Congratulations to the Greenbush-Middle River and Warroad high school student teams and advisors for their first and second place finishes respectively in the 2016 Robotics State Competition! You should be proud of your accomplishments and have done an excellent job representing your communities. Well done!
Dear Neighbor,
The 2016 legislative session officially came to an end on Sunday night with some significant accomplishments for Minnesotans, but also a few disappointments too.
The biggest item to come out of the 2016 session was significant bipartisan tax relief for middle-class families, farmers, veterans, Northwest Minnesota businesses and college graduates. In total, the tax bill sent to the governor for signature includes more than $800 million in tax relief over the next three years, with more than half a billion in ongoing and permanent tax relief.
Some highlights in the tax bill include:
- Agriculture property tax relief for farmers
- A first of its kind refundable tax credit of up to $1,000 for college graduates paying off student loans
- Tax relief for families contributing to a 529 Savings Plan to save for college costs
- Property tax relief for rural businesses, allowing every small business statewide to exempt the first $100,000 of commercial-industrial property
- Expands the childcare tax credit which would help families earn up to $960 a year
- Veteran tax relief by raising the income eligibility threshold and increasing the total credit from $750 to $1,000
In addition, a supplemental spending bill passed by the House and Senate also included additional tax credits beyond what is in the tax bill. One provision in that legislation will help more than 18,000 Minnesota veterans by exempting their military retirement pay from state income tax. Other tax credits in the bill include $10 million for the Angel Investor Tax Credit and tax credits for parents who give birth to a stillborn child.
A spending provision in that supplemental bill will also provide $35 million for broadband, and when combined with federal dollars, underserved communities across the state wills see more than $120 million in broadband investments over the next year.
With these bills, folks in rural Minnesota will see meaningful tax relief, from families and veterans to Main Street businesses when our tax legislation is signed into law. I am pleased House Republicans were able to successfully push for comprehensive, meaningful tax relief this session.
In addition to tax relief, House Republicans also led the way to provide significant funding for transportation needs in our area, so it's unfortunate that the Senate decided to pull a last minute stunt and block vital funding for rural roads and bridges for an expensive light rail project in Minneapolis.
In total, the bonding bill that the House passed on a strong bipartisan votes 91-39 had just under $700 million in funding for road and bridge projects across the state. We believed we had an agreement with Senate DFL leadership to also pass the bill, but it was killed in the last minutes of session when they tried to amend controversial light rail funding onto the bill and send it back to the House which had already adjourned.
Republicans continually negotiated in good faith with the Senate, twice increasing the bonding bill budget targets while still focusing on key infrastructure and transportation needs. Here are some of the local projects that were in that bill:
- $12.5 million for Small Cities Road Assistance, a new program established by House Republicans last year
- $826,000 for Northland Community College Laboratory Renovations in East Grand Forks
- $3 million for the Polk County North Country Food Bank in Crookston which serves 21 counties in Northern Minnesota
- $5.3 million for the Sewer Interconnect between East Grand Forks, Minnesota and Grand Forks, North Dakota
- Lake Bronson dam repair
- Polk County solid waste improvement project that will serve six counties
House Republicans have requested that Governor Dayton call a special session so the Senate and House can repass the agreed upon bonding bill that includes significant transportation investments for vital projects across the state. I will keep you updated on the latest news regarding a potential special session.
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Dan
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