Dear Neighbors,
Thanks to everyone who attended the Town Hall Meeting over the weekend. It was great to discuss the budget process and issues that are important to you.
We just finished up the fourth week of a ten week legislative session. We’ve been busying working to ensure bills make their first committee deadline. If policy bills didn't make the deadline, then they’re effectively dead for the session. This Friday is the second deadline, so we will be spending another week working long hours in committee. After that deadline, most of our time will be spent on the House Floor. Here are a few issues on which I want to update you:
Working to Alleviate Student Debt
Several bills to address crushing student debt were heard in the Higher Education committee last week. The average debt load of four year graduates in Minnesota is nearing $32,000 – the 5th highest debt burden in the nation. This debt burden can make it difficult for Minnesotans to buy a home or save for the future, limiting family budgets and overall economic growth.
Here are some of our ideas this session to reduce student debt. Many of them were heard this week and we are hopeful they will move forward this session:
- Freezing tuition at the U of M and MnSCU to keep college costs down
- Expand the state grant program to open access to more families
- Reduce cost of textbooks by requiring campus bookstores to compare and match prices
- Tax credits for student loan payments to reduce student loan debt
- Expand/improve state’s refinancing pilot program to make repayment more affordable
- Loan forgiveness (up to 3K annually) to those who commit to work in Greater Minnesota
Last year, despite a $2 billion surplus, the House Republican Majority voted for a budget that actually raised tuition on our student at the University of Minnesota and our four-year campuses. With a $900 million surplus this session, we really should make students a priority and finally tackle our student debt crisis.
“Next Generation Main Street Act” to Help Small Businesses Thrive
Last week, House and Senate legislators joined small business owners at a press conference to push for passage of the “Next Generation Main Street Act,” an array of proposals designed to support small businesses across the state. We worked with Minnesota small business owners to bring forward initiatives that will reduce costly audits, simplify tax filing for businesses, and make it easier for owners to transfer their businesses to a next generation owner.
At the press conference, Danny Schwartzman, owner of a small café in Minneapolis said, “these are some pretty common sense ideas that can go a long way to helping small businesses.” I hope we can work together to pass the Next Generation Main Street Act this session.
The Next Generation Main Street Act key components include:
Supporting Small Business Start-Ups & Entrepreneurs: by making sure that every person that starts a small business in Minnesota is contacted and provided information about the resources available to them In addition, legislators are working to assist business start-ups with gap financing through the Minnesota Initiative Foundations.
Helping with Succession Planning: by providing grants to Small Business Development Centers to provide transaction services to business owners and next generation, non-family proprietors to help them take over a business.
Streamlining Audits: simplify the process to reduce the amount of time and money small business owners must spend on costly audits in a number of ways
Simplifying Tax Filing for Small Businesses: by enacting federal tax conformity so that Minnesota businesses can file taxes without delay and uncertainty in 2016.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any issues or concerns you may have. I can be reached by phone at (651) 296-8638 or via email at jason.isaacson@house.mn.
Sincerely,
Jason