Dear Friend,
Thanks for visiting my website. It is such an honor to represent Kandiyohi County in Saint Paul. It’s truly the best job I’ve ever had — I give it my all and have built a record of delivering results for our community. That’s why I’m running for re-election. I want to keep working hard for you and bring your voices and concerns to Saint Paul.
The past two years have been incredibly productive. The highlight for me was finally securing funding for the expansion of Highway 23. It’s something I’ve been working on since I came to the legislature in 2015, but this is the year we finally got it done. In total, we passed more than $5 billion in funding for our roads and bridges over the next 10 years.
We also passed major reforms to lower health care costs and increase health plan choices and cut taxes for seniors on social security, college graduates with student debt, Main Street businesses, farmers, and more.
I also have been working hard to address the opioid crisis. I have been outspoken in working to hold big pharma accountable for their role, and plan to continue those efforts. We’ve passed important opioid reforms to increase awareness, reduce the number of pills on the street, and hopefully prevent addiction and the horrible consequences that come with it.
Your support means the world to me — it’s an honor to be able to fight for you day in and day out. Please contact me any time with your questions, concerns, and comments.
Sincerely,
Dave
Issues
Education
This session, the legislature passed and Governor Dayton signed into law a major funding increase for Minnesota schools. The 2018-2019 budget boosted funding for Willmar schools by $497 per pupil over two years, $415 for New London-Spicer, and $463 for ACGC. These new dollars go directly to the classroom where they can be used to improve education for our kids.
Since I was first elected, I’ve been working to close the gap between rural and Metro schools, and I’m proud to report that while there’s still more work to do, we’ve been making progress.
I have made it a priority since being elected to visit local classrooms, and visit with as many teachers, administrators, and other education officials as possible. Your input and guidance on these issues helps guide my work at the Capitol on education.
Transportation
Minnesotans need safe and reliable roads and bridges. I’ve been a vocal proponent of road and bridge funding since I was elected in 2014. This year, we finally pushed a major transportation package over the finish line.
In total, Minnesota will see more than $5 billion in road and bridge investment over the next ten years — all without a gas tax increase. It’s one of the largest investments we’ve ever made in our transportation infrastructure.
Most importantly, we finally secured funding for Highway 23. This project has been years in the making, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that we finally got it over the finish line. Construction should begin in the next few years once all the land has been acquired and prep work completed.
Broadband
It’s one of my top priorities to ensure reliable broadband access to all corners of Kandiyohi County. Over the past four years, I’ve helped pass into law $65 million in new funding for broadband. That funding has helped numerous communities across Minnesota, including some here in Kandiyohi County, connect homes and businesses to broadband access.
This is a big issue for our area, and one I will continue to push for next session.
Tax Policy
When I first ran for office, Minnesota had huge budget surpluses that reflected a government that was taking too much money from its citizens. In my first two terms, Republicans have helped deliver major tax relief for families.
This included
- Exempting veteran pensions from all state taxes, the largest veteran tax cut in state history.
- Cutting social security taxes for more than 200,000 Minnesota filers, and eliminating social security taxes altogether for more than 80,000 filers.
- A $500 tax credit for college graduates with student loan debt.
- An agriculture tax credit to make school bond referendums more fair for farmers and agriculture landowners.
- Freezing an automatic tax increase on Main Street businesses and so much more! The 2017 tax bill delivered the largest tax cut since 2000!
I also supported legislation in 2018 (unfortunately vetoed by the Governor) that would have lowered income taxes for the first time in two decades. That will be a major priority as we look ahead to next session.
When Minnesotans keep more of what they earn, our economy grows. I hope we will continue looking for ways to return more money to Minnesotans and make our tax climate more favorable for businesses so we can grow good-paying jobs and be more competitive with our neighbors.
Health Care
Minnesotans deserve a health care system with affordable plans and access to doctors and clinics. Unfortunately, we’ve been going in the wrong direction for the past few years. Since 2013, Minnesotans have been dealing with double-digit premium increases on the individual market. Last session, Republicans worked to finally turn that around and for two years in a row, the individual market is now seeing prices dropping. We’ve also worked to increase the number of health plans available, which should boost competition.
In addition, I supported legislation that would have cut the tax you pay in health insurance, and important health price transparency bills. We still have more work to do, but it looks like we have finally turned a corner and are on the right path toward making Minnesota a leader in affordable, accessible health care once again.
This content was originally published at https://www.davebaker.gop/index.php