What state mandates should be eliminated?

Question: Have you ever attended a Truth in Taxation hearing in Minnesota? Has it done any good?

Rep. Morrie Lanning of Moorhead thinks the state should get rid of the hearings, which are supposed to give the public a chance to comment on proposed budgets that are funded through the property tax.

They don’t do any good, Lanning suggests in Tom Scheck’s story about efforts to cut the number of state mandates on cities and counties:

Lanning is one of several lawmakers pushing mandate reform in the House. He said the hearings, which are required before a local government passes its budget, aren’t useful because they come right before a budget is finalized.

“If you go back and look, I bet it would be rare to find any change in any budget anywhere that resulted from a truth in taxation hearing, simply because it came too late in the process,” said Lanning.

Lanning said local governments would still have to notify people about the proposed budget, and the time and place when a budget hearing will take place.

Let’s hear from you on this. Have you ever attended one of the hearings? Would you favor reducing state mandates on communities and, if so, which ones?