Hello Friends,
First Deadline, “Policy Deadline” Week
This is one of the more busy times at the Capitol when Policy Committees are assembling their large policy bills, called Omnibus Bills. Instead of committee meetings going from 8am to 6pm, they frequently go late into the night. The grueling schedule gets repeated next month when Finance Committees assemble their Omnibus Bills.
Automatic Sales Suppressors “Zappers” Legislation
Last week I introduced House File 1825, a bill that would combat a growing trend amongst tax cheats. Across the country some business, mostly restaurants, are using Automatic Sales Suppressors, often called “Zappers” to pocket a portion of the sales taxes their customers pay. This hurts the rest of us who work hard and play by the rules. Based on 2011 data, the National Restaurant Association estimates Minnesotans were cheated out of $41.2 million in sales taxes – money that would go towards schools, police/firefighters and nursing homes. Minnesota doesn’t impose penalties for the sale or possession of sales suppressors or zapper software. We should be rewarding hard-working proprietors, but we can’t do that without penalizing those who cheat the system. My bill proposes law that would do just that.
90% of Minnesotans getting lower taxes
It was great news to hear this week that the tax reform we passed two years ago will result in lower taxes for 90% of all Minnesotans. The Minnesota Department of Revenue’s annual Tax Incidence Study shows that those earning less than $140,000 will be paying less in overall taxes, as a portion of income, than they did in 2012.
The study credits a few reasons for the decrease in overall taxes:
First, wages are starting to grow for Minnesotans. Second, the budget passed by Governor Dayton and the state legislature has helped middle class taxpayers. While the top 2% of earners will pay more and corporations lost special tax perks, we provided $177 million in direct property tax relief, benefitting nearly 1 million Minnesotans. In addition, our budget cut income taxes for middle class Minnesotans through federal tax conformity, which also benefitted more than 1 million Minnesotans.
When you couple this good news with our strong economy and a roughly $2 billion surplus, partisan claims that the sky is falling in Minnesota are clearly not true. We should keep pursuing policies that expand our economy for hardworking Minnesotans, not just those who have already benefited.
Oil Train Safety a Priority
For the past several years we have seen more and more oil trains travel through our state. In the past five weeks alone, there have been five oil trains derailments in North America. One of these trains, which derailed in Illinois, traveled right through Minnesota.
In 2014 we took steps to address safety preparedness, but there’s much more to do to keep our communities safe. This week, Governor Dayton and legislators introduced a proposal to address oil train safety in Minnesota. The plan would:
-reduce the likelihood of catastrophic fires involving crude oil trains;
-improve public safety in rail corridors across the state;
-provide property tax relief to communities who are confronting rail safety issues;
-continue efforts to improve fire safety preparedness in communities across the state.
The legislation would pay for these proposals by asking railroad companies to pay for safety improvements through assessments and property taxes. Some railroad companies have seen their profits increase by as much as 600% in recent years, and it is reasonable to ask them to pay a fraction of those profits to keep our communities safe.
Thus far this session Republican Party Leaders have sided with railroad companies. It’s my hope they will listen to their constituents and join us in addressing what really shouldn’t be a partisan issue.
Governor Proposes Tuition Freeze
Governor Dayton has released an updated budget proposal for spending the larger-than-expected surplus. One key component of his plan is to maintain tuition freezes at Minnesota public universities. $288 million would be allotted for public colleges and universities in order to maintain an undergraduate tuition freeze for two more years. The money would keep pace with inflation and be spent on operating costs. Student groups and teachers, as well as officials from the University of Minnesota and MNSCU have backed the proposal. It’s an important step that will help to rein in the exploding costs of higher education, and keep college affordable for many young Minnesotans.
I am honored to serve the people of Richfield and Bloomington. Please feel free to contact me at 651-296-7158 or rep.linda.slocum@house.mn.
Thanks for all your help and support,
Linda