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State Representative Kelby Woodard
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-7065
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Waiting for budget details
Dear Neighbor,
This week committees heard bills pertaining to DFL priorities ranging from licensing gold bullion dealers to mileage reimbursement for judges, but we are still awaiting the budget bills.
The governor issued a skeleton budget proposal more than three weeks ago. We are now more than a week past the 15-day rule for the governor to submit his budget bills for consideration … and still waiting for most of them.
Another key item stuck in a holding pattern is repaying delayed K-12 funds. The bill I authored to make full repayment of this obligation a top priority was heard in committee this week, but was held over for future consideration.
While that good bill was put on the back burner, we are still waiting for advancement of the majority’s own bill to repay half of the delayed K-12 funding. That bill has made little progress since it was introduced as the DFL’s first bill more than a month ago, on Jan. 10.
Click here for a brief audio clip of my thoughts on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the governor’s proposed K-12 education budget in further detail.
There is good news this week. We received a supplemental economic report which shows Minnesota’s state revenue collections continue to surpass previous projections. The state received $140 million more than expected in January, for a total of$256 million since the last full budget forecast in November. This is on top of the $2.5 billion in combined surplus revenue dating back to November of 2011.
These surpluses were again generated without the $3.6 billion in increased taxes on Minnesotans that has been proposed by the governor. It is further proof that we can balance the budget without the gimmicks, shifts, “reallocations,” or the increased burden on Minnesota taxpayers that is contained in the governor’s proposal.
As always, I look forward to hearing from you on the issues that are important to you and your family.
Warm Regards,
Kelby
News Items
- $2.4 billion in taxes for a $627 million shortfall - (Posted: Apr 5 2013 12:00AM)
- Perspective on Dayton’s latest budget proposals (audio) - (Posted: Mar 15 2013 1:04PM)
- Details emerge re: Gov's tax reversal - (Posted: Mar 15 2013 12:56PM)
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