| For Immediate Release | For more information contact: |
| January 29, 2001 | Jon Peterson (651-296-5989) |
(ST. PAUL) -- Rep. Rich Stanek (R-Maple Grove) has introduced three bills strongly supported by the cities of Maple Grove and Plymouth.
The first, House File 188, would save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars by lifting the sales tax on local government purchases. When the state faced a budget shortfall in 1992, it repealed the sales tax exemption for local government purchases. As a result, cities across Minnesota pay $90 million a year on items like road maintenance equipment and building materials. This policy effectively inflates local property taxes, said Rep. Stanek.
"In a time of budget deficits, the Legislature asked cities and local governments to shoulder the burden by paying sales tax on their purchases," he said. "Minnesota has now run eight years of enormous surpluses. The sales tax on local government purchases is now a solution in search of a problem. It should end."
Another bill endorsed by Maple Grove and Plymouth is House File 260, which establishes a integrated criminal justice information system known as CriMNet. Once it is in place, CriMNet would allow police, sheriffs, judges, prosecutors, probation and corrections officers to share criminal records information with each other.
"Good information is the foundation of any effective criminal justice system," said Rep. Stanek, a 17-year Minneapolis police veteran. "Without it, law enforcement officers have one hand tied behind them. Minnesota has a chance to shine in the national spotlight, provided legislators and the Governor rally behind this issue."
Rep. Stanek also introduced legislation to provide an express bus demonstration project from Rogers to downtown Minneapolis. The bill would relieve traffic congestion on I-94 and provide relief to the overcrowding of the Maple Grove Transit Service. Rep. Stanek recently met the Maple Grove Transit Commission and the Suburban Transit Association to discuss the issue.
"Not only are our buses overcrowded, but a recent survey found that one third of those riding Maple Grove's buses come from outside our taxing district," said Stanek. "Our area's residents should not be forced to pay for commuters from other cities."
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