More taxing madness...from your friendly DFL.

1. A BULLET-TRAIN FROM ROCHESTER: Rep. Tina Liebling (D-Rochester)
wants to spend $500,000 to study the feasibility of building a
high-speed train service between Rochester and downtown St. Paul.
Unless you are very sick, there is no rush to get to Mayo. And unless
you too are dead, there is no rush to get to downtown St. Paul on a
Saturday night. (House File 2403).

2. EVERYONE IS A VICTIM: Rep. Paul Thisssen (D-Minneapolis) wants
to change the legal definition of people treated by credentialed
athletic trainers from "athletes" to "patients." (House File
2399)

And This is the one that really frys me:

3. THE DEMOCRATS ARE AFTER YOUR BEER AGAIN: In the third tax
increase proposed for beer and other beverages containing alcohol in
three months, Rep. Karen Clark (D-Minneapolis) wants to raise the tax on
beer (taxes up by 250%), wine (taxes up by 276%), and distilled spirits
(taxes up by 355%). In the bill, Rep. Clark calls this a "health
impact fee" but added "the fee under this section must be treated as
if it is a tax." (House File 2422).

4. MORE THAN CHICKEN FEED FOR FEATHERING NESTS: Rep. Michael
Nelson (D-Brooklyn Park) wants to raise the salaries for the three
directors of the pension programs for public employees by $12,000 per
year. (House File 2424).

5. THEY ARE STILL SPITTING-MAD AT RALPH NADER: Rep. Sandra Masin
(D-Eagan) doesn't want your first votes for President, Congress, or
any other office to matter. She wants "instant run-off voting." If
no candidate gets over 50% of the votes in a race, she would throw out
the ballots of the last place candidate, and count their second choice
instead. This process would be repeated until some candidate got more
than 50% on some final count. This may be a cure for which there is no
known disease. (House File 2405).

6. A $2 MILLION BUS STOP?: Rep. Shelley Madore (D-Apple Valley)
has offered a $12 million plan to offer loans of up to $2 million for
communities to build "transit improvement centers" where buses from
"minor transit centers" (neighborhood bus stops) would deliver
people to "major transit centers" (bus stops on larger streets) so
they could connect with buses from other places. (House File 2406).

7. EVERYBODY INTO THE TAXPAYERS' POOL: Rep. Diane Loeffler
(D-Minneapolis) wants to include all employees of local governments
under the subsidized program to provide long-term care insurance for
state workers. (House File 2401).

8. DOES A CERTAIN REPRESENTATIVE KNOW A BREWER?: Rep. Joe Atkins
(D-Inver Grove Heights) would modify the requirement of a liquor license
for the State Fair Board if they offer an unnamed malt liquor brewed in
Minnesota as part of their menu during animal shows. (House File
2421).
====================