House Minority Leader Paul Thissen (DFL – Minneapolis) talks about Minnesota’s great teachers and the desire of Minnesotans for the State Legislature to adequately fund public education.
Duluth News Tribune, Januay 22, 2012
The 2012 legislative session begins this week. After last session, in which we had a government shutdown and focused on divisive constitutional amendments, it’s more important than ever we focus on the issues that matter most to Minnesotans. That’s why our top priority should be creating jobs and strengthening Minnesota’s middle class.
Last week, DFL legislators joined Gov. Mark Dayton in introducing a jobs plan to get Minnesota back to work. Our plan includes common-sense policies and proven initiatives designed to create jobs, support Minnesota’s small businesses, and keep Minnesota economically competitive into the future.
To help businesses grow and create jobs, we propose creating a New Jobs Tax Credit that would provide businesses $3,000 tax credits for every unemployed Minnesotan, veteran or recent graduate they hire in 2012 and $1,500 credits for each new hire through June 2013.
We also focus on ways to enhance Minnesota’s world-class, highly trained workforce. Our jobs plan would provide $2,000 opportunity grants to thousands of Minnesotans, providing a foundation for new, long-term careers in high-demand fields. In other states that offer similar grants, those who complete retraining have a significantly higher chance of getting rehired and also earning a higher wage.
The DFL jobs plan enhances proven initiatives that have helped attract new businesses to our state while helping existing Minnesota companies grow and expand. We propose putting an additional $10 million into the Minnesota Investment Fund, which has a long and successful track record. Last year, the fund helped SAGE Electrochromics, a high-tech glass manufacturer in Faribault, embark on a $100 million expansion that will create 160 jobs for a state investment of $500,000.
In addition to a relentless focus on jobs, DFL legislators will continue our fight to reverse the middle-class property tax increases that resulted from the Republican budget of last summer. The Republican’s elimination of the market-value homestead credit translated directly into residential and small business property tax increases across Minnesota, including substantial hikes of 7 percent or more in Duluth.
Our DFL focus on the middle class is not just election-year rhetoric. We fundamentally believe the single most-important way to revive our economy and set the stage for long-term prosperity is with a strong and vibrant middle class and with a state where middle-class families have basic economic security, realistic chances to get ahead, and enough money in their pockets to enjoy the great quality of life Minnesota has to offer.
That is why we are so disappointed the Republican majority has continued to pursue policies that squeeze the middle class in order to protect the very richest Minnesotans and special interests.
Leaders in both parties say jobs and the economy are the top priority. But actions speak louder than words. If the Republican majority is serious about jobs, I hope it will work with us on our common-sense jobs plan and on our effort to relieve the
middle-class squeeze it worsened through its policy decisions last year. I would hope Republicans set aside divisive constitutional amendments that have nothing to do with creating jobs. We have enough on our plate this session. Getting distracted by constitutional amendments is not a good use of our time while we are on the public dime.
Let’s put what is most important first this session — and work quickly to pass a jobs plan that will get Minnesota working again.
Rep. Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, represents Minnesota House District 63A and is the House Minority Leader. He wrote this exclusively for the News Tribune.
by Paul Thissen and Tom Bakk
Despite welcome signs that our state’s economy is beginning to stabilize after a long and painful recession, Minnesota still faces a serious jobs deficit.
Our most recent economic report shows that more than 175,000 Minnesotans are out of work and looking for jobs. Other Minnesotans are either underemployed or have simply given up looking for work in this difficult economy.
This legislative session, jobs should be our top priority. We need to think strategically and work together to get Minnesotans back to work. And we should do it right away.
That is why we joined Gov. Mark Dayton to introduce a jobs plan to get Minnesota working again.
It will help businesses grow and will retain good jobs in Minnesota by focusing on the things that have proven to work: providing small businesses with new incentives to create jobs, giving workers the training they need to get jobs in high-demand industries, and making smart, targeted investments in the state’s infrastructure.
Included in our jobs plan are several initiatives we hope will receive swift, bipartisan support in the Legislature.
To help businesses grow and create jobs, we’re proposing the creation of a New Jobs Tax Credit that would provide a business with a $3,000 tax credit for each unemployed Minnesotan, veteran or recent graduate hired in 2012 and a $1,500 credit for each new hire through June 2013.
Given the budget challenges facing our state, we believe it’s critical that any incentives given to businesses right now be directly tied to job creation. Several Republicans have said they would like to pass across-the-board corporate tax cuts this session, despite the fact that Minnesota faces a long-term budget deficit approaching $4 billion.
We can’t afford corporate tax breaks that will just drop to the bottom line of huge corporations headquartered in other states or overseas. That’s why our proposed New Jobs Tax Credit is targeted at businesses that are putting Minnesotans back to work in good-paying jobs.
Our plan also focuses on attracting new businesses to our state and helping existing Minnesota companies grow and expand. We propose putting an additional $10 million into the Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF), which has a long and successful track record.
Last year, the MIF helped Agco expand in Jackson, which added 100 jobs in farm equipment manufacturing. Minnesota won the relocation of operations from France and beat out a competing facility in Georgia to do so. We need more success stories like this one.
While lending a helping hand to our employers is important, we also believe Minnesota cannot remain competitive without a world-class, highly trained workforce. That’s why our jobs plan would provide $2,000 opportunity grants to thousands of Minnesotans, providing a foundation for new, long-term careers in high-demand fields. In other states that offer similar grants, those who complete retraining have a significantly higher chance at getting rehired and also earn a higher wage.
Finally, our plan calls for passage of strategic infrastructure investments like roads, bridges, wastewater treatment facilities and schools throughout the state. These investments provide the foundation for broad, long-term economic prosperity.
In addition, they allow private-sector employers to put tens of thousands of Minnesotans back to work. Better yet, if we act quickly, we can get shovels in the ground and paychecks in the mailbox as soon as this summer.
Our jobs plan includes good ideas to create jobs — but they aren’t the only good ones. We welcome other ideas and a productive dialogue on job creation. The important thing is that we get something done.
What we shouldn’t do is say jobs are the priority but then focus on something else. We already tried that last year. The Republican majorities proclaimed a “laser focus” on jobs, but instead focused on divisive constitutional amendments. For the sake of what most Minnesotans want and expect of their legislators, we hope the same won’t play out again this session.
Jobs should be our priority — not constitutional amendments. Let’s work together, bring our good ideas to the table, and act quickly to pass a meaningful jobs bill that will get Minnesota working again.
_________
Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, is minority leader of the Minnesota Senate. Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, is minority leader of the Minnesota House.
What do you think is important during the 2012 Legislative Session? Share your ideas by taking this short survey! Thanks.
Dear Friends:
I hope the New Year is treating you well. The 2012 legislative session is rapidly approaching. We convene on January 24.
Doing all we can to get people back to work and into long-term careers is my top priority this legislative session. With 175,000 Minnesotans out of work and middle class families struggling to make ends meet – job creation is the priority Minnesotans should expect and demand of us. Of course, government cannot and should not do this alone, but we must be solid partners with the private sector to get this work done.
To that end, Democrats in the Legislature and Governor Dayton unveiled a package of proposals designed to get Minnesota back to work. You can find a copy of he Jobs Ideas here. This jobs plan is a collection of good ideas to do a great thing: create jobs for Minnesotans eager to work hard, support their family, and live the American Dream. For the small business poised to start hiring but needs an extra boost, this plan will create jobs. For the worker striving for a new career, this plan will help them get retrained. And for the Main Street business struggling to compete with online competitors, this plan will level the playing field.
I am hopeful that we will work productively and bipartisanly on job creation this legislative session. I am similarly hopeful that this session will not see a continuation of last year’s priorities which I opposed such as divisive social issues and constitutional amendments that seek to disenfranchise voters, impede tax fairness, and undermine collective bargaining.
Most important, I’d like to hear from you. What are your priorities for the upcoming legislative session? Please take a moment to respond to our survey questions by clicking on the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RDYPCMC
I would also like to invite you to attend a Town Hall meeting I’m holding with Senator Ken Kelash and Representative Linda Slocum. Join us on Saturday, January 21 from 2:30 to 4:00 PM at Woodlake Lutheran Church, 7525 Oliver Ave S, Minneapolis. I hope to see you there.
While I’m eager to look forward to the year ahead, it is also important to review the accomplishments of the previous year. Governor Dayton was able to start us down the path of building a better Minnesota. See the attached document for an overview of Governor Dayton’s first year.
Other items of interest:
Minnesota was awarded a $45 million Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant. The grant will enable the state to implement best practices in early childhood education that will ensure Minnesota’s youngest learners enter school prepared to succeed. The grant will focus first on four communities in White Earth, Itasca County, St. Paul’s Promise Neighborhood, and Minneapolis’ Northside Achievement Zone. The Northside Achievement Zone was also awarded a five-year $28 million implementation grant from the U.S. Department of Education for its Promise Neighborhood program. http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/Welcome/News/PressRel/040135
The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources has issued its 2012-2013 Request for Proposals for funding from Minnesota’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. Proposals are due April 6. Visit http://www.lccmr.leg.mn/ and click on “2012-2013 Request for Proposalâ€? to learn more.
A number of new laws went into effect January 1. Read about them here: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/0112nlrelease.pdf
Keep yourself informed about the activities of the Minnesota House of Representatives. The House provides personalized bill tracking and the nonpartisan office of House Public Information provides a variety of electronic and print news services including meeting schedules and weekly newsletters. You can subscribe here: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/leg/billsublogin.asp and here: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/subscribesw.asp#bymail
As always, please continue to be in touch with your comments, questions, and concerns. You can reach me by phone at 651-296-5375, by email at rep.paul.thissen@house.mn, or you can visit or send mail to my office, 267 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155. I appreciate hearing from you.
Paul Thissen
State Representative
Minority Leader
District 63A
Follow Paul