Monday, January 31, 2011
The Minnesota State Legislature is in session.
Minnesota House Minority Leader Paul Thissen (D-Minneapolis), and one of Richfield's representatives, once again referred to Republican legislators’ agenda items as unfocused last week, according to a nonpartisan Public Information Services press release. After a bill that would cut local government aid (LGA) was approved on the House floor and Republicans presented another bill that would repeal state background checks before purchasing a gun, Rep. Thissen expressed his concerns about jeopardizing public safety and putting a greater “economic squeeze” on those with fixed incomes. LGA cuts have historically increased property taxes and those one fixed incomes and seniors tend to be hit the hardest, Rep. Thissen said in the release. Further…
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Minnesota State Legislature is in session.
Minnesota Senate Members of the Minnesota Senate introduced a bill that would freeze public school teachers’ and employees’ salaries from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2013. Richfield’s Senate representative, Ken Kelash (D-Richfield), said with prices on all goods and services rising, freezing the salaries would actually be a pay cut. “Teachers have already been making sacrifices, the schools have been making sacrifices. I think some of this stuff is [the legislature’s] attempt to balance an impossible $6 billion cut in the budget,” Sen. Kelash told Patch. “It’s always the way [of lawmakers] to make the guy on the bottom of the heap pay for it instead of saying we’re going to raise taxes on people who can afford it.” The bill is still in …
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Minnesota State Legislature is in session.
Editor's Note: Capitol Review is a weekly look at what your state legislators are doing on the at the Minnesota Capitol—how they're voting, the bills they're writing and the issues they're getting behind. Come back to Richfield Patch every Monday for a new Capitol Review. With a projected $6.2 billion state budget deficit looming and a tough economy, Minnesota House of Representatives Minority Leader Paul Thissen (D-63A) was surprised Republicans were prioritizing a bill to lift the current ban on building nuclear power plants, according to a press release from the House nonpartisan Public Information Services. Rep. Thissen said balancing the state budget should be the priority and the bill should not be mistaken for a “jobs” bill since …
Dennis Gillespie
8:10 am on Monday, February 28, 2011
Paul Theissen thinks the Republicans are like kids in the candy store, I always related going to the candy store to spend money, that seems like what the Democrats are going to the candy store for. You will also notice there is never a mention of cutting spending. The Democrats way of closing the budget gap is simply more taxes. LGA does not give local governments the incentive to cut spending, … more ›