typical ten-year cycle of vehicle ownership. Then, there is the “Amazon Tax,” which is a fee of 50 cents assessed on each home delivery totaling over $100. Food items are exempt from this tax. There’s also an increase in the gas tax coming of between three and five cents per gallon because it was indexed for inflation.

           

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Farmers from a fairly large area of the country are concerned about the lack of rainfall so far this spring. Around here, our days seem to be mirror images of each other, with temps in the upper 80s or higher, high humidity and lots of wind. The soils have dried out quickly, and precipitation is needed to keep our crops growing. Some areas have been fortunate in receiving precipitation from scattered thunderstorms, but a general soaking rain would be much appreciated. Even our lawns are showing signs of a lack of moisture, which is especially concerning for this time of year, usually our wettest.