Dear Friends,
First, let me start by saying how sorry I am that session ended in chaos this year. The process did not serve the people of Minnesota well, and the hurry in which session came to an end did not reflect well on either branch of the legislature. I will continue to work as hard as I can to make sure our work with the bonding/transportation proposal is completed as soon as possible, but as of now, negotiations are in the hands of House and Senate leadership, and Governor Dayton.
Supplemental Budget Bill
Last week, Governor Dayton signed our supplemental budget bill into law, which included $158 million dollars for preschool early learning grants, developing mental health resources, addressing economic disparities, improving higher education, and combating sex trafficking.
Also in this bill was a provision that will make veterans’ retirement pensions tax-exempt. Minnesota will join the approximately 12 states that don’t tax any part of military retirement income. At present, over 18,000 military retirees live in Minnesota, and we hope that this number will grow due to this exemption. We want our military men and women to move to our communities and into our work force after they retire, and I hope this measure will make that choice more appealing.
LCCMR Funding
A bill that I personally worked very hard on, which successfully passed the House and was signed by the Governor, was for $2 million in recommended spending by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) for the second phase of the Champlin Mill Pond Shoreland and Aquatic Habitat Restoration project.
This second phase of this project will accomplish the following:
-
Restore twenty two acres (13,000 linear feet) of lakeshore through removal of invasive plant species, stabilization of shoreland grades, and planting native live plant material and wetland seed.
-
Restore fourteen acres of upland lakeshore buffers through grade stabilization and upland seed planting.
-
Install nine acres of in-lake habitat structures for fish populations.
-
Restore four acres of sanctuary for migratory birds and wildlife species.
Tax Bill
On Monday of this week, Governor Dayton vetoed the tax bill that was passed by the legislature with 89% of the vote this session. This bill would have provided nearly $800 million in tax relief for middle-class Minnesotans over the next three years, with $500 million of that relief being on-going and permanent.
The following provisions were included in the tax bill:
•$90.6 million in tax relief for Minnesota farmers.
•$110 million in tax relief for college graduates paying off student loans
•$49 million in tax relief for families who contribute to 529 plans to save for their children's college costs.
•$146 million in tax relief for every small business in Minnesota
•$13 million in tax relief for Minnesota veterans
•$150 million in tax relief for working families by expanding the working family tax credit.
•$32 million to reduce the cost of childcare by expanding the childcare tax credit
•Federal conformity provisions that allow Minnesotans to deduct higher education tuition expenses, mortgage insurance premiums, classroom expenses for teachers, charitable giving (for seniors), and more.
With a combined 89% of the vote in both the House and Senate, this bill was the most bipartisan tax bill the legislature has seen in THIRTY YEARS.
The Governor said that he wanted two tax-specific changes made to this bill in a special session, one of which is a technical correction of one word. House Republicans have agreed to take this bill up, immediately make these changes, and pass the bill in a special session, but Governor Dayton refuses to call a special session to order without an agreement on the bonding/transportation package. For the Governor, that means including his $500 million list of extra spending projects in the bonding bill. Governor Dayton is going against his promise to not hold tax relief hostage to a bonding bill agreement, and that’s is very disappointing.
I will continue to keep you updated regarding a special session as we move forward; I hope this situation will be resolved very soon.
Sincerely,
Mark