Pay your dues Jim Koppel, co-chair of the Children s Defense Fund, said successful legislation often means bringing back bills for a number of years. You have to pay your dues, he said. But commission members spoke of a five-year window for achieving the legislation. They believe a successful grassroots effort will make supporting the initiative more appealing to lawmakers. Politically, the tax credits might be easier to sell, several commission members explained.
Some salesmanship is in order.
The Ventura Administration is proposing a lean state budget and House Republicans would be agreeable to such tight budgeting, said House Speaker Steve Sviggum. But Sviggum said he didn t believe it would be possible within the governor s budget nor the realm of the Minnesota Legislature to achieve the increases the commission is proposing. I will say I like the tax credit for children. I think that s a very, very good thing to be doing for the children of Minnesota, said Sviggum. Sviggum said they d name such a tax credit after Sen. Rod Grams.