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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Dennis Smith (R)

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January Town Hall and Good Economic News

Friday, January 12, 2018

Friends, 


This past week we got a little relief from the extremely frigid weather and a little bit of rain(!), which was quickly followed by a dive back to zero and snow that made for an interesting commute on Thursday afternoon. This weekend it looks like we will continue to hover around zero, so stay warm and watch the Vikings beat the Saints on Sunday! 

On Tuesday, I will be attending the Maple Grove City Council meeting. I'll be giving a legislative session preview as well as hearing from city leaders about their priorities for the 2018 Session. 


Improving Economy 

Minnesota’s net general fund receipts totaled $219 million (5.9 percent) for the months of November and December 2017 more than projected in the November 2017 Budget and Economic Forecast. Receipts for the individual income tax, corporate tax, and other revenues were higher than expected for the quarter, while net sales tax receipts nearly matched the forecast. 

This spells great news for Minnesota's budget as many of the dire economic predictions that fed into projecting a small deficit for the state has not come to be. With tax relief coming to almost all Minnesota families and consumer confidence quite high, the economic future for Minnesota is looking bright. 
 

January Town Hall 

Come join me on January 22nd for my monthly town hall. It will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 pm at Caribou Coffee, 12880 Elm Creek Blvd N in Maple Grove. I'll talk about highlights of the 2017 session, answer your questions, and give a preview of what to expect for the 2018 session. Hope to see you there!

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Clean Up of Hilger Transfer Site

Maple Grove was awarded $1 million in cleanup funding by Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) for the 13-acre Hilger Transfer Site that was contaminated with petroleum and other pollutants. Formerly used for unregulated disposal and waste transfer, this site will be redeveloped with a 192,700-square-foot office/warehouse building. The project will create 115 new jobs, retain 225 jobs, and increase the tax base by $438,195. Matching costs will be paid by the developer, the city, and other grant sources. This is great news for Maple Grove and our whole community! 
 

New 2018 Laws in effect January 1

While much of the great work we did during the 2017 Session went into effect later in 2017, a few laws went into effect on January 1st, 2018. Among the new laws that went into effect were uniform election dates, more specialty license plates, and two health-related reforms -- one will make it easier for patients to refill their prescription eye drops and another will allow home health care workers to count training for those who are hard of hearing towards their annual training requirements. 

The full list of new laws from the 2017 Session is available here

Please continue to share your thoughts with me about our state government; bill ideas and concerns are welcomed! I am honored to serve you at the Capitol. My email address is Rep.Dennis.Smith@house.mn, phone number 651-296-5502, and by mail: 375 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.

Have a great weekend! 

Dennis