Write your legislators if you don't want Hennepin County Sales taxes raised to pay for a stadium.
Rep. Phil Krinkie (R, Shoreview) is correct on this issue.
Will the Taxpayer League oppose this Turkey? Or are they too busy attacking public transit to bother when the foxes are guarding the chickenroost?
Eva Young Near North
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From: Dan Dobson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 07:22:36 -0800 (PST)
Subject: MPD: Stadium Bill Update - Passes First Test Tuesday Night - New Sales Taxes Proposed
Here's what happened with the stadium bill at the State House Government Relations Committee Tuesday night. We were up at the legislature to 11:30. Many of the Twins and Vikings lobbyists, lawyers and supporters; Jerry Bell, Dick Anfang, Ralph Strangis and Lester Bagley were all there to the bitter end.
The version of the bill HF3089 posted on the web IS NOT ACCURATE. If you pull it up on the web at:
http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/cgi-bin/bldbill.pl?bill=H3089.0&session=ls83
this is NOT the bill that was introduced at the committee Tuesday or worked on.
The bill, as introduced, is a wish list for the Twins and the Vikings. They didn't even have enough copies of the bill for observers and I am still without a working copy.
The draft circulated did not have a requirement for a referendum and the clause that said a local entity could hold a referendum, said any vote has to be held within 30 days after a resolution is passed requiring an referendum.
The bill creates a new 6 member "Minnesota Stadium Commission" solely appointed by the Governor. It does not appear to be responsible to either the legislature or the Governor. (I guess Bill Lester of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission has been deemed too hostile to the Vikings and Twins. It was the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission under Lester who sued the Twins over contraction and forced them to stay and has said that the Metrodome can be remodeled for the Vikings.)
It will be the new Commission's responsibility to negotiate deals between the Twins, Vikings and local communities. With no requirements for a referendum, any deal negotiated, only then needs to be approved by "the local unit of Government", at present the Hennepin County Board or St. Paul City Council, in the case of the Twins, and the Anoka County Board and Blaine City Council in the case of the Vikings.
There is also a new twist that was not in Gov. Pawlenty's stadium commission proposal. The local unit of government can pass a GENERAL SALES TAX INCREASE in the host community. It appears that the real funding mechanism may be county-wide sales tax increases in Hennepin County and Anoka County.
Finally, Rep. Ron Abrams, chair of the House Tax Committee and the legislative aide, Joe Michaels, also said that MSA 297A.99, which requires a referendum for local sales taxes, said this requirement DOES NOT APPLY TO MINOR TAXES, including restaurant and bar taxes.
As written, this stadium bill would permit, the Commission, (or their staff) to meet with the Twins and the Hennepin County Board, (or the 4 members favoring a stadium), cut a deal, including a 1/10th cent to 1 cent sales tax increase in Hennepin County and it would be a done deal, because there would be no referendum.
Then the new Stadium Commission could do the same thing in Anoka County. The Commission, or staff, could sit down with the Vikings and the Anoka County Board and the Blaine City Council, cut a deal imposing a 5% restaurant and bar tax in Blaine and a 1% sales tax increase in all of Anoka County and the Vikings would have their new stadium.
Of all the stadium bills I have seen over the past 5 years this is by far the worst. It creates a Commission that is not accountable to any party, it includes provisions for across the board sales tax increases, plus increased bar, restaurant and lodging taxes and it excludes the requirement of public referendums.
The Twins in a e-mail release on Wednesday stated that they are being required to pay 1/3 of the cost of a new stadium upfront. This is false. Tuesday night, Rep. Mark Buesgens, of Jordan, introduced an amendment that would have required the teams to actually pay 1/3 of the money upfront "in cash". His amendment was vigorously attacked. Jerry Bell, the Twins President, said it was a "deal killer" it was amended to death by Rep. Laura Brod, who replaced Buesgens requirement that the teams pay 1/3 upfront in "cash" with "commitments". This could be lease payments over 30 years or any other gimmick the teams or their lawyers can devise.
After the teams were required to put 1/3 upfront only with "commitments", Buesgens withdraw his amendment.
Rep. Frank Horenstein then introduced an amendment, which passed, that says that the new Stadium Commission examine all options. He specifically mentioned the new St. Louis Cardinals stadium, where the owners are paying approximately 2/3rds of the cost and the state 1/3. This is a nice amendment, but it had no enforcement provisions.
The bill was passed on a voice vote and sent on to the next Committee.
Dan Dobson No Stadium Tax Coalition 801 Goodrich Avenue Saint Paul, Minnesota 55105 651-227-4376 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.NoStadiumTax.com
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Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 12:37:24 EST From: "TwinsBaseball.com" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Ballpark News: Bill Passes First Test To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
--------------------------------- Breaking News
March 24, 2004
--------------------------------- BALLPARK BILL PASSES FIRST TEST
The new ballpark proposal took a positive step forward. A stadium bill that would fund a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins survived its first test on Tuesday. The bill would allow communities to levy sales, liquor and restaurant taxes, includes a plan to capture some in-stadium sales, and requires the Twins to pay 33 percent of the cost of the proposed ballpark. The bill is likely to be amended before it reaches the House and Senate floors.
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