9. ‘Unsession’ still looks to be busy time for state legislators

Though the 2014 legislative session should be a little quieter than last year — when hot-button issues like the budget and same-sex marriage dominated — there’s still a full slate of issues facing legislators when they return to St. Paul on Feb. 25.

Gov. Mark Dayton is looking for 2014 to be what’s been dubbed an “unsession” to clean up old, outdated laws. As chairman of the Jobs, Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin, could be at the center of that push. Sparks and the jobs, agriculture and rural development committee toured the state for a closer look at many of the projects up for bonding dollars.

Locally, officials have requested funding for the Shooting Star Trail, the Blazing Star Trail and the dredging of Albert Lea’s Fountain Lake. In Austin, officials are looking for more funds for flood mitigation.

Rep. Jeanne Poppe, DFL-Austin, described flood mitigation as a huge plus for businesses and homeowners. With bonding projects, Poppe said, it’s important to have everything up to date as possible.

“If you delay investing in infrastructure, it means greater costs and greater work down the road,” she said.

Poppe noted that legislators will be working with a projected $1.1 billion budget surplus, so leaders may instead be able to focus on things other than the budget, like potentially reforming the farm equipment repair tax, the warehouse tax and business to business tax.

After failing to gain traction last year, Poppe expects the minimum wage discussion to surface again. Poppe, who sits the conference committee discussing the issue, said it’s likely the minimum wage will be raised from $6.15.