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State Representative Patti Fritz
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-8237
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
NEWS COLUMN
HOUSE DFL UNVEILS LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
On Monday, I joined my colleagues in the House in rolling out the first bills we will introduce in this legislative session. The bills all reflect the "stick to the basics" agenda we talked about during the campaign and made a commitment to since taking the majority. We want our initial work to focus on the key issues that matter most to Minnesotans - a great education for our kids, access to affordable health care and lower property taxes.
As the Vice-Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, I am a chief author of the Children's Health Security Act, a bill that will provide health care coverage to every child in Minnesota. Over 68,000 children in our state are without health insurance, which oftentimes prevents them from getting the basic medical care they need.
I'm pleased our caucus recognizes that Minnesotans understand the moral, social and economic imperative of making sure all our children have access to a doctor and medical care.
I am also a chief author of a bill that will restore funding to Early Childhood Family Education. In 2003, funding for ECFE was cut to help balance the budget. Under this proposal, funding will increase from $112 to $120 per child. The bill also increases School Readiness funding by $1 million and Head Start funding by $1 million per year.
Two other education bills were also introduced. One will fund voluntary all-day kindergarten for every school district in the state and the other funds an increase in the basic formula for K-12 schools.
Another top priority for the House of Representatives is property tax reform. For the past few years, the state budget has been balanced with painful cuts to schools, cities and counties. As a result, property taxes have gone up at an alarming rate. The bill we rolled out on Monday tackles this issues through a combination of aid increases to cities and counties, more school aid and levy support and direct credits and refunds to homeowners.
If passed, this plan has something for every community in our state that has seen property taxes skyrocket.
I am also a co-author on a Renewable Energy Standard (RES) that calls for 25% of retail electric sales to be generated from renewable sources by 2020. Eighty percent of all Minnesotans have indicated they are in favor of moving away from our dependence on foreign oil and increasing our use of renewable energy sources. This not only provides an economic advantage, but also helps protect our natural resources. I believe some form of a RES has a good chance of passing this legislative session.
Other bills introduced on Monday include one that will continue state appropriations at the current level if the Legislature and Governor are unable to agree on a budget bill, and a tax bill that offers over $20 million in tax relief by conforming state tax laws to three federal tax laws.
These bills signify real progress on the key issues Minnesotans care about. I'm pleased we are moving so quickly and I believe the moderate fiscal components of these bills and their common sense approach to key issues in our state increase the likelihood they will receive bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate.
News Items
- STATE REP. PATTI FRITZ PARTICIPATES IN START OF LEGISLATIVE SESSION - (Posted: Jan 9 2013 3:32PM)
- Rep. Fritz: Homeowners, Farmers Need Property Tax Relief - (Posted: 2012-05-01 00:00:00)
- Rep. Fritz: Let’s Vote on a Bonding Bill that Benefits All - (Posted: 2012-04-19 00:00:00)
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