Dear Friends and Neighbors,
In this Issue:
- 2017 Session Concludes as a Win for Families, Seniors, College Students, Farmers and Local Schools
- $650 Million in Tax Relief
- More Money for Roads without a Gas Tax or Tab Fee Increase
- Education Funding That Makes a Real Difference
- Pioneer Press says Teacher Licensure Changes are "one of the biggest reforms to state education policy in recent history.”
- Rogers Fiscal Disparities Inequity Addressed
- Real ID
- Memorial Day
- Around the Capitol
- Peppin’s MinnTriv
2017 Session Concludes as a Win for Minnesotans
Early this morning, the House and Senate concluded special session, passing the final bills that will fund state government and its essential functions for the 2018-2019 biennium. In all, we passed ten budget bills, with seven of them passing during the special session. The bills passed this week include Taxes, Transportation, State Government, Health and Human Services, K-12 Education, Labor Standards and a $995 million Capital Investment/Bonding bill.
While the process wasn’t as smooth as I would have preferred, we got the job done, and done well. Working under a divided government with a Republican Legislature and Democrat governor, we were able to find bipartisan agreement that included a number of important priorities I have supported this session.
$650 Million in Tax Relief
First, House Republicans made a strong argument to return money to hardworking taxpayers this session, and successfully negotiated a $650 million tax relief package—the largest in nearly two decades—that returns money to families, seniors on Social Security, college graduates with student loan debt, farmers and Minnesota businesses.
More Money for Roads without a Gas Tax or Tab Fee Increase
Additionally, the Legislature also passed the largest investment in road and bridge infrastructure in our state’s history without a harmful gas tax or license tab fee increase. Highlights of the bill include:
- A more than $300 million influx of funding for roads over two years by reprioritizing General Fund dollars, with an additional $16 million for small cities' road projects
- $300 million in road projects paid for by state bonding authority
- 97 bridges will be repaired or replaced statewide as a result of $25 million in funds for a new local bridge account.
Education Funding That Makes a Real Difference
Another highlight this session was the education bill which increases funding for education by $1.35 billion over the current biennium. That’s an increase of 2 percent and 2 percent each year on the “per pupil” formula, meaning we are putting significantly more money into every classroom across the state. (I’ll have exact dollar amounts in next week’s update.)
Teacher Licensure Changes are "one of the biggest reforms to state education policy in recent history.”
In addition to a sizable increase in education funding, Republicans were able to negotiate significant policy reforms in the bill including an overhaul of our teacher licensure system, a system which the nonpartisan legislative auditor had determined was in major need of repair.
The nonpartisan Minnesota School Boards Association strongly supported these changes and described the bill as establishing a “structure to simplify and streamline the Minnesota teacher licensure process and…eliminate complicated processes, replace them with more open and flexible systems to accommodate the full spectrum of licensing needs.”
In sum, a major component of the change would allow people with expertise in another field who want to teach an opportunity to do so if their local school board determined there was a need for that expertise. For example, with teacher shortages in math, science and special education, this change permits people dedicated to teaching, but who may have one or more degrees in subjects other than education to teach in these subject areas subject to school board approval.
Our education bill also repeals the “last in, first out” default in state statute, meaning school districts and local education unions will be able to negotiate mutually beneficial hiring plans that account for more than seniority when making difficult staff retention decisions.
Rogers Fiscal Disparities Inequity Addressed
The tax bill also included a local provision I spearheaded to help ease the unfair tax burden paid to the fiscal disparities pool by contributor cities like Rogers. This outdated program transfers millions in property tax dollars from communities like Rogers to cities in other metro counties—dollars that could be returned to taxpayers in the form of lower tax rates instead of being sent to other metro cities.
My bill provides a significant $730,000 in relief to the city of Rogers. It is my strong hope that the Rogers City Council will lower its 2018 and 2019 tax levy by a commensurate amount and give Rogers’ taxpayers a much needed tax cut.
Real ID
Earlier this month, the House and Senate came to an agreement on Real ID, passing the measure and sending it to Governor Dayton who signed it into law. It passed the House on a vote of 120-11.
By passing this legislation, Minnesotans can rest assured that a state-issued driver’s license will continue to be a valid form of identification to fly, enter a federal facility or visit a military base. People will have the choice to opt-in and obtain a federally compliant ID, or they can choose to obtain an ID under our current system.
Overall, I am pleased with the accomplishments that were made during the 2017 session. House Republicans put Minnesota taxpayers and families first and there are many bipartisan accomplishments to come out of this session that will help improve the lives of people across the state.
Memorial Day
I’d like to take a moment to wish you and your family a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is a time to honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their nation. Without their bravery, we would not have the freedoms and way of life we enjoy as Americans today. I am especially thankful for the members of our military and veterans who choose to protect us across the globe, and hope we never forget those who lost their lives in service to our nation. May they be in our thoughts as we take time to enjoy a beautiful spring weekend with our friends and loved ones.
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.
Around the Capitol
My brother-in-law Rick Peppin and his son Jonathan, visiting the Capitol from their home state of California.
Peppin’s MinnTriv
Thank you to everyone who participated in the last Peppin’s MinnTriv Question. The question was: This week is National Charter Schools Week. Minnesota was at the national forefront of charter schools, passing legislation to create the first legislated charter school in what year? The answer was 1991.
There were no correct responses.
Here is this week’s question: Thursday, May 11 was Minnesota’s statehood day. How old did Minnesota turn?
Respond to this email with your answer, and you could be featured in next week’s email update!
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In order to best represent our communities, I need to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to contact my office at any time. My direct line is 651-296-7806. My email address is rep.joyce.peppin@house.mn and my mailing address is Room 459 State Office Building, 100 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, St. Paul, MN 55155.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Sincerely,
Joyce
**Encourage your neighbors and friends to sign up for my email updates at www.house.mn/34A