Column: Capitol Conversations, by Rich Murray

The 2012 legislative session will begin this week, and I’m pleased to report that budget deficit news will not dominate the headlines from St. Paul this year. Last month, state economists reported that Minnesota is projected to have an $876 million surplus this biennium, and just a couple of weeks ago, they noted that state general fund revenues were $62 million higher than their original prediction.

This additional $62 million windfall not only creates more financial optimism at the state level, but in my mind, also proves that taxes did not need to be raised in order to improve Minnesota’s economy.

So how will lawmakers spend this surplus? We won’t, as our laws state it must be used to fully restore our state’s cash flow and budget reserve accounts.

So without an economic tug-of-war, what will lawmakers do at the State Capitol this session?

There’s little doubt that we will discuss and debate another bonding bill, which funds capital investment projects throughout Minnesota. There will also be discussions on a new Vikings stadium, and I’ll be interested to see the details of this proposal once the chief authors have finalized their bill.

But I expect this session to be dominated by reforming state government and making it work better for Minnesotans.

Last session, the reforms enacted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Dayton were projected to save billions of dollars in future budgets. Some of these changes resulted in our current budget surplus.

To maintain this progress, the Legislature seeks to restore confidence in our economy, improve education and health care and transform government services. Reform is the most critical element toward accomplishing these goals.

That’s why Republicans in the Legislature traveled the state over the past few months, looking for your ideas to make government more efficient. The response was overwhelming, and your input is the backbone of our Reform 2.0 plan for the 2012 session.

Hundreds of your ideas will be turned into legislation this year. But the specific Reform 2.0 agenda will focus on three areas: jobs and growing our economy, education and health care and government effectiveness.

Business owners told us they could create more jobs if lawmakers could reduce regulatory and tax burdens and simply get government out of their way.

In response, our reform package will direct property tax relief to Minnesota job creators. We will improve the Angel Investment Tax Credit program, and continue improving our permitting process. We’ll create a Small Business Regulatory Review Board that will review current rules and repeal those that are outdated or duplicative. We’d also like to reform prevailing wage laws to lower the cost of construction projects.

In order to have a highly skilled workforce, we must improve our education system and reward our most effective teachers. This includes pay linked to teacher and student performance, and removing barriers to get rid of those who aren’t making the grade. We’ll also have a plan to turnaround the lowest achieving Minnesota schools.

In the area of health care reform, we’ll look to combine health care purchasing power under one agency. We intend to expand on the defined benefit contribution program, which will provide some MinnesotaCare recipients with the ability to pay for private health care. Allowing conversion of life insurance money to pay for long-term care will also be considered, as will up-front screening and detection for Medicaid fraud, and mirroring Minnesota’s welfare standards with neighboring states.

The government of tomorrow must look much different than the government of today. With advancements in technology, government can and must do more with less. Legislative leaders understand this, and so do you and your neighbors.

Until last year, government was projected to grow at a 27 percent rate. With reform, we were able to lower that projection to six percent. It’s important that we continue to reform government not only to make it more accountable to the taxpayers, but to ensure it is more efficient and effective for those who depend on it the most.

It has been a real pleasure to serve you this past year, and I’m looking forward to working for you in 2012. I really enjoy being your state representative!

Have a question or concern? Constituents in District 27A including communities in Freeborn and Mower counties can write to me at 439 State Office Building, 100 Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155. Or call me at 651-296-8216 or email me at rep.rich.murray@house.mn.

 

Rich Murray, R-Albert Lea, is the state representative for House District 27A.