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Military service bills on the table
By Senator Amy Koch, (R-Buffalo)
I am sponsoring a bill establishing a military reservists economic injury loan program. The bill would allow one-time, interest-free loans of up to $20,000 to eligible businesses that have sustained or are likely to sustain substantial economic injury as a result of the call to active military service for 180 days or more of an essential employee.
Koch also presented a proposal from the governor’s Yellow Ribbon Task Force. This bill presents an immediate brevet promotion to anyone who dies in state or federal service. The process currently takes 10 years. The bill was voted on and passed the full Senate April 1.
District 19 includes all of Wright County except for the following: the cities of Howard Lake, Cokato, and Annandale; and townships of French Lake, Middleville, South Haven, Southside, and Stockholm.
Bonding bill, local projects in government’s hands
By Dean Urdahl, (R-Grove City) Dist. 18B
The bonding bill that passed the legislature recently supports numerous projects in this area, including substantial funding for wastewater infrastructure that potentially could aid Howard Lake, Dassel, Cosmos and Grove City.
The bill also includes $6 million in funding for the Litchfield wastewater treatment plant, allowing First District Association expansion that may double the facility’s size. First District’s increased dairy production could positively impact the Minnesota economy by up to $850 million annually.
This legislation still is subject to change as Gov. Tim Pawlenty may line-item veto certain projects – or veto the bill entirely – in an effort to reduce its total size. The bill is about $100 million larger than the $825 million cap our state economist recommends.
District 18B includes the cities of Annandale, Cokato, Howard Lake, and South Haven, and the townships of Cokato, Corinna, French Lake, Middleville, Stockholm, and Southside in Wright County, and extends west into Meeker County.
Too much spending is problem with budget
By Paul Kohls, (R-Victoria) Dist. 34A
This is lining up to be an important week in the legislature. The bonding bill is expected to land on the governor’s desk this week while the House and Senate will also likely pass their own balanced budget bills.
The bonding bill has been mired in “conference committee” between the House and Senate for weeks. I put that in quotes because while there have been lengthy closed-door negotiations, there has yet to be an official public meeting as of Monday.
The key to balancing the budget will be fiscal responsibility. The $34.5 billion budget passed in 2007 was nearly a 10 percent spending increase over the previous budget. Even if we adopt the most aggressive spending cuts that have been proposed this year, the two-year budget will still grow by 9 percent. The problem with our budget then is not that we don’t have enough taxes, rather that we have too much spending.
District 34A consists of Hollywood Township and the City of New Germany.
Reader comments on Forum
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