Minnesota Majority has learned that each of the seven metro County Boards must adopt a formal resolution in order to put the sales tax and vehicle excise tax into effect within their respective counties.  This means that should a Board fail to adopt the resolution, the tax increases will not go into effect within that county.  Nearly 100% of the $1.1 billion sales and excise tax increase will be dedicated to boondoggle mass transit programs which will have very little, if any benefit for residents in some counties.  If enough citizens revolt and contact their County Commissioners, there's a chance they could block these tax increases from being implemented in their counties.  We have established an Action Alert providing individuals with the contact information for their County Commissioners.

This morning Minnesotans were forced to muddled through another daily dose of predictable propaganda from the StarTribune. Letters to the editor read like a promotional package from the group of lobbyists and special interests that made the transportation bill happen this year. Lori Sturdivant criticizes any scrutiny of the six Republicans who abandoned their party and sided with the Democrats to override the Governor's veto.  Driving to my office this morning I heard a few different radio ads sanctifying the heroic victory for the people that the transportation bill passing so "definitely" represents.

Once again, media playing it's critical role in managing public opinion rather than reporting on it. The choreography is precise and the playbook shrewdly crafted. And it's all made to look like what happened last week in the legislature was the result of some organic grassroots effort to remedy our sick transportation system. If the people only knew the truth.

Surely every Minnesotan deserves to know the real players behind the power and influence exerted in Minnesota. This is all public information so it can't be corrupt, right? Weigh the details for yourself. Make up your own mind.

Let's take a look at the "powers that be" behind the scenes on this shrewdly crafted outcome "for" Minnesota.  Let's start with the Transportation Alliance.

Ames Construction
Parsons Brickerhoff
Bonestroo
HDR
HTNB
Short Elliott Hendriksen
SRF Consulting
3M Worldwide
WSB
Ayers Associates
Bolton & Menk Surveyors
Amalgamated Transit Union
URS Corporation
MN Building Trades Council (AFL-CIO)
International Union Of Operating Engineers Local 49
Jacobs, Edwards & Kelsey
Teamsters Local 120

Now lets take a look at the massive mob of organizations under the advertising campaign I heard this morning under the Progress In Motion moniker:

Professional Associations

The Minnesota Transportation Alliance
A statewide coalition of approximately 275 public and private sector organizations involved in the development, construction and operation of Minnesota’s transportation system. Alliance members include most of the 87 Minnesota counties, cities, the highway industry, transit organizations, unions and other transportation advocates.

Associated General Contractors of Minnesota
The AGC is a non-profit professional trade association consisting of 450 members that is dedicated to promoting opportunity and excellence in the building and highway construction industry.

Minnesota Public Transit Association
Statewide Association consisting of over 60 transit systems statewide and other transit advocates.

Minnesota State Patrol Troopers Association
City Engineers Association – Represents 142 cities
County Engineers Association – Represents all 87 county engineers
American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota - ACEC/MN’s 150+ member firms represent over 4,500 employees and over $350 million in annual gross billings.
Minnesota Asphalt Pavement Association - Approximately 29 asphalt producers along with 7 asphalt nonproducers and 95+ associate members.
Concrete Paving Association of Minnesota – Represents approximately 70 member companies
Aggregate Ready Mix Association
Minnesota Utility Contractors Association
North Central Cement Council

Local Government

Minnesota Association of Townships
Minnesota Inter-County Association
Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities
North Metro Mayors Association
North Metro I-35W Corridor Coalition
Highway 14 Partnership
Highway 52 Freeway Partnership
Highway 55 Coalition
City of Hutchinson
City of Minneapolis
City of St. Michael
Beltrami County
Blue Earth County
Lyon County
Ramsey County
Agricultural Groups
Broiler and Egg Association of Minnesota
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Land Stewardship Project
Minnesota Association of Cooperatives
Minnesota Barley Growers Association
Minnesota Farmers Union
Minnesota Food Association
Minnesota Land Trust
Minnesota Turkey Growers Association
Minnesota Wheat Growers Association
Northern Plains Potato Growers Association

Other Supporters

Alliance for Metropolitan Stability
Brain Injury Association of Minnesota
Growth & Justice
ISAIAH
League of Women Voters Minnesota
Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce /Transportation Committee
Minnesota Consortium For Citizens With Disabilities
Minnesota Public Interest Research Group
Minnesota Senior Federation
Transit for Livable Communities
Unions
AFSCME Council 5
International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 49
Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota
Minnesota AFL-CIO
Minnesota State Building & Construction Trades Council
North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters
Teamsters Local 120
United Transportation Union
Environmental Organizations
Alliance for Sustainability
Conservation Fund
Conservation Minnesota
Fresh Energy
Friends of the Mississippi River
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
Institute for Local Self – Reliance
Izaak Walton League – Minnesota Division
Lower Phalen Creek Project
Mankato Area Environmentalists
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
Minnesota Conservation Federation
Minnesota Council Trout Unlimited
Minnesota Environmental Partnership
Minnesota Food Association
Minnesota Land Trust
National Environmental Trust, Minnesota
Sierra Club
Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota
Will Steger Foundation
Windustry
Businesses
Aggregate Industries
American Engineering Testing
Ames Construction
AVR
Bituminous Roadways
Bolton & Menk Inc
Bonestroo
Braun Intertec Corporation
Central Specialties Inc
Century Fence Company
CS McCrossan, Inc.
Cemstone
CitiCapital Construction Equipment Finance
Cobb Strecker Dunphy & Zimmerman Inc.
Dahl Trucking Inc
Duininck Brothers Construction
Eagan Connection, LLC
Edward Kraemer and Sons
Erickson Engineering
Frattalone Companies
Geyer Signal
Hardrives
HDR Engineering Inc
Highway Technologies
HNTB
Hoover Construction
Intex Corporation
Jacobs Edwards and Kelcey
J.D.P. Safety Consulting LLC
Kadrmas Lee & Jackson
KGM Contractors Inc.
Knife River Corp
L.H. Sowles Inc.
LHB Inc
Lunda Construction
Martin Marietta Materials
Master Engineering, Real Estate and Construction
Mathiowetz Construction Company
McCarty Group
Midwest Asphalt
R and G Construction
Rachel Contracting
Riley Brothers Construction Inc.
Road Machinery and Supplies Company
Robert Schroeder Construction
Ryan Companies US Inc
Sellin Brothers
Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc
Simcote Inc.
SRF Consulting Group Inc
Stellar Contracting Inc.
TCC Materials
TKDA
Tiller Corporation
Tower Asphalt
Ulland Brothers, Inc
Valley Paving
WSB and Associates
Ziegler Inc.

How cool is it that you can lobby for legislation that delivers beefy state contracts to your business?  And in the case of many of these organizations, using taxpayer money to do so.  Minnesota taxpayers should be outraged.

Six Republicans State Representatives and two State Senators have broken ranks with caucus leaders, voting in favor of a massive $6.6 billion tax increase, one of the largest in the state's history.

Hall of Shame: Republicans Voting in Favor of Record Tax Increases

Rep. Jim Abler (Anoka) 651.296.1729	Rep. Heidgerken (Freeport) 651.296.4317	Rep. Hamilton (Mountain Lake) 651.296.5373	Rep. Erhardt (Edina) 651.296.4373	Rep. Peterson (Bloomington) 651.296.7803	Rep. Tingelstad (Andover) 651.296.5369

Sen. Dille  (Dassel) 651.296.4131	Sen. Frederickson (New Ulm) 651.296.8138

The only hope now is to convince these wayward Republicans to uphold Governor Pawlenty's anticipated veto.  We have issued an Action Alert encouraging all Minnesotans to contact their legislators and ask them to support the Governor's veto.

This terrible tragedy has underscored the fact that there are real costs of allowing illegal aliens to freely roam in the State of Minnesota.  Officials must answer some very tough questions that will ultimately allow us to understand what went wrong allowing this tragedy to occur.  Questions such as:

• Why was Morales not deported when she was originally arrested in 2006?  Was this a situation of "sanctuary city" policies encouraging law enforcement agents to look the other way?
• How was she able to obtain a Minnesota state identification card?  How many other illegals have been issued these cards?
• How was Morales able to gain employment at Jennie-O Turkey?  Why wasn't her immigration status checked?  How many other illegals are working at Jennie-O today?

Here's a link to a petition drive we originally launched in 2007 calling for our elected officials to get tough on illegal immigration in Minnesota.

Marty Seifert does an outstanding job of attacking the DFL's record $6.6 billion tax increase.  Thanks to Minnesota Democrats Exposed for the video.

State Sen. Dick Day (R, Owatonna) did a marvelous job of arguing against the massive transportation bill tonight.  Here are excepts of his statements:

The Pawlenty-Molnau administration has invested more in transportation in Minnesota than any other administration in the state's history. In their very first year in office they successfully sponsored the largest ever transportation package: $800 million for more than 200 highway projects throughout the state, $100 million for road maintenance and safety, and $40 million for transit.

Thanks to the work we have done, congestion has gone down, from a peak of 293 miles in 2003 to 267 miles in 2006, according to a brand new study by the Department of Transportation.

In 2006 we also had the least number of fatalities since World War II (482).

A list of the Pawlenty-Molnau Major Highway Projects in the Twin Cities includes:

• I-94/I-694 from Brooklyn Blvd to I-494
• Hwy 100 north of I-394
• I-394 HOV lane conversion to MnPASS
• I-394 westbound auxiliary lane from Louisiana Ave to Hwy 169
• I-494 from France Ave to Hwy 212
• I-494 from Hwy 5 to Carlson Parkway
• I-494 first portion of Wakota Bridge
• I-94 from McKnight Rd to Hwy 120
• Hwy 100 auxiliary lanes from Hwy 7 to I-394 Hwy 169 at Anderson Lakes Parkway and Pioneer Trail

In greater Minnesota, numerous projects have been completed as well:

• Hwy 371 north of Little Falls
• Hwy 53 in Duluth
• Hwy 52 in Rochester
• Hwy 63 in Rochester
• Hwy 14 from Janesville to Waseca
• Interchange on Hwy 10 at Hwy 32 in Clay County Interchange on Hwy 169 at Hwy 19 near Henderson Hwy 23 through Spicer Hwy 336 from I-94 to Hwy 10 in Moorhead Main Avenue Bridge in Moorhead

Jesse Ventura was the one who reduced tab fees as his part of the three-way budget deal, taking millions out of transportation funding.

We currently spend $298 million dollars every biennium on transit, subsidizing the 4% of people who don't drive cars and don't want to pay the cost of their own transportation. We learned from Sen. Dibble on the floor last night that they have a $30 million shortfall this year that we're going to have to cover. Sen. Day suggested raising fares and taking tickets, which they don't do now. He said, but I can't corroborate, that 50% of the rides are at night and on weekends. I think that may still be true but it's old information.

Sen. Day talked about the 33,000 jobs that this bill is supposedly going to create. He spoke with FlatIron who have about 350 workers on the ground and may hire 100 or more additional workers this summer to complete this $350 million project. Sen. Day speculated that Sen. Murphy must be bringing bricks, 40 bricks at a time. in by rickshaw in order to hire 33,000 construction workers. The Democrats used a federal formula to come up with their numbers, and in fact only 19% or 6,200 of those jobs will go to construction workers. Over 47% (15,500) are indirect jobs such as suppliers of equipment and materials, and 34% (11,200) will be created or supported by the previous workers spending their money for fast food or a pair of shoes.

He also mentioned all the transportation packages he has authored in the past which variously raised the gas tax a nickel, imposed a new car surcharge, raised revenue from slots (he said, we all know why that never passed, but he didn't say outright: a DFL bought and paid for by the tribes), and what we called a light rail TIF which would have captured some of the increased property value from areas along the Hiawatha line--which is in the bill as a captured value study. And last year he carried the governor's bonding bill, which leveraged the MVST money to get $1.7 billion in bonds. None of these ideas satisfied the DFL at the time, but they have all appeared in one form or another in the 2007 and 2008 transportation bill.

House Republican leadership unveiled an alternative transportation proposal designed to address Minnesota's transportation system needs without raising taxes.  A comparison chart illustrating the differences between the DFL and GOP proposals is provided in the diagram below:

According to a press release issued by House Minority Leader Marty Seifert (R, Marshall), the GOP plan invests more than seven times as much in local road and bridges than the DFL plan and makes use of reliable, long-term funding to sufficiently build and maintain Minnesota's transportation systems without burdening taxpayers, while keeping healthy commitments to other areas of government.

Today DFL leaders introduced a new transportation bill calling for a whopping $8.5 billion tax increase over 10 years.  At this morning's press conference, Senator Steve Murphy (DFL, Redwing), chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, tried to position the bill as a "jobs program", claiming the additional spending would create 33,000 new jobs each year for the next 5 years.  The specifics of the proposal include:

-- 25% increase in the state's gas tax, with annual automatic increases pegged to the CPI

-- 1/2 percent sales metro sales tax increase (with the possibility for similar increases outside the metro area)

-- increases in motor vehicle registration tax.

Senator Murphy claimed that the indexed gas tax increase would avoid the state legislature from having to revist the gas tax issue on a regular basis.  But Wisconsin recently rescinded a similar automatic gas tax increase because it resulted in the state having one of the highest gas tax rates in the nation. 

Bill sponsors included a $25 tax credit to offer an offset for low-income households.  But the proposed tax increase amounts to over $4000 per household over 10 years, eclipsing any proposed offset.  Gas prices are already at record levels and Minnesota is in an economic slowdown.  The proposed tax increase would further put the brakes on Minnesota's economy and place a huge additional tax burden on those least able to afford it. 

The bill includes funding for light rail, a proposal that many people believe has more to do with social engineering versus addressing existing public needs.  David Strom of the Free Markets Institute comments on light rail proposals in his recent column entitled, "A Boondoggle at Any Price".

Bill opponents also claim that there's plenty of money available to fund required improvements to Minnesota's transportation infrastructure.  The basic issue comes down to better allocating state and federal tax dollars towards the highest priority projects.

Senator Murphy suggested that DFL leaders were planning to "fast path" the bill through the legislature so that it would be on the governor's desk by the end of February.  When questioned about trying to comprise with those who might oppose this legislation, Senator Murphy seemed to suggest that comprises would not be considered.

You might recall that Senator Murphy was the legislator who went on a tirade after the I-35W bridge collapse last August, implying the collapse was due to inadequate funding for maintenance.  Murphy used the incident to call for a substantial increases in transportation funding and the resignation of Transportation Secretary Carol Molnau.  Recent findings by the National Transportation Safety Board, however, indicate that the bridge collapse was likely due to a design flaw, not a lack of maintenance.  A review of the facts suggests Minnesota may have an issue with how tax revenue is being allocated, not a lack of funding.

Send a message to your elected officials to tell them to SAY NO to this massive spending boondoggle.

Centralizing health care under a government-controlled system management is shaping up to be a hotly contested issue in the 2008 Minnesota legislative session.  Liberal advocates of socialized medicine are trying to convince us that our health care system is broken. They claim that 47,000,000 Americans are without health care coverage.  But does their propaganda meet the smell test?

The Census Bureau has acknowledged their 2007 report stating that there are 47 million uninsured Americans is grossly overstated.  The fact is that 17,800,000 of that 47,000,000 used in the liberal argument are actually able to afford their own private coverage, but choose not to buy it for themselves.  Another 10 million of the 47 million are not citizens of the U.S.  Another 10 million do not work at all.  When you sort through all of the fuzzy math, at most there are 19 million people in America without health care coverage.  That's 7% of the total population.  What was the percentage of uninsured in 1987?

As immoral as the concept of amnesty for illegals is in the minds of most Americans, Congress is poised to deliver economic stimulus cash into the hands of illegal aliens. Have vote hungry liberal politicians lost their minds?

According to Fox News, "The $146 billion stimulus package intended to jolt the economy by giving taxpayers rebates up to $1,200 includes cash returns for illegal immigrants who pay taxes.

Under the plan passed by the House, illegal immigrants who qualify as “resident aliens” and earned a minimum of $3,000 would be eligible for rebates of between $300-$600.

Only those illegals who have been assigned an Individual Tax Identification Number (TIN) that allows them to file income taxes would be eligible. The basic issue comes down to how the IRS has defined "resident aliens". The IRS defines a resident alien as somone who satifies one of two tests. The "green card" test is used for individuals who are in the United States legally. The problem is with the "substantial presence" test which defines a resident alien as someone who spend a “substantial” amount of time in the U.S. and have not been deported -- illegal aliens.  The Center for Immigration Studies issued a white paper entitled "Giving Cover to Illegal Aliens" in 2002 discussing how the IRS is undermining US immigration law by issuing Individual Tax Identification Numbers to illegal aliens. 

Tom Tancredo picked up on it here and here. The Politico has picked up on it here. Now some politicians are running around like their hair is on fire trying to figure out "how did THIS happen?" News flash to the politicians... It is called the law of unintended consequences.

You can weigh-in on the issue by contacting your U.S. Senators and asking them to be sure not to adopt the House version of the stimulus package.

This afternoon Governor Tim Pawlenty held a press conference detailing his vision for immigration reform and enforcement in Minnesota.  Appearing with Department of Public Safety Commissioner and Minnesota Homeland Security Chief Michael Campion, Pawlenty issued four Executive Orders for immediate implementation and five legislative proposals to be acted upon as soon as the legislature is called to order in February.

This is arguably the boldest exertion of executive power by Governor Pawlenty in recent memory.  His vision for immigration reform was met with fierce opposition from liberal reporters and an incensed hispanic legislator, Patricia Torres-Ray (DFL, Minneapolis), who held her own impromptu press conference in the hallway after the Governor's presentation.

Pawlenty issued the following four executive orders with his signature today:

1. Minnesota law enforcement officers will work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to help enforce immigration laws.

2. New state emplyees and contractors doing business with the state will be required to verify citizenship through an Internet-based system operated by the federal governmnet.

3. Department of Public Safety will conduct a review of Minnesota driver license database to catch duplicate photos and examine for possible fraud.

4. Department of Public Safety will coordinate law enforcement summits to coordinate training in targeting criminal activity related to illegal immigration.

The five legislative proposals include prohibition of city "sanctuary" ordinances, strengthened human trafficking laws, enhanced penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, increased penalties for identity theft and establishing the crime of "aggravated forgery" of underlying documents used to obtain legitimate identity documents.

One must wonder how a “reporter” like Rachel Stassen-Berger of the Pioneer Press actually goes about the process of writing a “story” about an organization with which she personally disagrees. Let’s give it a try.

We now appear to have evidence of what most people have suspected for years.  As of December 3, the Star Tribune newspaper had published just six letters in response to Nick Coleman’s attack piece on Archbishop Nienstedt (besides the Archbishop's formal response).  And four of the six letters were in support of Coleman.  But here's the most revealing fact exposing the newspaper's apparent bias -- NOT ONE of the over 60 letters critical of Coleman's column submitted through our website were published by the newspaper.

Nine states have passed laws allowing illegal immigrants to attend colleges and universities for the same cost as a legal in-state resident.  Are American students being unfairly biased by this arguably "illegal" competition for a coveted slot in class?

California, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Washington currently offer illegal immigrants in-state tuition rates.  American citizens that attend school outside of the state of their primary residence are, in many cases, required to pay almost twice as much tuition as illegal immigrants.

Under U.S. law, illegal immigrants may not hold any job in the United States.  That raises the question as to why we would offer educational advantages to the very people we prohibit from having a legitimate job in our country.  Students without legal immigrant status continue to be ineligible for federal financial aid, although states are required to provide K-12 public education as a result of a 1982 Supreme Court decision.

The Wall Street Journal raised the possibility that the whole in-state tuition benefit for illegal aliens issue has been nothing more than a vote buying ploy for politicians appealing to hispanic illegals:

"Promoters expect few students to actually take up the benefit. Dropout rates are high and academic scores generally are low among Hispanics, who account for the majority of illegal aliens. "

 In-state tuition for illegal aliens is a violation of Federal Law.  Federal Law Title 8, Chapter 14, Sec. 1623 states:

"an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State... for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit."

In-state tuition for illegals is in fact a form of amnesty masquerading as an incentive for education.