June Business Ballot
In an effort to gauge the views of business leaders, TwinWest produces a monthly business ballot on various issues. Results below are from our Legislative Breakfast on June 6, 2008, at which Mary Lahammer of TPT's "Almanac" moderated a panel that discussed the legislative session, local and national politics. The panelists were Phil Krinkie, Tax Payers League of Minnesota, Blois Olson, Tunheim Partners, Sarah Janecek, Politics in Minnesota, and Sean Kershaw, Citizens League.

June Business Ballot Results 1.  What is your initial take on the 2008 legislative session?       54% Mixed bag, mixed responsibility            20% Success - Credit Pawlenty and Republicans            13% Success - Credit DFL Legislature       13% Train Wreck - Blame DFL Legislature         0% Train Wreck - Blame Pawlenty and Republicans  2.  The State's $935 million budget deficit was solved with a combination of reserves ($500 million), budget cuts ($330 million) and increased revenues ($109 million). Keeping in mind that this package left at least a $1 billion future deficit on the books, how would you have changed the percentage of each "tool" used?       Use of reserves:       53% Decrease      44% Keep the same         3% Increase      Use of increased revenue:       77% Increase      20% Decrease         3% Keep the same       Use of cuts:       70% Increase      26% Decrease         4% Keep the same  3.  Overall, how would you rate the results of the session?       43% B      33% C      19% D        6% A

April Business Ballot
In an effort to gauge the views of business leaders, TwinWest produces a monthly business ballot on various issues. Results below are from our Legislative Breakfast on April 4, 2008, at which Congressman Ramstad reflect on his years of experience and talked about key issues the business community and the nation are facing at home and abroad.

April Business Ballot Results The state legislature just approved a $1.09 billion bonding bill, which contains $935 million of general obligation bonds for everything from state colleges and universities to a Como Zoo polar bear and gorilla exhibit and an anti-terrorism training center at Camp Ripley. The bill has one more hurdle left before it becomes law, as Governor Pawlenty is expected to veto all or part of the bill (using his line-item veto authority) due to concerns about the overall size of the bill. 1.  Do you think the state should adhere to the traditional “3 percent of general fund limit” on the size of the bonding bill (designed to protect the state’s credit rating and preserve low interest payments on bonds)?      83%  Yes                                     17%  No           (58 responses) 2.  To what extent do you agree with the following statement:  “Projects included in the state’s bonding bill should be limited to projects of statewide or at least regional importance.”      50%  Strongly agree                   45%  Agree somewhat         3%  Disagree somewhat            2%  Strongly disagree                                                         (60 responses) 3.  In terms of the projects included in the state’s bonding bill, do you feel that the west metro communities get a fair return on investment in terms of relative tax dollars contributed?      53%  Yes                                        47%  No       (49 responses)

March Business Ballot
In an effort to gauge the views of business leaders, TwinWest produces a monthly business ballot on various issues. Results below are from our Legislative Breakfast on March 14, 2008, at which Rep. Paul Thissen, chairman of the House Health and Human Services Committee; Dr. Charlie Fazio, chief medical officer for Medica; and Tom Forsythe, vice president of corporate communications for General Mills discussed health care reform in Minnesota.

March Business Ballot Results 1.  How much difference do you think exists in the quality of medical care received between hospitals or clinics?    1 - 8.2%          2 - 8.2%          3 - 20.4%          4 - 49.0%          5 - 14.3%    Little                                                                                              Significant    variability                                                                                      variability 2.  How do you choose your health care provider(s)?      38.5%     Referral from physician      33.8%     Convenience/location      15.4%     Recommendation from friend/relative      12.3%     Active comparison of quality/price                      0%     Marketing/advertisements        3.  How much would information on cost and quality influence your decision to make a change in your health care provider?          1 - 2.0%          2 - 4.1%          3 - 18.4%          4 - 34.7%          5 - 40.8%   Not at all                                                                                   Significantly

February Business Ballot
In an effort to gauge the views of business leaders, TwinWest produces a monthly business ballot on various issues. Results below are from our Legislative Breakfast on February 1, 2008, at which Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher and House Minority Leader Marty Seifert gave a preview of the biggest issues this session.

1.  How should the state solve the current projected budget deficit?        4%     Raise taxes (2)      34%    Cut spending (17)      62%    Both (31)        2.  Depending on your answer to #1 – For what priorities should legislators raise taxes; or, in what areas should they cut spending?            Raise revenues for transportation (21 votes)      Raise taxes for education (6 votes)      Cut waste in social services/entitlement programs (9 votes)      Other votes: spending on public safety/LGA/smarter spending               3.  Rank the following issues in order of priority for this legislative session (1,2,3):                                                              #1                   #2                    #3      Transportation                              25                   9                      8      Education                                      6                      20                   10      Health care                                   4                      7                      10      Property taxes                              0                      1                      3      Economic development/jobs    2                      1                      5      Energy                                           11                    8                      8

December Business Ballot
In an effort to gauge the views of business leaders, TwinWest produces a monthly business ballot on various issues. Results below are from our Legislative Breakfast on December 7, 2007, at which participants from Governor Pawlenty's recent trade mission to India discussed opportunities for doing business overseas and the challenges of competing in a global economy.

1. On a scale of 1-5, how much impact do you think the India trade mission will have on Minnesota’s economy? (1= No Impact   5= High Impact )        1            0%          2          24%         3          38%         4          34%         5            3% 2. How much is your business affected by international trade?        13%      Highly affected        17%      Moderately affected        50%      Lightly affected        20%      Not affected at all 3. Minnesota has conducted trade missions in recent years to Canada, Mexico, China, India, the Czech Republic and Poland. In terms of economic impacts/opportunities, where should the state focus its attention next? Russia, Brazil, Vietnam, Ireland, Scandinavia, South America, Rural America, and back to China, India, Mexico, and Canada.

November Business Ballot

In an effort to gauge the views of business leaders, TwinWest produces a monthly business ballot on various issues. Results below are from our Legislative Breakfast on November 2, 2007, at which former Congressman Tim Penny discussed federal finance issues.

1. Do you think: Your generation is better off than your parents’ generation?         88%    Yes      12%     No Your children’s generation will be better off than your generation?       59%   No      41%   Yes 2. How are you planning on utilizing your Social Security benefits upon retirement?      79%   It will supplement my personal retirement                   savings/investments.      15%   I do not believe there will be any Social Security benefits                  upon my retirement.        4%   It will be a majority of my retirement income.        2%   It will be my sole income upon retirement.      3. How would you address the Social Security solvency problem facing the federal government?      26%   Privatize all/part of Social Security      25%   Raise the retirement age            25%   Raise qualifying income limits         11%   Increase payroll taxes            10%   Reduce benefits

October Business Ballot

In an effort to gauge the views of business leaders, TwinWest produces a monthly business ballot on various issues. Results below are from our Legislative Breakfast on October 5, 2007, at which we held a DFL U.S. Senate candidate forum.

1) In your opinion, the best way to solve the current U.S. budge deficit is to:      48% Control spending       0% Increase revenue      52% Combination of both 2) What do you think should be the TOP TWO priorities on which the U.S. Senate should focus? Percentage of responses of #1 priorities:      30% Iraq policy      28% Health care/prescription drugs      20% Controlling the deficit      6% Energy policy      5% Continuation of tax cuts      5% Education      4% Transportation/infrastructure      2% Immigration reform Percentage of responses of #2 priorities:      19% Transportation/infrastructure      18% Health Care/prescription drugs      18% Energy policy      17% Controlling the deficit      10% Iraq policy      8% Continuation of tax cuts      5% Education      2% Immigration reform      Other: terrorism, tort reform, environment (1% each) 3) On a scale of 1 to 10, rank your level of confidence that Congress will be able to make progress on your priorities (1 is low, 10 is high).      1 – 13%      2 – 10%      3 – 18%      4 – 13%      5 – 28%      6 – 8%      7 – 8%      8 – 2%      9 – 0%     10 – 0%

September Business Ballot

In an effort to gauge the views of business leaders, TwinWest produces a monthly business ballot on various issues. Results below are from our Legislative Breakfast on September 7, 2007.

The current state gas tax is 20 cents per gallon and was last raised in 1988. Knowing that a gas tax increase could only be spent on roads and bridges (not transit- according to the state constitution), what is the largest increase in the state gas tax you would support?          33%   10 cents per gallon or more        33%   Between 5 - 10 cents per gallon        21%   Up to 5 cents per gallon       13%   I would not support a state gas tax increase As the gas tax is constitutionally dedicated to roads and bridges (not transit), other forms of revenue are needed for transit. Regarding a sales tax dedicated to transportation, please select all that you would support: (these would not be cumulatively enacted, but would be one or another).      35%   1/2 cent sales tax increase for the 7 or 11-county metro                  area       30%   I would not support a sales tax increase      22%   1/2 cent sales tax increase statewide (approximately                  $ 100 million more per year than metro-only)           13%   Some sales tax increase statewide, but less than 1/2                 cent              5%    Some sales tax increase for the metro area, but less than                 1/2 cent

June Business Ballot

Results below are from our Legislative Breakfast on June 8, 2007.

What is your initial take on the 2007 legislative session?            66%   Mixed bag      16%   Success – credit Pawlenty and Republicans      10%   Train wreck – blame DFL Legislature        6%   Train wreck – blame Pawlenty and Republicans                  2%   Success – credit DFL Legislature Overall, how would you grade the results of the session?      47%   C      24%   D      22%   B        6%   A        0%   F

May Business Ballot

Results below are from our Legislative Breakfast on May 11, 2007.

With which political party would you identify yourself?      50%   Republican      24%   DFL      13%   Independence      13%   None When it comes to business and fiscal issues, how would you identify yourself?        2%   Very liberal        6%   More liberal      37%  Centrist      46%  More conservative        9%  Very conservative What factor most influences your vote?      46%   Individual candidate      37%   Issues      17%   Party affiliation

April Business Ballot

Results below are from our Legislative Breakfast on April 20, 2007.

Which of the following actions would you support to ensure our students are prepared for the demands of a globally competitive 21st century workplace?      27%   Reform how students are taught             25%   Set higher standards      24%   Pay teachers based on results      14%   Lengthen school day/year        9%   Provide more money If you believe more funding is necessary, how should it be provided?         67%   Better utilize current funding      25%   Direct state funding        7%   Locally approved levies

PARTICIPATE IN THE BUSINESS BALLOT!

Be sure to attend our next Legislative Breakfast and fill out the business ballot you receive. TwinWest staff will collect your ballot after the breakfast. Our Government Affairs Committee uses your responses to help shape TwinWest's annual Business Agenda, and this drives the Chamber's efforts in the upcoming or current legislative session. We greatly value your participation!