11/09/2009
Greetings!
A newly-formed bipartisan House Small Business Caucus has been established to make Minnesota more competitive in small business start-up and sustainability. A key part of the Small Business Caucus is to gather high quality and accurate information about the state of Minnesota’s economy, employment, and the weaknesses and challenges of the state and its policies from the perspective of businesses that operate here or that would like to operate here. Small business owner’s input is wanted by legislators – I encourage you to complete a survey that is available on the Minnesota House of Representatives web site by November 30th.
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/smallbusinesssuggestions.asp
Sincerely,
Larry Haws, State Representative
Greetings Neighbors,
I will be hosting a House Capital Investment tour in St. Cloud on October 20, 2009 to visit sites in the community with proposed bonding projects for 2010. The House Capital Investment Committee is responsible for approving money for capital projects and state infrastructure, so we will make be making the most of this opportunity and invite members into our community to have a first-hand look at our resources and project needs.
The tour will begin with a stop at the St. Cloud Technical College where members will have an opportunity to listen to project needs of the Technical College Library innovations and renovation plans for the Allied Health Center. This will be followed by a visit to St. Cloud State University to hear a presentation on proposed new construction for an Integrated Science and Engineering Laboratory Facility that will be used for teaching, research, and student academic support spaces configured to meet changes in science and engineering needs. Later in the evening legislators will hear from community leaders, business owners and developers about expansion plans for the St. Cloud Civic Center and land acquisition of the St. Cloud Regional Airport Property. The tour will also include an acquisition update on Dehler property and the Quarry Park/Nature Reserve.
It's important for members of the St. Cloud community to have an opportunity to engage with members of the Minnesota House Capital Investment Committee. The chair of the committee, Representative Hausman, and I have had numerous productive conversations about St. Cloud bonding projects in preparation for the 2010 Legislative Session. One-on-One visits like this only help to clarify the importance and purpose of projects planned for our community.
Sincerely,
Larry Haws, State Representative
9-07-2009
Greetings Neighbors,
It’s that time of year when fairgoers at the Minnesota State Fair had an opportunity to participate in the House of Representatives State Fair Poll and share their concerns and opinions. Nearly 9,000 fairgoers took an informal, unscientific survey conducted by nonpartisan House Public Information Services to let their elected officials know where they stand on the day’s issues.
The 2009 House of Representatives State Fair Poll included 13 questions that covered such topics as funding for a Vikings stadium, unallotment, medical marijuana, early voting and budget cuts versus tax increases. While the entire survey and poll reults are available at http://www.house.mn/ I’d like to highlight some issues that may be topics of discussion in the upcoming session.
Exactly 47.5 percent of polltakers support cuts to balance the state budget and nearly 44 percent support tax increases. More than three-quarters of polltakers believe the legislative process should be more transparent by requiring public budget negotiations between the governor and legislative leaders. By nearly eight percentage points, polltakers stated the governor should not have the power to use unallotment to prevent an anticipated budget deficit.
Nearly 57 percent of the voters believe the state should allow voters to cast ballots as early as two weeks before Election Day, and 51 percent support the idea that registration for a driver’s license or state identification card would automatically allow the applicant to vote.
Almost 70 percent voted for the use of medical marijuana to ease the suffering of terminally ill patients.
The big loser of the survey - by a 2-to-1 ratio, polltakers said voter approval should be required before any public money is used for a new or refurbished Minnesota Vikings stadium.
Participating in this poll is a wonderful opportunity for Minnesotans to share their concerns and opinions. Frankly some of the best ideas come from listening to the suggestions of the people we serve at the State Legislature.
Sincerely,
Larry Haws, State Representative
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