Posted 6/22/01 From the Senate: A closer look at the St. Paul stalemate ìStalemate.î Thatís a word that I would imagine a good deal of us are tired of hearing with regard to things at the state legislature. Weíve all heard plenty from the governor in recent days about how ìthose politicians canít come to an agreement and get their work done.î After all, he insists, weíve had five months to do the job. I compare the situation to being on a drive in the woods and suddenly finding yourself stuck and lost. Thereís a clear course of action: pull out the map and figure out how you got there and how to find the right road. With this in mind, Iíd like to take us back about six months to explore how the legislature got to where we are today. The criticism from our governor is all the more interesting because I believe it was his budget address back in January that got us off on the wrong foot. As you may recall, it was then that he floated the idea of massive changes in the way Minnesota taxes property and funds education. His proposed vehicle for this overhaul was a broadening of the sales tax. Broadening the sales tax, at a time of a tax ìsurplus,î proved to be hugely unpopular with Minnesotans. So the idea of an expanded sales tax was scrapped. But the governor continues to insist that we need fundamental property tax reform and change in education funding. The catch is that the biggest element of his plan ñ the sales tax expansion ñ isnít going to fly. And, thus, weíre struggling to meet the challenge of funding an increase in education funding while greatly compressing the property tax rates and still trying to send a tax rebate to Minnesotans. Getting back to my ìdrive in the woodsî metaphor, imagine that the governor has insisted that we meet him at a point miles away from where we are now, but he has supplied us with a car that simply wonít run. Heís offered very little in the way of advice on how to fix the car, and to top it off, heís said that unless we meet him by July 1, the state government will effectively shut down. So with a little bit of insight on how we got here, the next question is, ìnow what?î The stalemate weíre in right now comes from a philosophical difference between the Senateís balanced approach of rebates, tax cuts and investments in education, transportation, long-term care and other needs, and the differing priorities forwarded by the House. In a state known for excellent public schools, the DFL is united in the belief that education is something worth fighting for, and thatís a position that canít be compromised. In meeting with folks in Lindstrom, Forest Lake and Cambridge last week, I found encouragement and empathy from people with whom I spoke. I was sent to St. Paul by the voters of my district in order to deal with these challenges, and to meet these deadlines, and that is what I remain firmly committed to do. However, as we stare into the face of a House budget plan that would mean massive tax cuts for high-priced property and increased taxes for small farms along with inadequate funding for education, the question persists: why would we consider a plan to lay off teachers, when economic times are still good and school enrollments continue to rise? Constituents canít understand why school districts must cut programs and lay off teachers at the same time the state is planning to mail out rebate checks. I find it hard to understand also. I am frustrated too. Where are our priorities? Differing political philosophies have gotten us to where we are now. It takes time and a closer look at our ìmapî to locate the best route, but Iím confident that weíll get to where we need to be before the clock runs down. -Senator Twyla Ring ©Post Review