HIGH TECH – STIMULUS PACKAGE
May 20, 2009 Economy, Education, News
On Thursday, June 25 the Minnesota High Tech Association is putting together an event that will focus on opportunities for companies as a result of the economic stimulus legislation. Economic Stimulus Package – Federal & State Technology Opportunities: How to Get Your Fair Share? will provide the most current analysis of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and its likely impact on state and federal government technology budgets. It’s going to be a great chance to better understand the federal stimulus package, government procurement processes and regulations, opportunities at the state and local level, and how to position an organization for success.
You may register by sending an email to Peter Lindstrom at plindstrom@mhta.org or calling 952-230-4551.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
8:00 Registration; 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. Program
ADC Auditorium, 13625 Technology Drive, Eden Prairie
Sponsors: ADC Telecommunications; GSP Consulting, Twin Cities Business
MHTA ARRA Event June 25th, 2009
8:00-8:30 Registration, Networking and Light Refreshments
8:30-8:45 Welcome
8:45-11:00 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Key Programs and opportunities
Workforce: Department of Labor High Priority Occupations and Green Jobs
Budget Passed as a result of hard work, compromise and public input
May 20, 2009 News
Before we adjourned on Monday, the 2009 Legislative Session sent Governor Pawlenty another balanced budget. The bill was the result of painstaking work, significant compromise and months of public input. If the governor signs the bill, the $6.4 billion
budget shortfall will be addressed. The details are as follows:
nearly $2 billion in budget cuts
$1.8 billion in federal recovery funds
Delaying $1.8 billion in school payments (shift)
Raising $1 billion in new, ongoing revenue with:
Tax on credit card companies that charge excessive interest
5-cent tax on liquor, and 3-cent tax on beer
A new income tax bracket for those making $250,000 and above
Tax compliance
The bill also includes business tax credits for capital equipment, and
an Angel Investment tax credit for high-tech entrepreneurs.
If Governor Pawlenty does not sign the bill into law, he has indicated he will begin the unallotment process starting July 1. Unallotment is a rarely used tool meant only for times of emergency when the state is facing an unanticipated deficit. The process has only been used 4 times in the state’s history – twice by Governor Pawlenty.
If unallotment is used to balance the remaining $2.7 billion budget gap, the governor would be forced to make additional deep cuts to hospitals, nursing homes, schools, higher education, and other areas of the state budget. That will result in 1) reduced services for the elderly, disabled, and students; 2) more jobs lost; and 3) increased property taxes.
Please contact Governor Pawlenty and ask him to sign the fair and balanced budget by phone (651) 296-3391 or e-mail tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us.
You can track which bills have been signed or vetoed on Governor
Pawlenty’s website.
As always, feel free to contact me with your questions and concerns.
Final Stretch of Legislative Session Update
May 16, 2009 News
We are at the home stretch in the 2009 legislative session and with two days left, the end result is still very much up in the air.
By Wednesday of this week, the Legislature finalized and sent to the Governor all major budget bills to stabilize our budget. In putting our budget together, we spent months listening to Minnesotans about their budget priorities in order to balance the budget with Minnesota values. The bills we sent to the Governor cut spending in nearly every budget area, held school funding flat, protected jobs, and prevented closure of hospitals and nursing homes by raising reasonable revenue.
After these bills had been sent, the Governor called a press conference on Thursday in which he indicated he will sign most of the bills, but will line-item veto provisions he does not like. He will then implement his own budget through a process known as unallotment – he will choose what areas of the budget will be protected, and what ones will be cut.
To provide some context, in the last 30 years, governors have used their power to unallot only four times, and two of those times were by Governor Pawlenty. If chooses the go-it-alone strategy of unallotment, it will be 10 times larger than any other unallotment in state history.
What makes the Governor’s proposal most concerning is that he has not told the public where he would make deep cuts. If the final budget resembles his original budget proposal from March, hospitals would be cut deeply, property taxes would rise significantly, and thousands of Minnesotans will likely lose their job.
On Thursday night, the Governor began implementing his strategy, making painful cuts to health care through a $380 million line-item veto of General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC), eliminating health care coverage for over 30,000 of Minnesotans earning $8,000 a year or less. In testimony yesterday, DHS Commissioner Ludeman describes those served in GAMC as chronically mentally and/or physically ill, homeless and poor. The veto will result in the loss of over $200 million from Minnseota hospitals, which will cause job losses and severe cuts in services. In our area, Northfield Hospital and Long Term Care Center will take a significant hit.
I don’t believe it’s in the best interest of Minnesota to see our state budget resolved behind closed doors without public input. In the final days of session, I will keep working to reach consensus on a budget solution that Minnesotans can support. That means stabilizing our budget, maintaining a commitment to our schools, preserving our hospitals, and retaining jobs.
As always, please contact me with your questions, concerns and input in these critical final days. I also encourage you to contact the Governor (651-296-3391) to provide him with your input on his plan to balance the budget behind closed doors.
The 2009 Veteran’s Career Fair
May 2, 2009 News
The 2008 Veterans Career Fair was the largest single-day fair of its kind in the nation. It featured more than 100 Minnesota businesses and more than 1,300 veterans. This year’s event again is making every effort to reach out to our veterans, their spouses and businesses. The event is a unique opportunity to bring together businesses who are hiring and veterans seeking job opportunities.
This year, the 2009 Veterans Career Fair is being held Wednesday, May 27 from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. at the Earle Brown Heritage Center, 6155 Earle Brown Drive, Brooklyn Center, MN. Professional workshops will also be conducted at 11:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Click for directions.
Detailed employer information and a brochure for jobseekers is available here.
Take advantage of this unique opportunity to help our veterans connect with businesses eager to recruit them into their workforce. This event is produced by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, Veterans Programs. Please call 763-785-6461 if you have any questions.
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
www.positivelyminnesota.com
800-657-3858; TTY 800-657-3973
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in Minnesota
May 1, 2009 News
I supported a bill which was passed on April 29th accepting and directing $196.75 million from the federal stimulus program. The bill identified the following goals: (1) stimulus funding be allocated to activities that best achieve job creation and retention; (2) improved energy efficiency and increased renewable energy production; (3) coordinate and leverage other funding sources; and (4) distribute funds geographically across the state.
Energy efficiency projects are to include weatherization for rental units, especially low-income units, energy efficiency projects in state and local government buildings and school district buildings, the training of energy professionals, and programs to increase energy efficiency in the residential sector.
The bill also establishes a grant program for renewable energy projects in commercial and industrial buildings as well as in public buildings.
For more information, see the Research Summary at or the bill itself.
