Citing a 41 percent property-tax reduction for Albert Lea homeowners as an example, House Speaker Steve Sviggum said the 2001 legislative session was a healthy mix of significant reforms and tax cuts.

Thursday, July 05, 2001

Citing a 41 percent property-tax reduction for Albert Lea homeowners as an example, House Speaker Steve Sviggum said the 2001 legislative session was a healthy mix of significant reforms and tax cuts.

&uot;Reforms were what this session was about – reforms combined with double-digit tax cuts and single-digit spending increases,&uot; Sviggum said Tuesday at a news conference in Albert Lea.

Sviggum said the extended session, which wrapped up last weekend, resulted in some of the most sweeping reforms in recent history in areas such as education, nursing homes, the welfare system and taxation.

&uot;A lot of things came out of this session. I think it was a defining moment for Minnesota,&uot; he said.

Acknowledging concerns over backlash from the threat of a government shutdown, Sviggum hopes Minnesotans will judge the session on its results, not the stalled negotiations that stretched to within hours of a shutdown.

&uot;All along we said this session will be judged by its end product. We could have cut the deals to get done quicker. We could have settled for insignificant reform and another year of double-digit percentage spending increases, but we didn’t,&uot; he said.

Standing with Rep. Dan Dorman and Sen. Grace Schwab, Sviggum said the goal of the Republican Caucus is to move Minnesota out of the top 10 in every tax category.

&uot;We’re never going to be a low-tax state, but we can eliminate and reduce unfair taxes and try to make the system more efficient,&uot; he said. &uot;This session shows that we’re on our way.&uot;

The proudest achievement of the session, Sviggum said, is the tax bill with its property tax cuts, rate compression and elimination of the general education levy. He said the reductions will amount to about 41 percent for the average home in Albert Lea, 40 percent for apartments, 28 percent for farm land and 15 percent for commercial and industrial land in the community.

&uot;Those are pretty impressive numbers in terms of tax relief,&uot; Sviggum said.

Dorman hopes the tax reductions, particularly for commercial and industrial property, will help Freeborn County become more competitive with Iowa. &uot;We want to be able to give those neighbors to the south a run for their money,&uot; Dorman said.