I’ve heard from several provders who say child care unization is the worst thing they’ve ever heard for children, parents, and providers – not to mention that less than 40% will actually get to vote. The Governor’s tainted executive order only allows the 4000 providers who receive state child care subsidies to vote and all the rest of the total 11,000 licensed providers in the state will be forced to abide by the outcome of the vote with no voice.

So much for Democracy!!

These providers are very capable and know not only how to run a business, but how to properly care for children. They don’t need the Governor or some union telling them how to run their business.

Yet, that is what the Governor exactly wants to do!

Next to their mortgage, daycare is the families/parents second most costly monthly expense. Many parents are in fact working just to pay their mortgage and daycare and certainly can’t afford to start also having to pay increased costs to cover the provider’s union dues.

The Governor stated in his executive order that providers will be given a choice to belong and pay dues is the union vote is successful. Hello! Minnesota isn’t a Right to Work state so his remarks are at least misleading and potentially out and out lies. I believe the Governor may have provided the last straw and it is time to let the voters to decide if Minnesota should be a Right to Work state.

This isn’t a matter of fixing something that isnt’t broke, this is old fashion political cronism. The Governor says this is something that started before is administation but it isn’t hard to assume this new order is nothing more than payback to the SEIU and AFSCME.

The vote on the unionization of in-home and private daycare providers will start on December 6. If you disagree with the terrible government overeach let the Governor  know and send in a letter to the editor.

Forecast: $39 billion

Gov Dayton: $37 billion

Final Agreement: $34.3 billion

Judiciary and Public Safety

Spending:

$1.8 billion General Fund appropriation, $20 million less than the Governor proposed

Resolves a 2009 DFL accounting failure and correctly accounts for a $27 million hole in the Dept of Corrections fund and funds at a level to maintain core services within the courts

Reforms:

Prioritizes the use of state funds on state cases over federal cases

Specifies that funding increases are used to alleviate caseloads and pay for specified operations costs

Prohibits additional funding for increased employee salaries

Requires a co-payment for prison inmate initiated healthcare

Saves counties money through lower reimbursement rates for medical services to local prisoners

Transportation

Spending:

$4.7 billion total appropriation (Dedicated and General Fund) for state and local roads, public safety and transit

$125.7 million General Fund appropriation, $55 million less than the Governor proposed

Cuts spending by $42 million from current levels

Provides over $2.5 billion for jobs related to the construction and maintenance of Minnesota’s trunk highway system

Reforms:

Creates a Trunk Highway Economic Development Account to promote economic development, highway improvement and relieve growing traffic congestion

Improves transit financing and public transparency

Requires development planners to disclose both capital and long-term operating expenses

Taxes

Spending:

$4.1 BILLION in DFL and Gov. Dayton TAX HIKES BLOCKED

$600 million (17 percent) reduction in projected FY2012-13 state aids and credits $750 million (20 percent) reduction in future spending, achieved through permanent long-term spending cuts

Reforms:

Provides $30 million in net tax relief, including estate tax relief for farms and small businesses, sales tax exemption for townships, sales tax exemption for public safety water, and sales tax exemption for resale ticket purchases and freezes city and county aid at 2010 levels, providing budget and funding stability to local officials

Modifies county maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements to allow for greater flexibility and cost savings in delivering local services

Increases homeowner’s property tax refund program and provides more direct property tax relief to middle and lower income homeowners

Includes federal tax conformity to simplify taxpayer filing and tax administration

Replaces the current broken market value homestead credit program and converts it to a comparable exclusion on homeowners’ property tax

Suspends the Political Contribution Program is suspended for two years

Includes federal taxes in the Tax Incidence Study, allowing for a more accurate portrait of the burden on MN taxpayers

K-12 Education

Spending:

$13.6 billion General Fund appropriation, $600 million less than the Governor proposed and $2 billion less than projected FY2012-13 spending

NOTE: An extension and expansion of the education aid “shift” is included in this measure pursuant to an overarching budget agreement between legislative leaders and the governor

o As in the past, existing law provides that the shift will be bought back when the economy recovers and state revenues increase enough to build up a budget surplus

o After taking the effect of the shift into account, the bill appropriates $13.6 billion over FY 2012-13 ($6.3 billion in FY 2012 and $7.3 billion in FY 2013)

$50 increase in per pupil funding allowance

Special education funding increased according to current law growth factors

Reforms:

Seeks mandate relief with the repeal of the contract settlement deadline (January 15) and penalty ($25 per pupil)

Repeals the safe schools levy maintenance of effort restriction (no change to total amount of funding)

Extends by two-years the relief from requiring local districts to spend 2 percent of their basic revenue on staff development

Ends the inefficient and uneven Integration Revenue after FY 2013 to be replaced with a yet undetermined program and spending distribution

Repeals the state’s authority to borrow from school districts with reserves during a fiscal year (the payment shift is different because that splits payments over two different fiscal years)

Increases the Literacy Incentive Aid and investment in the MN Reading Corps.

Requires school districts to “earn” Literacy Incentive Aid funds through student reading test scores in the early elementary grades

Creates Early Graduation Scholarships, allowing academically capable and hard-working students to complete their high school education early and to take the funds to the college of their choice

Requires regular evaluations of principals and teachers: student test scores must be connected with the rating of the teacher

Higher Education

Spending:

$2.57 billion General Fund appropriation, $180 million less than the Governor proposed and

Cuts spending by $246 million from current levels

$21 million increase for the State Grant program to improve and expand choice in higher education

Increases funding for the Work Study program to allow more students to work their way through college

Reforms:

Enacts tuition limitation at MnSCU’s two year institutions, forcing systematic reform and efficiency

Requires the U of MN and MnSCU schools to meet performance benchmarks to receive a portion of their funding

Utilizes need-based State Grant program and Work Study programs to drive expanded choice in higher education, employment opportunities for students, and minimizes student loan debt

Health and Human Services

Spending:

$11.3 billion General Fund appropriation, $700 million less than the Governor proposed and $1 billion less than projected spending

Future spending (tails) reduced from a projected 11.5 percent increase to a significantly lower 4.8 percent increase

No increased surcharges are included in the final agreement

There are no rate reductions to nursing homes in this bill

Reforms:

Bends the curve on health care spending to slow the massive growth in the fastest growing part of the state budget

Creates a defined contribution to privatize public health care for some MinnesotaCare recipients

Controls the number of people allowed on the waiver programs through limits on Elderly and Developmental Disability Waivers

Repeals the provider tax

Provides tax relief from the MinnesotaCare provider tax with a blink-on or off depending on the financial structure of the Health Care Access Fund.

Prevents welfare fraud by strengthening welfare eligibility requirements and placing greater photo ID requirements and restrictions on the use of EBT cards for alcohol or tobacco purchases

Includes County Service Delivery Authority, allowing counties to consolidate human service departments into delivery authorities

Repeals entirely the nursing facility and hospital rebasing, drastically reducing falsely inflated forecasted spending for health and human services

Limits the Medicaid fee-for-service spending for the next 4 years

Increases funding to small, rural nursing homes and rural pharmacies

Modifies MFIP requirements and makes changes for recipients

Accepts the Governor’s Medical Assistance early enrollment program, but also ensures that reforms and cost containment efforts would be done to serve the adults without children below 75 percent FPG

Accepts the Governor’s proposal to ask the federal government for a series of waivers but seeks accompanying reforms:

o Promoting personal responsibility and encouraging and rewarding healthy outcomes, encouraging utilization of high quality, cost effective care through Medicaid and MinnesotaCare enrollee cost sharing

o Redesign home and community based services for people with disability in order to ensure a more sustainable system

o Changes to the Elderly Waiver to improve access to housing, redesign of assessment tools, transition and relocation efforts, refinancing of Alternative Care and Essential Community Supports, and providing Medigap coverage for those not eligible for MA

o Health Care Delivery Demonstration Projects to test alternative payment service and delivery models for Minnesota Health Care Plan fee-for-services recipients and managed care enrollees and support an improved primary care coordination model for recipients

Environment/Energy/Commerce

Spending:

$237 million General Fund appropriation, $39 million less than the Governor proposed

Cuts spending by $75 million from current levels

No fee increases

No tax increases

Reforms:

Provides budget flexibility to maintain outdoors and deal with critical issues such as aquatic invasive species and chronic wasting disease

Requires review of state agency water management to streamline and consolidate among all agencies that have water programs

Reforms state tree nursery program to devise a long-term business plan for sustainability without competing with the private sector

Jobs and Economic Growth

Spending:

$154 million General Fund appropriation, $11 million less than the Governor proposed

Cuts spending by $41.4 million from current levels

Prioritizes spending on private sector jobs and business programs, not earmarks and special interests

Reforms:

Ends DFL practice of pass-through grants and legislative earmarking for special interests

Creates three competitive grants programs in the Department of Employment and Economic Development

Encourages small-business expansion through newly created loan guarantee program

Cuts funding to the MN Trade Office at an ongoing rate of 5 percent per year

Minimizes the use of fees

Agriculture

Spending:

$76.8 million General Fund appropriation, $1 million less than the Governor proposed

Cuts spending by $9.9 million from current levels

Prioritizes spending on the livestock and grain industries, the health and safety of our food supply system, and our ever-increasing export programs

Reforms:

Ends ethanol subsidies by making the final ethanol producer deficiency payment in 2012

State Government Innovations and Veterans

Spending:

$818.9 million General Fund appropriation, $53.6 million less than the Governor proposed

Cuts spending by $68 million from current levels

Reduces funding for constitutional offices, the legislature, and state agencies by 5 percent

Increases spending for Veterans Affairs and Military Affairs by 2.7 and 6 percent respectively

Reforms:

Consolidates Office of Enterprise Technology services throughout government

Requires E-Verify status check to be used by all businesses that contract with the state

Establishes a Sunset Advisory Commission to review state agencies, improve operations, and consolidate programs

Calls for strategic sourcing with private firms to ensure efficiencies in state buildings and vehicle fleet management

Requires the Department of Revenue to seek tax fraud prevention measures and increase delinquent collections

Links state employee pay to performance, with salary increases subject to sufficient ratings

Issues up to $10 million in appropriated bonds through MN Management & Budget in a “pay for performance” pilot project with cost efficient non-profits

Thank you!

I received a call at 10:58 on election night from Representative Andy Welti to congratulate me on the win. I want to thank him for his 6 years of service to the people of District 30B and I wish him the very best.
I have so many people to thank for this win but I first need to thank the people of 30B who had the confidence to elect me to represent them in St Paul. I am truly humbled and honored and my promise is to serve you faithfully.
I have to thank my wife for being there for me from the very beginning. Together we lit dropped and knocked on over 10,000 doors in 30B.
I also have to thank all those who were part of my campaign team and gave a tremendous amount of time and effort.
I also had very valuable assistance from individual campaigns teams in Stewartville, Eyota, and Plainview. A special thanks to Representative Drazkowski and the Plainview Elephant Club.
After a few days of rest and celebrating with my mom for her 80th birthday it will be time to get busy. There is a lot of work to be done in St Paul and we have to hit the ground running!

He received an “A” rating on the 2010 NRA Candidates for Public Office Election survey but since he has not held an elected office before he has no record on voting.

It is NRA policy to endorse encumbent elected officials if they do not have a record of voting for anti gun legislation. The Benson 2010 Campaign has no information about any gun legislation voted for or against by his opponent.

My promise to you is to reform government to make it more responsive and to lower taxes to create jobs, putting Minnesotans back to work. I know you can’t be fooled and on Election Day you’ll make the right choice. Vote Mike Benson. Paid for by the Benson 2010 Campaign Committee.

This is Mike Benson, Republican Candidate for State Representative. On Election Day you will have the opportunity to directly affect the wellbeing of your family and all Minnesotans. It’s time for new vision, and new leadership in St Paul who understand the best way to help Minnesota families is adding jobs by eliminating the barriers to job creation, high taxes and over regulation. Help me be that new leadership. For a stable and prosperous future vote Mike Benson. Paid for by the Benson 2010 A Better Minnesota Campaign Committee      

Ad#2.   

This is Mike Benson, Republican Candidate for State Representative. I believe local governments are better equipped to decide how tax dollars are spent in our communities because they are closer to the need. I’ll work to eliminate unfunded state mandates and maintenance of effort requirements that result in the wasteful use of your tax dollars. It’s time for new leadership in St Paul. Please vote for Mike Benson and together we’ll make a difference. Paid for by the Benson 2010 A Better Minnesota Campaign Committee.

Ad#3. 

This is Mike Benson, Republican Candidate for State Representative. Free and fair elections are foundational to our republic. Our citizens must expect that their vote will count and can not be stolen by nefarious and illegal means. I’ll work to require a voter id to help to make sure voters have greater confidence their vote will really count It’s time for new leadership in St Paul. Please vote for Mike Benson and together we’ll make a difference. Paid for by the Benson 2010 A Better Minnesota Campaign Committee.