Sen.

Dave Brown
Proud to Serve Senate District 15
V O L U M E 3 W E E K L Y
APRIL 8, 2013 INSIDE THIS ISSUE

U P D A T E

I S S U E

Budget Health and Human Services Electronic Pull Tabs Judiciary Environment Finance

Governor Dayton Budget

The DFL will begin rolling out more specific tax proposals next week, filling in the details of their anticipated $2 billion tax increase budget. I expect their proposal to include a combination of income, business, cigarette, and sales tax increases. Before we ask for another cent from hardworking taxpayers, we need to go line-by-line through Minnesotas Sen. Brown discussing legislation budget to ensure that our current spending is as with Sen. Dahms [Senate Photo] efficient and effective as possible. We cant afford for government to waste money. Minnesotans deserve better. We currently have huge potential in Minnesota for new revenues to the state, if only we would move forward on the permitting of our copper and nickel mines. This industry will create thousands of jobs, improve our states economy and contribute royalty revenue to the state coffers and school trust land. All this can be accomplished without raising any taxes.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

This week the Health and Human Services Finance Division began its work on putting the budget together. The Division began hearing bills for possible inclusion in the Omnibus bill, as well as parts of the Governor's HHS budget, which is SF 1034. DFL targets include a $150 million reduction to Health and Human Services, yet their overall budget plan increases spending by $3 billion.

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Electronic Pull Tabs

In other developments, bipartisan concerns continue at the Capitol over the growing gap between initial and updated projections concerning electronic pull tab revenue being counted on as a key funding source for the new Vikings stadium. During the inaugural hearing this week of the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Sports Facilities, members of both parties called for an expedited hearing on why Governor Daytons administration revenue projections have so far been significantly off the mark. As widely reported, initial pull tab revenue for FY 2013 was projected to be $35 million, while updated projections have been scaled back to $1.8 million, a 95 percent reduction. Officials from the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority note initial stadium costs have been covered by a $50 million up-front contribution from the Vikings, though a number of legislators believe a review of the Department of Revenue's projections is a high priority in advance of the stadium groundbreaking expected later this year. This funding mechanism is a key reason I did not support the Vikings Stadium bill.

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JUDICIARY
On Thursday, the Judiciary Budget Division heard SF 235, which mostly contains pieces of gun crime enforcement legislation that have fiscal costs. The provisions are mainly those from either Sen. Ortman or the Hennepin County Attorney's office, and the majority of the provisions seek to enforce current law, including requiring prompt reporting of data in an electronic format to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that is already required under current Minnesota and federal law so that law enforcement can trust that the current background check system properly contains accurate data about dangerous felons and people with mental illness. The bill also includes provisions related to keeping guns out of the hands of repeat, violent crime offenders. The bill passed the committee, and now heads to the full Finance Committee for a vote on the policy, while it is expected that the fiscal cost will be tracked in the Senate's Omnibus Judiciary Budget bill.

ENVIRONMENT
The Environment Budget Division met on Wednesday and Thursday to hear more than $300 million in bonding requests including a number of regional civic centers as well as trail projects across the state. All proposals were held over for possible recommendation to the Capitol Investment Committee. Please let me know if you are in favor of or opposed to the state borrowing more money to fund these types of projects. The Senate Omnibus Energy Bill - SF 901 has major changes to state policy concerning the future of energy production in Minnesota. You may read the bill here. Please pay attention to Article 1 of the bill. Of particular concern is its language stating the desire to end the use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) in power generation, heating and cooling, industry and transportation by 2050.

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