Roseville Legislators Greiling and Marty See Vikiings Stadium as " A Distraction," Issue Citizen Survey

State District 50 Sen. John Marty and  House 54A Rep. Mindy Greiling on Friday issued a joint statement outlining wat they see as major issues facing the state Legislature for the 2012 session, then invited consituents to take a survey to say what they see as the key issues that need attention.

The two Roseville DFLers said the second year of the biennium is usually devoted to considering capital investments, with a need this time to jump start the economy. But they said they fear that "unfortunately it appears that discussion of the Vikings stadium will continue to take a lot of legislative time, despite our ongoing budget problems."

The Minnesota Legislature is slated to convene on Tuesday, Jan. 24.

The following is the two lawmaker's joint statement and a link to their survey. The survey is also at the end of this post:

"We are just days away from the start of the 2012 legislative session. This session is the second half of our two year budget cycle and is characteristically a shorter session. Even with the shorter schedule, we still have a full plate of issues that will require attention this year.

The second year of the budget cycle is generally the year a capital investment bill is passed.  This year will be especially important as we work toward crafting a bill that jump-starts our economy by including measures that put Minnesotans back to work immediately.

Unfortunately, it appears that discussion of the Vikings stadium will continue to take a lot of legislative time, despite our ongoing budget problems. All of the attention given to potential stadium proposals seems to bypass the fundamental question of whether taxpayers should be expected to foot the bill. Questions about expanding gambling complicate this already controversial debate.

Another distraction likely to be a prominent feature of the session comes from efforts by some legislators to put their legislative agenda into the state constitution.

Already an amendment seeking to take the prohibition on gay marriage one step further by enshrining it in our constitution will be on the November 2012 ballot.  Other controversial constitutional amendments are working their way through the legislative process.  Because constitutional amendments don’t require the governor’s signature, some lawmakers see this as an easier way to enact their agenda.  

However, amending the constitution with policy and budget provisions takes away from the public and its elected representatives the future flexibility needed to address ever-changing public needs.

 It’s clear this session will be filled with challenges that need to be addressed in order to move Minnesota forward.

As such, we welcome and encourage your input on the issues we face in St. Paul.  Below is a link for our 2012 Legislative Survey.  Please take a few minutes to complete the questions and share your views.

We invite you to join us for a Town Meeting from 9 to 10:15 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Roseville Library. We welcome your ideas and suggestions for the legislative session."

 Click here to access our 2012 Legislative Survey..

Thank you for giving us the honor of representing you at the Capitol.

Rep. Mindy Greiling

Sen. John Marty  

 2012 Legislative Survey

1. What should the Legislature’s top priorities be in the 2012 Legislative Session?

(Rank top 3 choices)

______      Jobs and the Economy

______      K-12 education

______      Property tax relief

______      Health care reform

______      Passing a job creation package, including bonding

______      Environmental protection

______       Gambling

______      Other (please specify):  ____________________________________________

2.   We were troubled that the budget adopted last session eliminated the Homestead Credit and led to property tax increases for homeowners, renters, and small businesses. How did these property tax increases impact you?    ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.   Would you support an income tax increase on Minnesotans earning more than $500,000 a year, if part of it was used to reduce property taxes?  

      ______            Yes

      ______            No

      ______             Not Sure

4.    Last year, over $3 billion was borrowed from our schools to balance our state’s budget.  Do you support legislation to ensure schools are paid back on a timely basis?  

       ______            Yes

       ______            No

       ______            Not Sure

5.    Do you support a state expansion of gambling to pay for part of the Vikings stadium?

      ______            Yes

      ______            No

      ______            Not Sure

6.    Would you support sulfide mining on the Iron Range even if it resulted in  the discharge of hazardous sulfuric acid, damaging the environment?

___ Yes

___ No

___ Not sure 

7.    Additional comments.  (The issues facing the legislature are complex, and we know that it is difficult to summarize your concerns by responding to simple yes/no questions.  Consequently, we find that additional comments about these or other issues are particularly helpful. Please feel free to attach additional pages.)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________