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State Representative John Ward
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4333
For more information contact: Ted Modrich 651-296-5809
E-Update
Legislative Update -- March 29, 2012
Dear Neighbors,
Minnesotans are starting to get their final property tax statements in the mail. I’ve heard from a lot of folks and they’re angry, and with good reason. During Governor Pawlenty’s years of “no new taxes," property taxes went up $4 billion — a 78 percent increase. Then last year, the Republican majority voted to eliminate the Homestead Credit. When combined with cuts to Local Government Aid, this increased property taxes statewide by more than $400 million.
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 just in the last year. In addition, property taxes are now the single greatest burden for small businesses and small businesses are the economic engine of our state.
Some members of the majority party have said they were blindsided by these tax increases. All of this is a result of them ignoring statistical analysis that showed that property taxes would increase if the Homestead Credit was eliminated or LGA was cut. Members of the minority party warned them, the Department of Revenue warned them, and local officials around the state warned them, but were ignored.
I’m proud to have signed on to 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.
Rubbing salt into the wound, the majority voted last week to pass a bill that provides Billions in tax breaks for big 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 – 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.
These 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.
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.
Last session, the Republican majority chose to raise taxes on middle-class families, seniors, the disabled and small businesses, rather than ask millionaires and billionaires to pay a penny more in income tax. Now they’re asking middle-class and low-income renters, seniors and the disabled to pay for tax breaks to big corporations. That’s not the Minnesota way instilled in me as I grew up and it’s not a vision for Minnesota that I will support.
Mississippi River Northwoods Project
In my last update I mentioned the Mississippi River Northwoods Project. This 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.
One of the bills moving forward pays for this project in a piecemeal fashion, while the other pays for the full project. We should get this all done at once instead of starting, stopping, and starting all over again. I’m fighting like heck for this project and will continue to do so until we get it done.
Bonding Bill
Last week, I mentioned that the House bonding bill had been released. Bonding bills help repair and support state infrastructure, and grow jobs and boost our economy.
I’m disappointed with the House bill. The bill is too small, won’t put enough people back to work, and won’t address the many infrastructure challenges facing our state. I remain supportive of a bonding bill closer to Governor Dayton’s $775 million proposal.
The Senate released their bonding bill this week at around $500 million. This bill includes far more projects but is disappointing in its partisanship. The bill prioritizes projects from districts represented by the majority and seems to intentionally ignore worthy projects from members of the minority.
Because of the supermajority needed to pass a bonding bill, they must have bipartisan support and that’s the way it should be. Partisan politics should have no place in our bonding bills. DFLers have offered a larger bonding bill with a strong balance of projects all across the state. Republicans have rejected our proposal.
Zoomobile in Crosby Tomorrow
On Friday, March 30, the Minnesota Zoological Garden will be bringing the Minnesota Zoomobile to Crosby.
The Minnesota Zoomobile offers a variety of presentations designed to educate and entertain audiences of all ages. Programs are designed for both schools and community events throughout Minnesota. The Zoomobile uses live animals, along with biological artifacts, theater techniques, and audience participation to make each program dynamic, personal and fun. The educational programs generally run forty-five minutes to an hour.
The Zoomobile will be at Cuyuna Range Elementary with programs at 9:00 am, 10:00 am, and 1:15 pm. The Cuyuna Range Elementary is located at 509 6th Ave. NE in Crosby, MN.
I encourage our youngsters to take advantage of this opportunity. These presentations and hands-on learning can offer a greater understanding, comprehension, and love of a subject. I would like to thank the Minnesota Zoo for bringing the Zoomobile up to our area.
While the House has a floor session scheduled for Friday morning, I’m going to try my best to attend these great presentations and hope to see you there!
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
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