As the legislative session begins for 2014, there are many committees that our lawmakers are involved in.

24th District State Senator Jerry Behn talks about some of the items that he would like to be discussed with the committees he’s apart of with education, transportation and ways and means.

One subject for discussion in ways and means, points out Behn, is getting rid of taxing consumable items in products.  Currently, Behn states that in the manufacturing process, companies are taxed if the final product contains consumable by-products, which he says hurts businesses overall.

“Commercial entities in the state are saying, ‘hey look if we’re going to be competitive, if we’re going to continue to provide jobs, we can’t be paying taxes twice.’”

Last year, the House voted to get rid of the consumable taxes and he would like to see it pass through the Senate this session and that would help the state’s Department of Revenue.

“And the Department of Revenue said, ‘ya know, with all due respect, that would make it a lot easier on us as well because we’re having to define exactly what those consumables are and it’s kind of a nightmare.’”

He comments that it won’t generate a lot of revenue for the state, but it’s something to keep businesses and draw more businesses into the state for better job creation.

In transportation, Behn looks for a way to spend the state’s money in a responsible manner without having to raise road use or “the gas” tax and he doesn’t anticipate any large changes to the education reform bill that they passed last year, just how to implement their bill.