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Dahms focused on taxes, funding, staffing

ST PAUL — Taxes, funding and the Governor’s Office are weighing on the mind of District 16’s senator for this legislative session.

Sen. Gary Dahms (R-Redwood Falls) shared concerns with the staffing of the Governor’s Office. He pointed to high turnover after the latest elections as a complication that could slow down the legislative process this session if those positions are not filled.

Dahms argued that without the proper staffing, it would be difficult for Gov. Mark Dayton, or any governor, to read and understand all the bills that come out during the session.

He hopes any new staff that the governor recruits would be as experienced as previous staffers, who he praised as effective over the phone.

“It is not that there are not good people out there, it is, are these good people going to want to commit to 10 months, knowing that is the end of the road?” Dahms said. “That is not a knock on the Governor’s Office at all, that is just reality.”

Dayton’s interest in his legacy was also on Dahms mind. He is unsure what the governor wants to leave behind and whether that will lead to an easy session or a combative one.

It is also a bonding year, which means a big focus will be on a bonding bill. Dahms expects a focus on infrastructure.

“We have a lot of infrastructure owned by the state of Minnesota. A lot needs repairs so I think we will see a strong bonding bill in that area,” Dahms said.

Before anything else, there will probably be a focus on getting the Legislature refunded. It has a few weeks to pass a funding bill before running out of money, the senator said.

He was not certain on a date, but seemed confident, assuming the verbal assurances that Dayton would sign a funding bill were maintained.

Adjusting to the new tax bill is on Dahms’ docket as well. While most taxpayers should see a cut, Dahms wants to work on countering specific changes to the tax code that could increase the burden for some.

An example was depreciation, the reduced value of a property used for income that a person can write off of taxes.

Connor Cummiskey can be emailed at ccummiskey@nujournal.com.

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