Dear Neighbors,
I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to take this opportunity to give you an update on the February Economic Forecast in addition to a recent legislative proposal I am introducing this session.
February Economic Forecast
Last Friday the February Economic Forecast was released, which showed a revised state budget surplus amount of $900 million. As you may know, in November this amount was projected to be about $1.2 billion, which followed a statutorily mandated shift of $600 million to the state budget reserve.
While the forecast showed that our state economy is still strong – with a stable budget and low unemployment – this projection does illustrate the need to be extra judicious about any significant changes on either the revenue or the spending side of the budget in 2016. Moreover, it’s important to note that as we set budgets, inflation is calculated in projected revenue, but not projected spending.
Next Generation Main Street Act
Recently, Leader Thissen and I introduced a bipartisan small business proposal called “The Next Generation Mainstreet Act” which will aim to decrease audits, streamline tax filing for businesses and eliminate the transition from a current owner to a next generation owner.
As a co-chair of the Small Business Caucus, and having been a small business owner, I believe this proposal is a good start to addressing some of the barriers small business owners encounter in their daily operations.
With a short, ten week session, any solutions we pass will need to be bipartisan and fit soundly within the framework of the state budget. As your state representative, it’s my goal to create an economy that works for everybody, both now and for the future.
I look forward to your input as we gear up toward the 2016 legislative session.
Sincerely,
Paul