Rep. Lyndon Carlson, DFL-Crystal, said his top priorities this year include stimulating job growth in the state, reducing property taxes, funding transportation projects and implementing changes to the health care system.

The 18-year legislator will also lead efforts, he said, to return citizen oversight to the Department of Education and empower voters to decide in November if the legislature can call its own special session.

Following is a transcript of The Sun-Post's conversation with Carlson:

What was the most significant progress made in 2007?

We (the Minnesota House and Senate) had passed a jobs, or capital investment, bill. But the governor vetoed it. For every $1 billion of capital investment, we could've generated about 10,000 jobs. The vote for the transportation bill was also very strong and very bipartisan. It passed, but was also vetoed by the governor.

What else happened last year that people should know about?

The third carryover to 2008 is going to be the tax bill. We passed that too last year, but the governor vetoed it. It would've provided property tax relief. [Pawlenty's] stated reason [for vetoing it] was the bill provided money to cover inflation and the governor didn't want the Department of Finance to have to [deal with that].

What's something you're most proud of from last session?

I sit on the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources. Each year, we recommend to the legislature which environmental projects to fund. The source of funding comes from the lottery. This year, we will give out $2.4 million in grants; last year, we gave out twice that amount. It's very significant to be able to protect Minnesota's habitat and environment.

Last year, you authored and supported a bill to merge the Hennepin County and City of Minneapolis libraries. Could you reflect on that?

It passed, but the governor did a line-item veto and cut the funding for the merger. That was very important, because the cataloging systems are different between the two libraries. One uses the Dewey Decimal System; the other uses Library of Congress.

Funding for education has been a very hot topic. What should people expect from the legislature this year?

Last session, the state increased support for schools by 8.4 percent for the biennium. I hope we can increase the formula so that there is less reliance on the property tax. There are one million pupil units in the state. Each time we increase it by $100 per pupil, we're talking about an increase of $1 million in state funding.

What are some bills you authored last year that will need more work this year?

Minnesota is one of only two states without a state board of education. I will raise that issue again this year. We had a state board of education up until a few years ago, when it was eliminated. We didn't get around to that bill because we were so focused last year on state financing - all the policy bills had to be held until this year.

What other bills do you plan to introduce?

I've already introduced a constitutional amendment to allow the state legislature to call itself into special session. Minnesota is in the minority on this. My feeling is this would bring a better balance of power and let the legislature act faster in emergency situations.

What are the top four or five issues affecting people here in the northwest suburbs that you'll be paying attention to in 2008?

The jobs bill has some major local projects in it. North Hennepin Technical College wants to remodel its business center and provide science labs on the Brooklyn Park campus. There is also a request for a law-enforcement-training center that would be shared with Metro State University and Minneapolis Technical College.

Obviously, the transportation bill needs to be passed because we need a more-efficient [transit] system. School funding, property-tax relief and health care will also be big issues.

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Rep. Lyndon Carlson