Letter: Jobs continue to be a first priority

• Rep. Joe Schomacker

Rep. Joe Schomacker

Talk about it

On Feb. 15, Minnesota lawmakers received Gov. Mark Dayton’s State of the State Address in the Minnesota House chamber. I was pleased the governor took a cordial and not a combative tone with the Legislature, and appreciated that the governor took a few minutes to give the legislative and judicial bodies an update on his perspective. Even though we turned a $5.1 billion deficit into a nearly $1 billion surplus this year, we still have plenty of work to do.

While the governor didn’t outline a specific agenda or ideas beyond increased spending on bonding and a Vikings Stadium, he did offer a willingness to work on reforms as well as job creation. As I’m working on reform bills for group homes and nursing homes, I was pleased to hear this news. We all have agreement that jobs are our first priority. The governor’s priority is jobs through taxpayer-funded projects, and ours is by getting the state out of the way of small business owners that prefer to grow instead of moving to South Dakota in order to expand.

As my special guests for the State of the State Address, I invited Luverne business owners Curt and Marilyn Bloemendaal and Murray County Commissioner Robert Moline, and I was happy to be able to share the evening with them. It served as a reminder of the honor and responsibility I have to hold this office, as well as its importance to the people of southwest Minnesota.

I’m pleased to report that our Reform 2.0 agenda is progressing well.

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