Earlier this month, Governor Dayton signed the budget into law, putting an official end to the 2017 Legislative Session. There was a lot of legislation passed this year that not only benefits our district, 12A, but all of Greater Minnesota. I am very proud of what was accomplished and I would like to discuss some of the highlights.
Over the past couple years, hardworking Minnesotans have been the main contributors to the state experiencing record high surpluses. I, and many of my legislative colleagues, believe that this money can be better spent by the people, instead of by state government. This is why one of the top priorities for this session was to pass the largest tax relief bill in nearly two decades. The tax bill provides $650 million in middle class tax relief over the next two years (2018-2019) and $790 million in 2020-2021. This bill is focused on helping seniors, students, farmers, and generally, middle class Minnesotans. Under this bill, nearly 284,000 senior citizens will receive tax reductions; 72,000 of those will no longer pay any state income tax on their social security benefits and 240,000 farmers will receive property tax relief to reduce their disproportionate share of school district levy costs. Additionally, a family of four making $50,000 a year will receive an additional $1,200 towards their child care expenses and 65,000 students will receive, on average, a $414 reduction in their taxes through a new tax credit for student loan payments. The tax bill also provides a $15 million statewide increase for Local Government Aid (LGA) and a $25.5 million statewide increase for County Program Aid (CPA) to help local governments pay for essential services. For example, Big Stone will receive a 343% increase in CPA, Grant: a 307% increase, Stevens: a 242% increase, and Traverse: a 256% increase in CPA.
Minnesota’s transportation infrastructure is crumbling and in desperate need of not only repair, but expansion. The transportation budget prioritizes Greater Minnesota’s need of road and bridge repairs and improvements responsibly by using existing transportation-related revenue sources. In the next two years alone, an additional $300 million will be invested in the state’s transportation infrastructure with an additional $16 million for small cities’ road projects. Also, through the creation of a new local bridge account, 97 bridges will either be repaired or replaced statewide. Altogether, this is the largest investment in our roads and bridges in state history without raising taxes. Over the next four years, Big Stone, Douglas, Grant, Pope, Stevens, Traverse, and Wilkin County will receive over $7 million in increased transportation funding.
A state’s greatest asset is its future. Minnesota’s future relies on an educated workforce in order to compete in this economy. The K12 education budget that was passed this session invests an additional $1.3 billion in our students statewide. Locally, our school districts will see more than $6 million in new per-pupil funding which means more dollars in the classroom for our students and teachers. The budget also makes some significant reforms: ending the default "Last In, First Out" layoff policy to ensure schools can keep the best teachers in the classroom, expanding pre-K scholarships, and overhauling the broken teacher licensure system in order to help schools address teacher shortage.
One of the issues I have heard about most frequently is the need to reform the 2015 buffer law. While Governor Dayton was initially unwilling to make changes to the law, we were able to pass some reforms this session making the law more workable for farmers and landowners. There will be a temporary waiver available for up to 8 months through local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) for those not able to comply with the November 1st deadline for buffer installation on public waters. Also, SWCDs will now be able to approve alternative practices based on local conditions. We also narrowed the definition of "public waters" for purposes of the buffer law to be only waters designated in the last Public Waters Inventory (PWI) update; the 2015 law contained a much broader definition of “public waters” and this change clarifies the intent. There was also funding approved, which will be made available through SWCDs, for landowners interested in technical or financial assistance in order to establish buffers or alternative practices.
Lastly, we passed a significant bonding bill which contained very important projects in need of completion within our district: the Whetstone River Restoration Project-reduce flood damage to Ortonville by restoring perennial flow to over 7,000 feet of open channel and increasing flood plain storage, and the Toelle Coulee Restoration Project-shield Browns Valley from future flooding by creating an additional land buffer surrounding the city as a form of protection, while also helping to take the community out of the flood plain.
Please be sure to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding any issue related to state government. I can be reached by phone at either 651-296-4929, 701-361-1909, or via email at rep.jeff.backer@house.mn.