The 2009 movie “The Blind Side” starring Sandra Bullock in her Academy Award winning Best Actress role, wasn’t just a heartwarming story about overcoming adversity and perseverance on the football field, it also contained an important message for today’s state lawmakers.  

The message for the legislators is not about the value of an NFL franchise, but how to play as a team and your role on the team.

One such economic advantage that has been an issue for years at the state legislature is tribal gaming.

Years ago the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sovereign Indian tribes could conduct gambling on tribal lands without interference from the state, but the Federal Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 added a requirement that in order for tribes to operate casino-style gaming they must enter into a compact with the state to provide some measure of control at the state level over Indian gaming. 

Minnesota tribes were the first in the nation to negotiate and sign gaming compacts with a state government. Then-Governor Rudy Perpich signed the compact that permits video games of chance (slots) and blackjack ( a class of gaming illegal in the rest of the state) to be operated on tribal land and a gaming monopoly was born.

The total of new laws that took effect at the stroke of midnight on January 1^st was over 40,000; so much for the idea of less government. Everywhere across the Unites States, state legislators passed new laws regulating everything from drink specials to music therapy. There is no comprehensive list; just a mountain of paper in state capitol buildings across America that will confine and confuse citizens and businesses with the new rules and regulations.

By all predictions it should be a rather non-eventful affair. There is a $876 million budget surplus for the first time in years and most legislators are still weary from the marathon 2011 session that ended in July after a three week state government shutdown.With the start of the legislative session on January 24^th there are two big unknowns: one; what will the new legislative boundaries look like when the judicial redistricting panel releases their plan on February 21^st and two; what will the budget forecast show when it is unveiled in late February?

After these two events; there appears to be little on the horizon for a lot of potential controversy. But as in any gathering of state politicos; the only thing that is certain is that nothing is certain.

So with the New Year just days away, it seems like a good time to suggest a few New Year’s resolutions for our state’s leaders.

This interpretation of state tax revenue from gambling activities has been well orchestrated and sold to legislators over the years in order to create the illusion that their vote to fund a new Vikings stadium with new revenue from the expansion of gambling has no affect on the general state budget.

But once you put the rhetoric aside and look at the lack of rationale to back up the statement; it becomes clear this argument that “new tax revenue from gambling is not general fund dollars” is not derived from valid reasoning. It is no different than declaring “It’s not a tax because I said it’s not a tax.”

Recently there has been a lot of talk about a referendum on a half a percent sales tax in Ramsey County. The proposed sales tax would fund $350 million of the $1.1 billion for a new Vikings stadium in Ramsey County. The debate has focused on whether citizens should have the opportunity to vote on the sales tax increase. The issue has drawn heated discussion from both sides, with a majority that strongly support a referendum.

Putting the stadium issue aside; the point is citizens want the opportunity to make decisions. On Tuesday, November 8^th, Election Day across the state, citizens will have the opportunity to vote on a tax increase.

Last week the Ramsey County Charter Commission voted not to require a referendum on a proposed ½ cent sales tax to fund a new Vikings stadium. But their decision doesn’t rule out a vote on the local option sales tax. The legislature could still require a vote on the $350 million in local Ramsey County taxes. If citizens in Ramsey County are allowed to vote will the Vikings run back to Minneapolis in order to strike yet one more stadium deal?  The answer is yes without a doubt.

Printed in the Star Tribune Oct. 5th

The editorial “Dodging Liability in the Stadium Game” on Sept. 30^th is short on facts and long on conjecture. It attempts to make a case for why there shouldn’t be a referendum in Ramsey County for an additional half a percent sales tax to finance a new Vikings stadium. But in their convoluted case to describe why there should be no vote by the residents of Ramsey County they left out several key facts. First; under current law Minnesota Statute 297A.99 subdivisions 2 and 3 a referendum is required.