Dear Neighbor,
Good luck and best wishes for continued success to all of our area's high school athletes as the postseason progresses for winter sports.
As for legislative news, we received an updated state economic forecast Friday and it indicates a $900 million surplus for the 2016-17 fiscal biennium. This figure is down by around $300 million from the November forecast.
My opinion remains the same, that our focus should be on returning this over-collection of taxes to the families and businesses that overpaid in the first place. We also should look at using surplus funds to improve our roads and bridges.
I want to thank all those who participated in a very productive veterans/senior citizens meeting recently in Cold Spring. There were valuable insights provided regarding priorities for the upcoming session, especially related to taxes and transportation.
A key proposal in the House tax bill would stop the state's practice of taxing seniors' Social Security checks, something I am proud to support. A provision I personally authored in the House's transportation proposal would direct taxes we already pay on purchases of auto parts toward improving our roads and bridges. This is a way we can provide more money for our roadways without raising the gas tax. We also talked about a water-related bonding proposal for Cold Spring.
Another meeting I am looking forward to is this week in Waite Park (6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 2 at Waite Park City Hall). Parents and child care providers are invited to attend a meeting of the House Select Committee on Affordable Child Care. This newly formed House committee is traveling throughout Greater Minnesota to hear directly from parents and child care providers about the challenges they face in accessing affordable child care.
Good luck,
Jeff