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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Matt Bliss (R)

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Legislative report

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Dear Neighbor,

Big news from St. Paul this week as we conducted a press conference to share a House plan to fund the construction of three veterans homes (in Bemidji, Montevideo, and Preston) using excess funds from the Vikings Stadium Reserve, which is growing beyond what is reasonable and necessary.

It should be made abundantly clear that nobody is “raiding” the Vikings stadium account, nor is there a veterans vs. Vikings battle being staged. It just comes down to common sense since the reserve account is projected to grow from its current balance of $58 million to more than $120 million by the end of FY2021. That large a reserve is not needed and our veterans home plan allows something productive to be done with that money instead of having it just continue to pile up and collect dust in an account somewhere.

In any case, this progress on the veterans home issue is long overdue. People in our area understand that shortage of care veterans face in our area and have been working on this project for more than 10 years. All the while, demand for veterans’ homes is only increasing and construction costs continue rising.

Our veterans have sacrificed so much and the least we can do is make sure they get the care they deserve, yet Bemidji remains in a black hole in terms of access to veterans homes. We need to move forward on this issue and I am pleased steps are taking place to make that happen. That said, our work is by no means finished with this proposal and I will keep digging in to bring it over the finish line to enactment.

Thank you to Scotty Allison and Joe Vene for making the trip to the Capitol to participate in our press conference. Click here for video of that event

In other news, a bill (H.F. 4603) I authored to help bring natural gas to unserved areas such as Walker remains in the mix.

Walker has unsuccessfully tried for years to bring natural gas service to its residents. The delivery of natural gas by pipeline would result in an estimated savings of $300 per year for the average household and also reduce utility costs for schools and businesses. In turn, this would help drive industry growth and development in Greater Minnesota. Mayor Jed Shaw testified to the committee and said that no one single act will have as broad or positive an economic impact as this will.

State resources have been used in recent years to help broadband providers build infrastructure in unserved areas of the state. My proposal would take a similar approach by providing incentive for natural gas providers to reach rural Minnesota. A 12-year property tax exemption would be offered for natural gas pipelines built after 2017 that reach previously unserved areas. That 12-year period would allow providers enough time to begin recovering capital costs and paying off debt so they can remain viable for the long haul.

Look for more from the Capitol as the House prepares to unveil a supplemental tax bill very soon. Our overall supplemental budget proposal will look far different from the governor’s plan, which the Minnesota Department of Revenue reports would raise taxes on every in every income bracket and hit households making less than $32,000 the hardest.

Sincerely,

Matt

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