As your state Representative, my focus has been to put the interests of Central Minnesota before party politics and partisanship. I have worked tirelessly to work on these issues in a fair and honest manner. The following information is the truth about my record in representing you. I am committed to focusing on the very issues that impact our families the most, such as fairness and equity in education funding for Central Minnesota, honest, long-term property tax relief, and legislative reform that will bring transparency and accountability to the legislative process.

I refuse to stoop to the negativity and dishonesty that has been leveled against me. Instead, I am committed to running on my true record and running a positive, issues-oriented campaign.

If you should have any questions, concerns, or comments, please never hesitate to contact me at any time. I welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues in an honest and open way.

Sincerely,

Representative Larry Hosch

Dishonest attack #1 - St. Paul partisans claimed a vote against the 2005 House Education Finance Bill, which would have increased the basic education formula by 3% in FY ‘06 and 3.1% in FY ’07. This bill relied on increasing local education property taxes by 21% in 2006 & another 11% 2007. This bill would have only increased disparities among our school districts due to its reliance on funding our schools through property taxes. The truth however is…

• Rep. Larry Hosch voted in 2005 for the final education bill which was signed by the Governor, which increased the per pupil formula by 8 percent (4 percent in FY ’06 & ’07), along with funding for the Gifted and Talented ($11 million), ECFE ($5.5 million), and Head Start ($4 million) programs (SS HJP 153).
• This bill directly resulted in our local school districts receiving the following additional dollars per pupil: Eden Valley-Watkins $708, Holdingford $654, Kimball $772, Paynesville $696, Saint Cloud $734, Avon-Albany $686, Cold Spring $656, and Annandale $688.
• In 2006, I voted for the Supplemental Budget Bill which included an increase in the ECFE formula ($104 to $112), $3.5 million in one-time aid to help offset school districts’ higher energy and gas costs, and a 3% increase in adult basic education (HJP 8905).
• Rep. Hosch was given an award from the Minnesota School Boards Association for his support of education and schools.

Dishonest attack #2 - No property tax reforms: St. Paul political operatives attack me on property taxes. The truth however is the following.

• Rep. Hosch attempted to turn the one-time gimmick into a permanent property tax relief proposal by buying back local school levies which impact rural Minnesota and increasing local government for police and fire protection. However, the Speaker and House leadership voted against even taking up the issue (HJP 7416)
• Rep. Hosch delivered on permanent property tax relief by increasing LGA in the 2005 Tax bill by $48 million, which central Minnesota communities benefited from (SS HJP 138).
• Rep. Hosch also supported an attempt to further increase LGA to reduce property taxes, which House leadership blocked.
• Rep. Hosch co-authored several bills to lower property taxes (ex: HF 4150 & 2059). These bills would have increased school equity aid and bought back local school operating levies. These approaches would reduce property tax burdens while increasing fairness in school funding.
• Rep. House authored and passed legislation reducing unneeded mandates on our local cities and towns. This legislation saved our local cities and towns over $100,000 which reducedthe need to further property taxes. (H.F. 1110)
• Rep. Larry Hosch was named first-term legislator of the year by the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. This organization represents out-state, rural cities and advocates for property tax fairness.

Dishonest attack #3 - No To Reforming Government = St. Paul partisan claim the signing on to the Olson amendment which creates exemptions, from the Governor’s pay for performance proposal that would deny paychecks to legislators if a budget is not approved by a certain time, for legislators not a part of any working group/conference committees or leadership negotiations. The truth however is…

• Rep. Hosch voted against the amendment cited by the dishonest attacks. (HJP 6661)
• Rep. Hosch did not accept a single penny of per diem during the 2005 special session.
• Rep. Hosch authored several bills as part of his government reform proposals to prohibit legislators from receiving per diem during a special session because of the inability to pass major budget bills on time. (HF 1102, 3576 & 3893)

Dishonest attack #4 - No to Good Jobs in Central Minnesota = St. Paul partisans claimed a vote against a partisan version of the Jobs and Economic Development finance bill (HJP 3367). This bill cut job and economic development programs by 18.2%. This bill funded job programs at $242 million BELOW the base funding amount—even $72 million below the Governor’s request. Also in this bill, over $80 million in federal funding designed to help lower income working families in rural Minnesota was taken to help balance the general fund budget. Overall the bill reduced investments in youth training programs, child care, workforce services and job training. The truth however is…

• Rep. Hosch voted for the final Jobs and Econ. Development budget (SS HF 138) that actually supported jobs in rural Minnesota. It included $18 million in bonds for the Rural Finance Authority at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to support beginning farmer and other programs. Instead of eliminating these programs as the House bill did, he supported millions more for Youthbuild, MN Youth Program, and Learn-to-Earn. It fully funded the displaced homemaker program and contained matching state funds for the CDBG Small Cities Federal Match program. He also supported over a million dollars to help to first-time homebuyers in rural Minnesota to help with down payment and entry costs and efforts to make JobZ apply to more rural development.
• Rep. Hosch voted for two bonding bills (HJP 1602 & 8531) worth nearly $2 billion dollars that invested in valuable state infrastructure and the state’s future. The projects created thousands of new jobs across the state.

Rep. Larry Hosch was named
"First-Term Legislator of the Year"
by the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities