Friends and Neighbors,
I want to thank those of you who came to the Prior Lake library last Saturday to discuss the legislature with Senator Robling, Representative Beard and me. We appreciate you taking the time out of your busy Saturday to attend. Here are a few brief summaries of last week's news*
STREAMLINING STATE GOVERNMENT
The Department of Employee Relations will soon be a thing of the past in Minnesota government. The department's duties will be streamlined into other agencies and improve efficiency.
THE MYTH OF LGA
A lot of politicians are talking about increased Local Government Aid as an effective way to lower property taxes. But a lot of cities, including many in Scott County receive little or no LGA, but we do pay taxes just like everyone else. In essence, our tax dollars are being exported throughout the rest of the state and we get no thanks in return. That is why I support giving money directly back to the taxpayers. It is most equitable and honest way to provide tax relief.
ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNMENT
In this day and age we should be using technology to make government more accountable to its citizens. A proposal from Representative Erik Paulsen would do just that, making an online, searchable database full of information about state contracts, state grant awards, recipients, contract costs and a host of other information citizens deserve to know.
And finally this week, another look at some unnecessary proposals put forth by the Democrat Majority*
SO THEY LOADED UP THEIR TRUCK AND THEY MOVED TO BEVERLY: Rep. Scott Kranz (D-Blaine) wants landowners to buy their tenants mobile homes when trailer parks close. If a resident "chooses not to relocate the home to another manufactured home park," then the resident "is entitled to compensation to be paid by the park owner in an amount equal to the estimated market value of the manufactured home." (House File 1205)
YOU'LL FLIP YOUR WIG: Rep. Frank Hornstein (D-Minneapolis) wants to create a new state bureaucracy to regulate "hair transplant facilities." One of the purposes of investigating hair-weave artists is top make sure there is no "conduct which is likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public." (House File 1069) Maybe it's time to bring back Ron Popeil's spray-on baldness remover.
YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE IS GOING UP AGAIN: Minnesota is always in a race with Maryland to see how many services can be required to be covered by every health insurance policy in the state. Rep. Maria Ruud (D-Minnetonka) wants every premium payer to cover health insurance coverage to provide foreign language interpreters for each patient in the state. (House File 1077). You'll recall an earlier bill that would mandate health coverage for such calamities as maple syrup urine disease.
OUTRAGEOUS LAND GRABS: Less than a year after Minnesota enacted sweeping Eminent Domain reforms, Rep. Steve Simon (D-St. Louis Park) is back with a bill to create permanent "uniform environmental covenants" which would allow the government to freeze or seize land where work is performed to clean up, eliminate, investigate, minimize, mitigate, or prevent the release or threatened release of contaminants affecting real property in order to protect public health or welfare or the environment." The government could apply heavy pressure on small land-owners to sign these covenants or face extensive litigation costs to prevent agency intrusions on their land. (House File 1063)
Thank you to all who've written with those, ideas or just general support. I sincerely appreciate your input!
Mark Buesgens
State Representative, 35B
Office (651) 296-5185
Home (952) 492-2992
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