Friends,
Fire up the grills, get out the garden equipment, find the golf clubs or baseball gloves, Spring is here to stay.
This past week, my column on MNLARS, REAL ID, and what we are doing to fix it was in our local paper. This is an important issue and I am glad we have been able to make progress on it. Read a bit about what we are up to at the Capitol and have a great weekend!
Bills to Help with Home Affordability Pass Unanimously
On Tuesday, my bill passed the House unanimously. This bill provides a way for a historical building to convert to condominium use and is part of building upon the sweeping, positive changes to condo and townhouse law that I championed last session. This is all in an effort to increase the supply of homes across the twin cities metro area, something that is greatly lacking.
Rep. Smith presenting his bill on the House Floor on Tuesday
On Wednesday, another of my bills passed the House unanimously. This bill will adjust the statute of limitations on construction defects to be more consumer and builder-friendly to the detriment of trial lawyers. Again, this is a bill that will help to alleviate the lack of affordable homes across the twin cities, while also helping consumers and builders.
Education Bill Prioritizing School Safety Passes House
On Thursday, the House passed bipartisan education legislation on a vote of 94-29 that puts students first. House File 4328 prioritizes school and student safety, increases transparency in school finance and performance reporting, and helps prepare kids for a bright and successful future.
We provide critical resources and flexibility for our schools to address student safety and mental health in this bill. I am proud of our commitment to ensuring every Minnesota student has access to a world-class education and keeping our schools safe.
Highlights in the education portion of the bill include:
- Championing a multifaceted approach to give school districts the resources and flexibility they need to address student safety and security. That includes expanding the use of long-term facilities maintenance revenue for facility security upgrades, strengthening the state’s commitment to school-linked mental health grants, supporting suicide prevention training for teachers, increasing funding for Safe Schools Revenue, and more
- Strengthening and clarifying state law to address teacher misconduct and teacher licensure including prohibiting sexual relationships between educators and students, even if that student is 18; requiring periodic teacher background checks; and prohibiting the issuance or renewal of a teacher/administrative license or bus driver endorsement for certain felonies or gross misdemeanors involving a minor
- Requiring the Minnesota Department of Education to create a School Report Card —a one-stop-spot for summative and easily accessible school and district ratings that will provide families with a place to research, compare and help determine which school will work best for their child
- Enhancing the transparency of school funding and our commitment to tackling our state’s achievement gap by doubling the number of school audits each year. These audits will discern whether or not education dollars allocated to school districts and dedicated to special education, English-learner and low-income students are reaching the students intended
- Ensuring students are exposed to a wide variety of post-secondary options including the trades and branches of the military
- Strengthening laws that protect kids from school lunch shaming
- Creating a Special Education Working Group to engage stakeholders and examine the factors that are driving rising costs
A number of higher education provisions are also included in the package. Highlights include measures to fund student loan debt counseling, bring new sexual harassment reporting requirements and policies to the University of Minnesota, and to back a textbook affordability initiative.
Education is a top priority for everyone at the Capitol and I am glad we have been able to come together on a bipartisan bill to deliver a great education and make our schools a safe place to be.
Rep. Smith with constituents at the Capitol
April Town Hall on Sunday
A slight change from last weel's information as April's Town Hall will take place at the Osseo Community Center this Sunday, April 29, from 12:00-1:00 p.m. for his Town Hall meeting. The Osseo Community Center is located at 415 Central Avenue, Osseo, MN 55369 (connected to the Osseo City Hall). The doors will be open a few minutes before the meeting starts. Hope you can make it!
Tax Conformity Proposals
With the major tax reform passed by Congress in 2017, one of the most important things we have to do this session is to pass a tax conformity plan this session. Our goal in the House is to hold as many Minnesotans as possible harmless, provide meaningful tax relief to taxpayers, and simplify our tax code so people can take full advantage of state and federal tax relief.
Highlights of our plan include cutting the second-tier income tax rate from 7.05 percent to 6.75 percent by 2020, letting middle-class Minnesotans keep more of their hard-earned money. We also lower taxes for people of all income levels by increasing the standard deduction from $13,000 to $14,000. Third, we help families by protecting state personal and dependent exemptions of $4,150. To encourage affordable home ownership, our plan allows state-itemized deductions of up to $30,000 in property taxes. Finally, we support our hometown businesses by reinvesting extra revenue from corporate tax changes into Section 179 conformity and overall rate reductions.
Governor Dayton, on the other hand, is proposing a supplemental budget that raises $1.4 billion in taxes on Minnesotans. An analysis done by his own Department of Revenue showed his plan would raise taxes on every income level—not just the rich —hitting households that make $32,000 or less the hardest. The governor is proposing reinstating more than $1 billion in health care tax increases, repealing tax reductions we passed last session, and other measures surrounding federal tax changes.
Rep. Smith meeting with a constituent at the Capitol
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
This Saturday, April 28th is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Nearly 400 Minnesotans died last year as a result of opioid overdoses. If you have unneeded or expired prescription drugs at home, you can drop them off at a safe, legal collection site in your community from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. No questions asked. Find a location 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. If you are going to be at or around the Capitol, please stop by or schedule a meeting. 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