DISTRICT 15 LEGISLATORS TO HOLD TOWN HALL MEETINGS FEBRUARY 9TH

SAINT PAUL, MN – District 15 legislators Senator Dave Brown (R-Becker) and Representative Sondra Erickson (R-Princeton) will hold a series of town hall meetings across the district to discuss state policies and field questions from constituents.

The series of six meetings will take place throughout the day on Saturday, February 9th. They are open to the public and are free of charge.

Saturday, February 9th, 2013

7:00AM— K-Bob Cafe in Princeton
8:15AM—Hi-Way Cafe in Milaca on north Central Ave
9:15AM—Ground House Coffee Shop in Ogilvie on Highway 23
10:45AM—City Hall in Isle
11:30AM—Wahkon Restaurant and Bar on Highway 27
12:30PM—Onamia Vets Club at Intersection of 169/27

February 4, 2013

Legislative Update from the State Capitol

It is a very busy time in the legislature with several important issues before us.
Second Amendment Rights
Attempts are being made at the state and federal levels to further restrict and regulate our rights to keep and bear arms. I strongly support our 2nd Amendment rights and will oppose all efforts for more gun restrictions.

Minnesota Health Exchange
Senate File 1 is the bill that creates a MN Health Insurance Exchange. This bill creates a new state agency run by a seven-member governing board, similar in style to the Met Council. This board will receive the authority to determine what health plans can and cannot be a part of the exchange. Meaning, the governing board can limit your options, even if a plan meets all of the requirements. This is because the unelected governing board has every right, under this bill, to limit your choices to 2-3 options from which to choose even if 10-20 plans qualify. SF 1 does not subject the governing board to audits, and it leaves the board with almost no accountability to taxpayers.

Additionally, the $500 in savings on your premiums is only for those who qualify for subsidies. If you are one of the many
Minnesotans that will be purchasing their health insurance on this new exchange, and you do not qualify for a subsidy, your monthly health insurance premium is projected to increase from 26%-42%.
Further, I believe Senate File 18 makes the real intent for an exchange clear, moving our state to
a single-payer system. Under single-payer, the government pays for all health care costs, rather than private insurers.
Each committee is rushing Senate File 1 through committee in order for Governor Dayton to sign it by March 31, 2013.

Energy
Last week, members of the Energy and Environment Committee were briefed on global climate change. Some of the testifiers brought up increasing our renewable energy standard, subsidies for renewable energy sources and other “green” projects. The Chair of the Energy and Environment Committee and I were both interviewed on Capitol Report and commented on some of these topics. I have included the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy9yca1aMRU&feature=youtu.be
 

The Governor’s Budget
This week we continued to learn more about Governor Dayton’s proposed budget. Overall, his plan calls for $3.6 billion in new taxes, including $2.1 billion in new sales taxes through a broad expansion of the tax on new goods and services. New sales taxes would be imposed on a wide range of transactions including clothing articles over $100, over the counter medications, haircuts, and auto repair services just to name a few. I have included the complete list below.

Sales Tax Base Broadening
All existing and newly taxed items will be subject to 20% sales tax rate reduction to 5.5%.

• Affiliate Nexus
• Digital Products
• Parallel Taxation of Direct Satellite Services
• Parallel Taxation of Remote Access Software
• Admission to stadium box seats and suites, exhibitions, and selling events
• Repeal exemption for ready to eat meat and seafood
• Clothing on items over $100
• Admissions/Memberships
• Over-the-counter drugs
• Personal services - e.g. barber shops, beauty salons, tattoo and body piercing, nail salons
• Other personal services - e.g. wedding planning, dating services, shoe shining, personal shopping
• Veterinary Services
• Personal instruction - e.g. dance, golf, tennis, etc.
• Brokerage & investment counseling - e.g. portfolio management, investment advice
• Bank charges & safe deposit box rental
• Legal services purchased by consumers
• Accounting services purchased by consumers
• Auto repair services
• Household goods repair & maintenance
• Warehousing & storage services (does not include storage of farm products or refrigerated storage)
• Taxicabs and Other Ground Transport Services (does not include public transportation or school transportation)
• Travel agent services
• Legal services purchased by businesses
• Accounting and bookkeeping services purchased by businesses
• Architectural and engineering services
• Specialized design services - e.g. interior decorating, industrial design services, graphic design services
• Computer services - e.g. custom computer programming, computer systems design services, computer facilities management services, data processing, hosting and related services
• Management consulting services - e.g. administrative management consulting services, human resources consulting services, marketing consulting services, environmental consulting services, scientific and technical consulting services, scientific research and development services
• Other consulting and development services - e.g. environmental, sanitation, site remediation, safety, economic, security, and other consulting services

January 22, 2013

Good Evening,

Welcome to the start of a new legislative session in Minnesota. Thank you for the opportunity and privilege to serve and represent our Senate District 15.

I was told that being in the minority would be a slower pace but that has not been the case thus far.

My committee assignments this session include being the minority lead on Energy & Environment, along with Commerce and Finance - Health and Human Services Division. Our major challenges will be dealing with the Health Insurance Exchange bill (S.F. 1), the state budget and the extreme measures the Left will want to impose upon our environment and energy policy.

The Governor released his budget today, Tuesday, January 22; I will discuss this in future updates.

I have received numerous emails concerning our gun rights and the issue of gay marriage in Minnesota. As always, I support our Second Amendment's right to keep and bear firearms and I will oppose attempts at further regulations and restrictions. In addition, it is my firm belief that marriage has always been and must continue to be a union between one man and one woman.

On March 15, the governor has scheduled his Environmental Congress to convene in Bloomington and much of their objective is to move Minnesota toward the concepts and objectives detailed in the U.N. Agenda 21 plan. I will strongly oppose any efforts for government to have more control over our lives in this manner.

This past Thursday I introduced Senate Resolution SR 28, using the words of President Lincoln from 1863, calling for a day of statewide prayer, fasting and repentance.

Some of the bills I am working on include: preventing future legislatures from borrowing money from our schools districts to balance the state's budget, preserving the integrity of our nursing homes, funding for our DAC's - adults with mental disabilities, exempting veteran's military retirement pay from state income tax, allowing people to sell baked goods from their home, and speeding up the permitting process for mining projects in northern Minnesota.

This Saturday, January 26, Rep. Newberger and I will have a booth at the Becker Business Expo from 10-2 and look forward to visiting with many of you there.

The upcoming legislative agenda of the majority party will contest many of the principles that I campaigned on this fall. I am committed to challenging these items and continuing to work to represent the values of the district I represent.

Sincerely,

Dave

Friends,

This past session, I wrote and supported legislation
based on my core principles; I was vocal in opposing
legislation that did not meet those principles. Two bills
that I drafted this year – a flat tax and a constitutional
amendment preventing future school shifts – are pieces
of legislation that will compel lawmakers to make wiser
budget decisions. My flat tax bill, according to projections,
would put $1.2 billion back in taxpayers’ pockets
and would force lawmakers to cut general fund spending.
My constitutional amendment would prevent future
legislatures from borrowing more than 10% from
schools to pay for the state’s programs. These two bills
will continue to be a priority for me next session.

This year, I have strived to look out for the taxpayers.
Whether it is questioning the expansion of budgets or
bonding that goes beyond infrastructure and public
building repairs, I have opposed legislation that does
not fit conservative legislative values.

We have worked hard to pass legislation that encourages
job growth. I have sponsored legislation that returns
funding to the developmentally disabled and
handicapped care facilities and we have watched as
economic forecasts continue to show positive numbers.
I believe that the state is moving in the right direction,
and the legislation we enacted over the past two years
is key factor in Minnesota’s economic recovery.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in Saint Paul.

-Dave Brown

PROTECTING LIFE

Lawmakers considered two measures this week to protect the lives of mothers and unborn children.

Last Monday, the Minnesota Senate passed House File 2341 (SF 1912) with bipartisan support, an effort to protect women from the risk of death or serious complications resulting from administration of abortion-inducing drugs. The bill requires a physician to be physically present when any drug or chemical is used by a patient for the purpose of inducing an abortion.  Administration of the RU-486 abortion drug can leave female patients with complications in their reproductive, cardiovascular, digestive, and central nervous systems and patients can even lose their lives.  It is common-sense to have a physician present when performing any major medical procedure and especially in this case; taking a medication that carries serious risks. This bill was vetoed by the Governor this Monday the 30^th.

Another measure, Senate File 1921 (HF 2340), would provide for the licensing and inspection of abortion clinics to ensure thesame health and safety measures required of outpatient surgical centers are followed at abortion clinics. Abortion clinics -- unlike hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient surgical centers, barber and cosmetology shops, and massage and tattoo parlors -- are not currently licensed or inspected by the State of Minnesota. Instead, they have been permitted to operate without state oversight as long as the physicians who work in the clinics are licensed.  Despite earning large, bi-partisan support in its passage, the Governor vetoed the bill on Thursday.

SUPPORTING AGRICULTURE

The Omnibus Agriculture Policy Bill conference committee report unanimously passed through the Minnesota State Senate last Tuesday afternoon. The legislation allows for flexibility, streamlining and clarification within the Department of Agriculture relating to several different programs. It also ensures that Minnesota’s livestock and agricultural industries are properly managed.

One out of every five jobs in Minnesota is related to agriculture. Arguably the most important industry in our state, we need to repeal obsolete provisions and remove unneeded reports to create efficiencies in government that benefit the agriculture industry and our state’s economic outlook.

The final bill was presented to Governor Dayton this past Wednesday and was signed on Monday.

E-VERIFY VETOED

Governor Mark Dayton rejected efforts Tuesday by lawmakers to verify employment eligibility of all newly hired employees in the legislative, executive and judicial branches by using the federal E-Verify program. The measure (HF 1976) passed with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.

Since it can take between three and four months for the federal government to validate employment eligibility through the federally required I-9 form, there is a significant period in which state employers would be training illegal workers and, in some cases, granting access to sensitive information. The E-Verify system uses a free website managed by the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security to check the individual’s status in mere minutes.

Republicans and Democrats came together to pass this bill, protecting taxpayers and streamlining the identification process to determine employee eligibility.  Unfortunately, the measure was vetoed by Governor Dayton.

Schools

House File 2506 was signed into law this week, containing two important provisions affecting schools.  First, this bill repeals state-mandated staff development allocations and allows each local school board to determine its own approach. Staff development is ultimately a strategic judgment call that should be left to locally-elected officials.  The second provision establishes a requirement for school districts to provide secondary students onetime CPR instruction, equipping youth with skills that could save someone’s life in the event of cardiac arrest. Community resources exist to assist with and/or provide the training to the students.

In an effort to support our school children, Minnesota’s school trust lands need to be maximized.  The Minnesota Senate reached consensus with the House and passed a conference committee report Wednesday to create efficiency and transparency in government as it related to school trust lands, ultimately benefitting Minnesota students.

Find me on line at twitter.com/sendavebrown