Dear Neighbor,
This was probably my busiest week of the year as nearly all the finance bills moved through Ways and Means. I am pleased that all the bills I authored which I mentioned in last week's email have so far survived the process. These include:
- Expansion of I94 to three lanes between Monticello and Clearwater, and engineering study work on expanding to three lanes the rest of I-94 between the Twin Cities in Saint Cloud;
- Additional special ed and English language learner funding for District #742;
- Dislocated worker funding for employees being laid off at Electrolux;
- Requiring permission from victims and defendants before video of them in the courtroom can be recorded and broadcast;
- Opening of negotiations with BNSF Railway to extend the Northstar Corridor to Saint Cloud;
- Grant to the Promise Neighborhood group on Southeast side of Saint Cloud;
- Changes in language to promote additional affordable housing construction without spending more state money;
- Reduced regulations to save Haven and Minden Townships money on their MS4 environmental requirements;
- Dedication of additional funds to the state budget reserve, or rainy day fund.
TAX BILL
The House’s tax bill (H.F. 4385) was released early this week and approved in Taxes and in Ways and Means. It is scheduled for consideration by the House on Monday. Overall, the bill simplifies Minnesota’s tax code to fully benefit from recent federal tax reform and features what would be the first middle-class income tax rate cut in nearly 20 years. More than 2.1 million Minnesota filers would benefit from a tax cut in tax year 2018. Highlights of the bill include:
- Helping middle-class Minnesotans keep more of what they earn by cutting the second tier income tax rate from 7.05 percent to 6.75 percent by tax year 2020. This would mark the first income tax rate reduction in Minnesota since 2000.
- Lowering taxes for people at all income levels by increasing the standard deduction from $13,000 to $14,000.
- Protecting families by preserving a state personal and dependent exemption of $4,150 per person
- Supporting hometown businesses and farmers by reinvesting extra revenue from corporate tax changes into Section 179 conformity and overall rate reductions.
The bill also includes a few provisions I authored, including one that would reduce taxes on organizations that do charitable gaming, which will result in the having additional funds available for charities in our community, and another provision that eliminates the sales tax on gold and silver coins. This benefits the typically less wealthy people who purchase them as an investment, so they are treated the same as typically wealthier people who invest in bullion.
Look for more news on this subject as supplemental tax/budget negotiations ramp up over the final weeks of the 2018 session.
EDUCATION BILL
Our education package was the first to receive approval from the full House of Representatives, and it did so with broad, bipartisan support in a 94-29 vote. The bill includes numerous provisions related to student safety and mental health.
Highlights in the P12 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
- 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. Overall, $4 million in supplemental funding is appropriated to state colleges and universities, along with $1 million to Metro State for starting a cybersecurity program, and $500,000 to each the University of Minnesota and the Office of Higher Education.
DRUG TAKE-BACK
Efforts to combat the opioid epidemic have intensified of late and I want to pass along information on the next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday.
This event is a way people can safely dispose of leftover medication that may be in our homes to eliminate any number of other possibilities. Click here for more on this subject or click here for information regarding drop-off site locations. I hope you’ll share this info with family and friends because every little thing we do on this issue could end up saving lives.
Please continue to stay in touch with me with your thoughts and concerns.
Sincerely,
Jim