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State Representative John Ward
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4333
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E-Update
Legislative Update -- March 23, 2012
Dear Neighbors,
On Wednesday, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed HF 2337, the Omnibus Tax Bill. The bill provides Billions in tax breaks for corporations at the expense of Minnesota renters making $55,000 or less a year — including thousands of seniors and disabled. The tax bill makes dramatic cuts to the Renters’ Credit – a property tax refund program that helps hundreds of thousands of middle-class renters. In fact, 99 percent of the property tax relief in the bill is directed to big corporations while homeowners get a meager 1 percent.
This bill is just another example of the majority party’s misplaced priorities. After the House voted on constitutional amendment instead of working on job creation, the majority passed corporate tax cuts at the expense of middle-class Minnesotans. This bill sticks it to middle-class families around our state.
This bill comes after taking $261 million from Minnesota homeowners, small businesses, renters and farmers by eliminating the Homestead Credit last year. The additional cuts to the Renters’ Credit means taxes will rise for 97 percent of senior and disabled renters, and all other renters, by permanently cutting an additional $70 million a year to pay for property tax relief to corporations.
The Renters’ Credit property tax refund program helps about 300,000 Minnesotan households – 86,900 of them are seniors or disabled renters and many of which live on fixed incomes.
Last year, the Renters’ Credit was slashed by $26 million and resulted in nearly 300,000 Minnesota households seeing an $87 cut on average per refund, and almost 7,300 households lost the refund entirely. Under this bill another 74,000 households would lose their entire property tax refund and those still receiving the credit would see a cut of $213 on average.
For seniors living on a fixed income, college students paying tuition, and middle class families struggling to make ends meet this has a devastating impact. More than 3,000 folks in Crow Wing County would see painful tax increases on top of property tax hike residents of our area have seen in the last year.
On average, property taxes for cities in North-Central Minnesota have increased by 4.6 percent, while property taxes for towns in North-Central Minnesota have increased by 8.8 percent.
Finally, the bill creates a large and growing structural imbalance well into the future. When fully phased in, the proposal leaves a $1.6 billion hole per biennium, with no plan to pay for it.
We need property tax relief; there’s no doubt about that. But we need to start by reducing taxes on an already squeezed middle class and responsibly pay for it.
DFLers have offered legislation to restore the Homestead Credit. The 44-year old Homestead Credit provided direct relief to 95 percent of homeowners. It was a targeted credit that showed up automatically on property tax statements. Republicans have refused to grant a hearing on the bill. I’ve proud to have signed on as a co-author.
Raising taxes on middle-class Minnesotans while cutting taxes for a few corporations won’t help grow Minnesota’s economy. The way to grow jobs and strengthen our economy is to strengthen the middle class, not stick it to them.
Mississippi River Northwoods Project
The Mississippi River Northwoods Project is an attempt to purchase 22 miles of land on the Mississippi River for multi-recreational use and conservation for future generations. The project costs $14 million and has strong support from Governor Dayton, the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, and folks in our area as well.
The measure is awaiting action in the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee and some legislators are trying to alter the project, which would effectively kill it. I’m fighting like heck for this project and will continue to do so until it comes to fruition.
Bonding Bill
This week, the House bonding bill was finally announced and at just $280 million, it’s far smaller than what Governor Dayton proposed and what the state has budgeted for.
Investing in Minnesota’s infrastructure is an essential part of sustaining and enhancing our economic recovery. Bonding helps small businesses and communities grow by building the long-term infrastructure needed to help businesses be successful in the future. By getting projects going, we can take advantage of low interest rates, competitive bids, and get thousands of unemployed back on the job. And we need every single job we can get, public or private sector.
I support a bonding bill closer to Governor Dayton’s $775 million proposal.
School Trust Land Reform Passes House
On March 19, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed HF 2244, a bipartisan bill that would reform the school trust land advisory council and create a Legislative Commission and a Permanent School Funding Advisory Board. The board would be comprised of private citizens with expertise in different areas of land management, and would be tasked with overseeing, managing, and administering school trust lands. I signed onto the bill as a co-author.
Many people are not aware of them, but school trust lands are of great importance to our state and our children. Through proper management and oversight, we can provide additional funding to our schoolchildren without having to raise any additional revenue or offset the funding through cuts.
When Minnesota became a state, Section 16 and 36 lands were set aside for the use of schools. Minnesota currently has 2.5 million acres of land and an additional 1 million acres of mineral rights. Revenues earned from the lands are dedicated to our schools.
The lands are currently managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The DNR’s management has come under scrutiny and concern from education leaders and stakeholders in recent years.
The legislation models the commission after one in Utah, a state with a highly successful school trust program. Its goal is to use the expertise of private citizens and legislators to professionally manage the school trust lands more efficiently and gain a greater return on investments for Minnesota schools.
These lands belong to the school children of Minnesota. We have every obligation to manage these lands properly and ensure that our children and their schools receive as much money from them as possible. I’m hopeful that the Senate companion will pass and Governor Dayton will sign this bill into law.
As the legislative session moves along, please contact me with your input, questions and concerns. Thank you again for the honor of serving you in the legislature.
Respectfully,
Representative John Ward
District 12A
828-3626
News Items
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- Rep. Ward Encourages Non-Profits to Apply for MNsure Consumer Assistance Grants - (Posted: Jun 3 2013 1:39PM)
- Rep. Ward Appointed to Serve on Select Committee on Controlled Substances and Synthetic Drugs - (Posted: May 30 2013 9:58AM)
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