Dear Friends,
As you may have seen yesterday, the latest budget forecast shows that Minnesota has a surplus of $1.8 billion dollars for 2016-2017.
In short, this means that state government has collected $1.8 billion more than expected. It's Minnesota families—not government—that deserves credit for this good economic news. We're fortunate that our economy remains on stable financial footing as we look ahead to next session.
State law requires that about $600 million of the $1.8 billion surplus go to our budget reserve. Our reserve balance is now about $1.6 billion and will help insulate Minnesota financially in the event of an economic downturn. That leaves about $1.2 billion for legislators to work with during the 2016 session.
One of our top priorities next session will be passing a long-term transportation plan. Last session I was proud to support the Road and Bridge Act of 2015 which would have invested $7 billion into roads and bridges over the next ten years without a gas tax increase. Our transportation bill earned bipartisan support, but was unfortunately blocked by the DFL Senate and Governor Dayton who wanted to raise the gas tax.
Governor Dayton announced yesterday that he believes the gas tax is "dead" next session. This is good news, and it's my hope we can work with the Governor and the Senate to pass the GOP plan. Minnesotans overwhelmingly favor an approach that invests in roads and bridges using existing funding rather than a gas tax. I hope the Governor and Senate will get on board with our plan, and ensure that our roads and bridges are safe and in good shape for years to come.
The surplus also gives us a great opportunity to reduce the tax burden on Minnesota families. Republicans passed a tax bill last session that would have reduced taxes on middle class families, college students, seniors, veterans, small businesses, and more. These and other tax relief proposals will be on the table as we work to pass tax relief during the next legislative session.
Please email me with your comments, questions, and suggestions about the budget surplus or any other issue. Reach me at rep.roz.peterson@house.mn or call my office at 651-296-5387. My door is always open.
Have a great weekend,
Roz