ST. PAUL – Rep. Jim Knoblach, R-St. Cloud, will remain chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, a panel which plays a major role in determining state spending and taxes.
Tuesday's announcment from House Republicans marks the second consecutive term and fourth overall Knoblach has received an appointment to hold the Ways and Means gavel.
“I am pleased with advances we made during the current biennium and look forward to starting the 2017 session so we can get down to business on important issues such as providing tax relief, making MNsure improvements and fixing our roads and bridges,” Knoblach said. “I am honored to continue serving as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and will be working closely with these subjects and others that are important to Minnesotans and the people in our district.”
The supplemental finance bill Knoblach authored in 2016 as Ways and Means chairman was one of the biennium’s crowning achievements, including a provision which ceased the state’s practice of taxing veterans’ pensions. It also featured funding for a pilot project at St. Cloud District 742 to be used for creating morning and afternoon preschool sections consisting of low-income students and English language learners at three elementary schools, and other provisions directly benefiting area residents.
This is Knoblach’s eighth nonconsecutive term in the House. He was first elected in 1994 and served six terms before deciding to step away in the early 2000s. Knoblach returned to the House for the 2015 session and was re-elected earlier this month.
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