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State Representative Andrew Falk
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4228
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E-Update
TWO WORDS DESCRIBE 2012 LEGISLATIVE SESSION: MISPLACED PRIORITIES
When the session began back in January there were a few clear priorities: create jobs, provide property tax relief to homeowners, small businesses, farmers, and renters, and fairly and permanently pay back the money borrowed from our school kids last year.
With adjournment set by the majority for April 30, well before the constitutional deadline, we now have very little time to tackle these important issues. If there are two words that describe the 2012 session so far, they are: misplaced priorities.
The House GOP majority has chosen to focus on bills that rig Minnesota’s judicial system in favor of big corporations and insurance companies at the expense of consumers; allow beer licenses to be sold during a government shutdown; put more fireworks on our streets and place another divisive and unnecessary constitutional amendment on the ballot in November.
In contrast, the House DFL has proposed a comprehensive jobs package that provides tax credits for businesses that hire veterans, recent graduates, or the unemployed, trains Minnesotans for the new economy, and helps Minnesota compete for business expansion. These are common sense proposals that would grow businesses and get Minnesotans back to work.
We proposed to restore the Market Value Homestead Credit eliminated last year that directly increased property taxes on so many Minnesotans throughout the state. The Republicans have proposed a tax bill that increases taxes on 300,000 Minnesota renters, seniors and people with disabilities making less than $55,000 a year in order to provide tax giveaways to big corporations and provides almost no relief to homeowners.
In addition, we offered a solution to fairly and permanently pay back the $2.4 billion borrowed from our schools to end the shutdown last year by closing tax loopholes on foreign operating corporations.
It does not need to be a do-nothing legislative session. We can take action on the priorities that will grow a strong middle class.
First, we should immediately pass the DFL jobs plan and get Minnesotans working again. As part of this plan, we should pass a robust and bipartisan bonding bill to repair our roads and bridges, invest in institutions of higher education, improve our state parks and trails, and immediately create jobs. Second, we should restore the Market Value Homestead Credit and provide much needed property tax relief to middle class families. Third, we should revisit the DFL proposal to fairly and permanently pay back our school kids.
These are Minnesota priorities that we can still accomplish this year.
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