News from Rep. Jim Newberger 5-25-2016

Hello Friends,

As many of you know, the 2016 legislative session came to a surprising close in the late hours of Sunday evening. This session we have passed some important reforms for Minnesotans, including tax credits and rebates for the middle-class, and measures that improve quality-of-life for people of all ages and walks of life.

House Supplemental Budget Bill

The following policies are just a sample of what was in our supplemental budget bill, which passed both the House and Senate with votes from both sides of the aisle, and is waiting for Governor Dayton’s signature:

• $35 million to the Boarder-to-Boarder Broadband Grant Program, which will be matched by federal funds

• Making military retirement benefits tax-exempt for our veterans ( this is a HUGE step for Minnesota Veterans )

• An appropriate of $150,000 for the Department of Veterans Affairs to study and asses unmet mental health needs in Minnesota’s veteran community

• Directing MnSCU to develop programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to acquire job and independent living skills, live on-campus with their peers, and be awarded a diploma for their accomplishment

• $1 million for Safe and Secure Courthouse grants, which fund security upgrades

• Increased penalties for sex trafficking of minors

• Allows medical alert identifier to be in graphic or written form on a driver’s license

• $4.9 million to improve equity for non-metro schools

• $2 million teacher student loan forgiveness

• Reducing paperwork for special education teachers by 25%

• Creating a Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women with Substance Abuse Disorders Pilot Project

• Creating a grant program through the Department of Heath for the treatment and screening for pre- and postpartum mood and anxiety disorders.

House Tax Bill

We also passed a tax bill, which includes $801 million in tax relief, including over half a billion in permanent tax relief. These provisions help families, businesses, farmers, and college graduates with student debt. The tax bill passed with significant bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, and is waiting for the Governor to sign it into law. The following provisions are some highlights from the bill:

• $90.6 million if tax relief for farmers

• $110 million in a refundable tax credit up to $1,000 for college graduates paying off their loans, the first program of this kind in the U.S.

• $49 million in tax relief for families contributing to a 529 plan to save for their children’s college fund

• $146 million in tax relief for small businesses by making the first $100,00 of their commercial-industrial property tax-exempt

• $150 million in tax relief for families by expanding the working family tax credit

• $32 million to address the rising cost of childcare, expanding the childcare tax credit