Dear Chamber Members

Dan McElroy is currently President and CEO of Hospitality Minnesota which is a coalition of three trade associations – Minnesota Restaurant, Lodging and Resort, and Camping. He is a former Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Finance, Chief of Staff to former Governor Pawlenty, and legislator.
When it comes to the Minnesota Legislature in 2014 there are two things we can be certain about: they will convene on February 25 ^that Noon and they must adjourn by midnight on Monday, May 19^th . Everything else can and will be debated. There are some things we can be pretty sure of, however:

• There will be a capital investment or bonding bill.
• An increase in the minimum wage is high on the agenda for the DFL and organized labor.
• Taxes will be on the front burner, particularly the business-to-business sales taxes enacted last session.
• Republicans will talk about the business climate, Democrats will talk about the achievement gap and some legislators may even listen.

Even though the DFL controls all three of the levels of power, there will be some good battles over the details. This is a very big election year and politics will be front and center most of the year. Business people should heed Mark Twain’s advice: “No wise man sleeps when the legislature is in session!”

Dan McElroy will be address our Government Affairs committee meeting next Tuesday, February 18^th at Washington Square Bar & Grill, 4736 Washington Square, from 7:3—9:00am.
This will be an exciting event and the topic will generate a lot of interest.
Please RSVP tom@whitebearchamber.com reserve your spot.
Special thanks to Olsen Thielen CPA’s for producing this article.