Dear Neighbors,
Three weeks remain in the 2016 session. Last week, three major finance bills were debated in the full House of Representatives. The following budget areas were condensed and rolled into three large bills: 1.Higher Education and E-12 Education;2. Agriculture, Environment and Jobs; and 3. Public Safety, Health and Human Services, and State Government Finance. Although the House Majority’s approach to passing these bills this year was unconventional, the three “mega” bills passed and now await conference committees to compare the bill differences of the Senate and House versions. You can read about these proposals and others at the nonpartisan Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services website. Senate Majority Leader Bakk and House Speaker Daudt must first come to a compromise on establishing budget spending targets for each budget category before conference committee negotiations can begin.
Next Generation Main Street Act Update
Three of the five bills I coauthored as a part of the Next Generation Main Street Act made it in the final Senate Jobs bill. HF 2728 provides 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. HF 3138 provides additional funding to Minnesota Initiative Foundations who help provide gap financing to maintain existing businesses as they transition to new ownership. Lastly, HF 3388 ensures that every new Minnesota small business owner is provided information about the resources available to them, so they are set up for success early on. The two bills I have chief authored related to small business tax conformity and audit easement remain under consideration for inclusion in the final House tax bill, which has not been finalized yet.
As I mentioned above, an agreement in the Senate and House conference committee is the only way these small business bills will be included in a final Jobs bill for the Governor’s signature.
Please feel free to contact me on any issue that is important to you. I can be reached at 651-296-7803 or by email at rep.paul.rosenthal@house.mn.
Sincerely,
Paul