Caledonia Argus

Local legislators discuss victories and defeats of recent session

Posted: 7/22/03

by Andrew Miller
Argus News Reporter

Local legislators explained the triumphs and defeats of the 2003 Minnesota Legislative session at the Houston County Township Officers meeting on July 16.

Bob Kierlin, District 31 senator, said he was pleased with the outcome of this yearís legislative session, in large part because of the decision not to raise taxes despite a budget deficit in excess of $4 billion.

ìI think for the hand we were dealt, we played it well,î Kierlin said.

Kierlin indicated that he is always opposed to raising income taxes, because tax hikes tend to work to the detriment of small business owners. And if income taxes get too high, itís likely that many small business owners will move out of state.

With high property and income tax rates, he added, people will also be more inclined to retire outside Minnesota. When this happens, he said, the state suffers, because income and property taxes from retirees are a critical source of revenue for the state.

Despite no new taxes, measures taken by the Minnesota Legislature, positioned the state for economic recovery, Kierlin said. What is needed though, is a boost in both the state and national economy. The economy needs to pick up at least 3.5% or ìthere will be more troubleî two years from now.

ìWe still have some problems, and we only solved half of it by cuts,î Kierlin said. He closed by stating, ìTo really help the state, letís all get out there and shop in Minnesota.î

Greg Davids, District 31B representative, said he had three priorities going into the legislative session, three things which he hoped would see little if any cuts in funding: K-12 education, nursing homes, and Local Government Aid (LGA).

Keeping funding intact for his first two priorities, Davids said, was a success. A $12 billion K-12 funding bill kept per pupil funding intact for 2004-2005, and nursing homes, initially proposed to be cut by 4%, were safeguarded from cuts.

How LGA was handled, though, was not a point of merit for the legislature, Davids said. He described the cuts as ìmy biggest disappointment,î and ìwhere we fell short.î

While the legislature passed a tax bill that lessened Governor Pawlentyís proposed reductions in LGA, Davids said, the cuts that were enacted will nonetheless prove harmful to small rural cities.

Ideally, Davids noted, ìI wouldíve funneled more money to Local Government Aid from other areas.î Even though there were no tax increases, he said, by cutting LGA ìyouíre in effect raising taxes,î since cities will have to compensate for the cuts, for example, by imposing new fees on residents.

On another note, Davids mentioned that the Minnesota Taxpayers League is recruiting against him because he declined to sign a No New Taxes pledge. His rationale for not signing was that, ìif thereís a program you need, youíre going to have to pay for it. I would have raised taxes to help townships, cities, and counties.î

Davids was adamant in responding to the Taxpayers Leagueís campaign against him. He stated, ìIn the words of (President) Bush, ëbring ëem on, baby, bring ëem on.í î

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