Senate Report, By Dan Sparks

Our legislative session will begin this Tuesday. During the interim, and especially in the last few months, I have been actively engaged with community groups and state organizations. Those conversations have transitioned from reviewing what was accomplished last session to the changes to existing statutes and new proposals people would like to see addressed in the coming year. As a result, I have been working with advocates on several pieces of legislation. The legislative committees have also hosted numerous hearings and community tours during this time in preparation for the session.

Last week we received the updated budget numbers that will guide us in the upcoming year. With a $900 million budget surplus, it is clear Minnesota is in healthy financial shape. However, the surplus is slightly smaller than the December forecast and means we should be cautious in how we move forward.

While the surplus looks like a large number, we will not have enough to address every area of need. The Senate will be focused on the issues that unite us and help improve our state’s outlook, such as transportation and improving our tax code to help families, farmers and small business owners. I encourage people to reach out and contact my office with those issues that are dearest to you, and that you believe we must address. Your voice helps inform our work and has an impact on what happens in our community and our state.

This session will go by quickly. At only 10 weeks long, we have a narrow window to address such a wide variety of issues. In fact, we only have three full weeks to the first committee deadline, which means we will have to work efficiently to get our bills heard in committee.

As chairman of the Jobs, Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, we will be working in a variety of areas. Some of the topics we expect to be looking at include pollinators, buffers and water quality, broadband, food access and farm safety. I am optimistic that my colleagues and I can find common ground in many of these areas, and make real progress on much of these in 2016.

With a short session, the activity will ramp up quickly. On Wednesday the “One Minnesota” Conference at the University of Minnesota will invite every legislator to come together and discuss our 2016 priorities. That night, Gov. Mark Dayton will lay out his priorities in his State of the State address. Both of these will help to give a picture of what to expect over these next few months.

There is no doubt we face a busy session — and I will work hard with my colleagues to make it a productive one.

If you have questions or concerns about legislation and the upcoming session, I encourage you to contact my office at 651-296-9248 or sen.dan.sparks@senate.mn.

 

Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin, is the District 27 senator.