Capitol View: March 23, 2009 Archive

Fox9: Hugoson is a traveling man

Posted at 10:02 AM on March 23, 2009 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

Fox9 has an interesting story that details Ag Commissioner Gene Hugoson's travel and also highlights that he accepts ag subsidies.

What do you think?

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Pawlenty heads to Red River Valley to view flood prep

Posted at 11:21 AM on March 23, 2009 by Tim Pugmire

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is on his way to Moorhead to view flood preparations in the Red River Valley.

Pawlenty will travel with Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Kris Eide, as well as Major Gen. Larry Shellito of the Minnesota National Guard.

An afternoon briefing is scheduled with local emergency management officials at the Clay County Courthouse. The governor will also meet with volunteers and soldiers working along the river.

UPDATE

The governor will also stop in Breckenridge this afternoon.

House DFL property tax relief proposal

Posted at 1:07 PM on March 23, 2009 by Tom Scheck

One of the lead tax experts in the Minnesota House is proposing legislation that would allow counties to raise their local sales tax to offset any cuts in state aid. DFL Representative Paul Marquart said his plan would allow counties the option of raising their local option sales tax by one half of one percent to continue funding core local services. He said the plan is a better alternative for counties than raising property taxes to recoup any cuts in state aid proposed by Governor Pawlenty:

"If I'm a homeowner and I've lost a job, I have more control over a sales tax that I pay than the property taxes I pay. Property taxes are fixed. Sales tax, I can decide what I want to do by what I purchase."

Voters who oppose the sales tax can choose to stop it by gathering enough signatures to trigger an election on the tax increase. This plan would be in addition to the House DFL budget proposal which would require a $1.5 billion unspecified tax increase. The Revenue Department projects that property taxes will increase $626 million over the next three years if Governor Pawlenty's is approved. The chair of the Senate Taxes Committee said he doesn't like the House proposal because it would benefit some counties greater than others.

Here's the info from Marquart's office:

Rep. Paul Marquart - County Option Revenue Reform Initiative

Update: Here's a response from Gov. Pawlenty's spokesman Brian McClung:

"Rep. Marquart's property/sales tax plan lacks simplicity, transparency and accountability. It also seems DFLers have a split personality -- they keep saying the tax system should be more progressive while they propose more and more sales tax increases."

Kline and Bachmann don't want Guantanamo Bay detainees sent to state

Posted at 3:29 PM on March 23, 2009 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

GOP Rep. John Kline and GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann are pushing legislation that would forbid the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to Minnesota. Here's the release from Bachmann's office:

(Washington, DC) U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann (MN-6) and Congressman John Kline (MN-2) introduced legislation (H.R. 1566) that would prohibit the use of any federal funds to transfer or house Global War on Terror detainees now held at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba anywhere in Minnesota.

"It is simply irresponsible to shut down a facility that houses known terrorists and transfer them to our neighborhoods," said Congresswoman Bachmann. "While I understand the interest of the White House in making this well-orchestrated PR move, these are very dangerous terrorists and they must be treated as such. To transfer them anywhere near Minnesota residents - or any American citizen for that matter, is a risk we cannot afford to take."

On January 22, 2009 President Obama announced his intention to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center in Cuba. Last week, as the Administration has found our international partners increasingly unwilling to commit to resettling detainees on their soil, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that detainees could be released into the United States. It remains unclear whether Holder's announcement will entice European nations to accept detainees.

In addition to H.R. 1566, Congresswoman Bachmann is also a cosponsor of H.R. 1012, which would prohibit the use of federal funds to transfer the Global War on Terror detainees to anywhere in the U.S.

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