STEVENS COUNTY

REPUBLICANS

29841 US HWY 59

MORRIS,  ,MN.

56267 

3-26-2010

Neighbor-

Before we get into the business of the day, I want to let you know my legislative e-mail is functioning again after our server crashed and we were without access for a few days. The bad news is our e-mail folders are not recoverable, so please understand if you sent me something and it disappeared from the system before I could respond. I apologize for any inconvenience this technical glitch may have caused.

As for legislative happenings, the federal government yet again violated states' rights, this time by passing a mandatory health insurance bill. I joined a group of 68 Minnesota legislators challenging the constitutionality of this new law via the 10th Amendment.

We started this effort last Monday by co-authoring an amendment on the House floor which would have required Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson to file a federal lawsuit on behalf of her clients – the citizens of Minnesota. We requested she challenge the federal government’s constitutional authority to force individuals to buy health insurance and impose fines, imprisonment or both on non-participants. The majority party blocked that amendment – and avoided having to vote on the issue - by resorting to a very flimsy parliamentary procedure ruling.

So 68 of us have done the next-best thing by signing a letter sent to Swanson, requesting she protect and defend our state and its residents against unconstitutional encroachment by the federal government. Legislators and Swanson have taken the same solemn oath of office to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Minnesota.

What we ask Swanson to do is assert states’ rights granted by the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, which indicates powers not granted to the national government nor prohibited to the states by the Constitution of the United States are reserved to the states or the people.

Simply, the federal government has the power to regulate only matters delegated to it by the Constitution. All the other powers are left to the states or its people. The federal government does not have the power to force participation in health care plans on its citizens; therefore, the states or the people have the right to make those decisions.

Federal government “creep” continues with things like cap-and-trade legislation and proposals to regulate backyard gardening; Google HR875 or HR759 and you'll see several links referring to proposed garden
regulations.

Now this new federal health care legislation makes non-participation a crime worthy of fines and, theoretically, jail time. Not to mention it has the potential to add $881 million to Minnesota’s next budget deficit. We should not be forced to comply with something that is pushing our country closer to the bankruptcy cliff or a new face of
socialism.

A total of 13 states have already declared the intent to sue, with as many as 24 other states considering action against this unconstitutional encroachment by the federal government. Numerous Minnesotans and Americans are fed up with this and it’s time we join those fellow statehood members by calling out the feds for overstepping their bounds. We cannot tolerate these repeated occasions of government forcing its weight onto the people of Minnesota.

All an overreaching federal government needs is for good people to do nothing. This movement to the feds running roughshod over the states will continue gaining momentum until we do something about it. At some point - like right now - we have to stand up against big-government intrusion.

Sincerely,


Rep. Torrey Westrom
273 State Office Building
100 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN  55155
 
651-296-4929
1-800-711-2620
rep.torrey.westrom@house.mn

4-01-2010

Neighbor-

We are midway through the 2010 legislative session and the most notable events have been reworking General Assistance Medical Care, passage of a jobs/taxes bill, and the adoption of a bonding bill to fund construction projects.

Here's a rundown:

JOBS/TAXES BILL PASSES
The Legislature passed the jobs/taxes bill Monday before members headed home for Easter break. The bill includes an "angel" tax credit to encourage investment in start-up companies to create jobs. It also promotes historic building renovations and Mall of America expansion and provides incentive for the Ford plant to continue operating in St. Paul.

These various programs/credits are paid for by repealing the state's low-income motor fuels $25 tax credit. This tax credit cost a lot to administer and was fraught with people qualifying for it that never even bought gas or drove. Savings from the elimination would be approximately $30.1 million. The money comes from taxes on leased vehicles.

This bill was not perfect, but it passed by a wide margin and is a step in the right direction. We attempted to make across-the-board reductions in the corporate tax - which is nearly the highest in the nation - but that amendment was denied.

BALANCING THE BUDGET
The Legislature also on Monday re-passed the first step in the majority's three-phase plan to erase a state deficit of $994 million. The first phase includes $312 million in cuts to areas including local governments, public colleges and agriculture programs. The largest cut is a $105 million reduction in Local Government Aid. The conference committee stripped the zero-based budget amendment we successfully added the first time the bill was on the floor. That disappoints me because it was the only true reform in this legislation, so removing zero-based budgeting left us with the same outdated model of government that helped put us at a deficit.

I have been told the areas of Health and Human Services and K-12 education will be addressed in the next two phases; they comprise approximately 70 percent of the state's budget. An influx of more than $400 million from the federal government could be announced later this month, which would leave us with a deficit of a little more than $100 million to fill.

IMPROVING HEALTH CARE DELIVERY FOR THE POOR
Another top item the first half of the session was our re-working of the GAMC program for low-income Minnesotans. GAMC was in serious need of an overhaul since it had become unaffordable with expected growth of 30 percent per biennium to become $1.3 billion by 2014-15. We found a solution for replacing GAMC with a more efficient system that will continue providing care for those in need, but taxpayers will save more than $700 million per two-year cycle.

If we had not upheld the governor's veto of an unfunded, temporary "Band-Aid" bill, we would not have achieved this bi-partisan improvement of GAMC. We stayed the course even though some legislators abandoned reform and told us there were no alternatives. It's not always a pretty process, but persistence paid off and the finished product will benefit all of us.

SHRUNKEN BONDING BILL APPROVED
The last headline-maker from the first half dominated much of the debate the first few weeks this session: The bonding bill, which borrows money to fund construction projects. Cooperation and compromise was more difficult to attain in this bill and the process became very contentious. A significant amount of disagreement surrounded the bill's size. The majority pushed for a borrowing bill in the $1 billion-plus range, but the governor recommended a more priorities-based bill of around $700 million. The final bill was passed to the governor's desk with a total of $996 million in various projects. He line-item vetoed many of the extras - like a sculpture garden - in the bill and then approved the top priorities, bringing the final cost to $680 million.

Although the bonding bill contained many projects of merit, government borrowing is not the cure-all for creating job growth and economic recovery. Long-term economic growth and stability will come from Minnesota's job creators and innovative citizens.

The Legislature will resume its work to balance the budget when we return to St. Paul after Easter. Until then we will be spending time in our districts with loved ones and attending Easter services. I will stay in touch and will look for your continued input; it will be extremely valuable to me as we enter the second half of the 2010 session.

Have a Blessed Easter,


Torrey


Rep. Torrey Westrom
273 State Office Building
100 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN  55155
 
651-296-4929
1-800-711-2620
rep.torrey.westrom@house.mn