Dear Neighbor,
With 16 legislative days left here in St. Paul we are putting the final touches on a full range of legislation that we sent to the Senate for consideration. Highlights include:
- Taxes: Reconcile state income tax policy with recent federal income tax reforms resulting in the first income tax rate reduction in nearly two decades for middle class families.
- Transportation: Continue to dedicate additional dollars to fixing our roads and bridges.
- Public Safety: Move to hands free only cell phone use on the roads. Increase the criminal penalty for injuring public safety professionals.
- Health & Human Services: Help children with disabilities, caregivers, the elderly, victims of sex trafficking and abuse, as well as reforms to combat the opioid epidemic.
- Jobs & Energy: Continue to support rural broadband expansion in rural Minnesota.
- Agriculture: Continue to support the Rural Finance Authority and require that the Department of Ag bring major changes to nitrogen fertilizer rules before the legislature for review before they are implemented.
- Environment & Natural Resources: Provide additional funding to deal with CWD in the white tail deer herd.
- State Government Operations: Build three new veterans homes in rural Minnesota located at Preston, Bemidji and Montevideo.
We also completed work on the House/Senate conference committee report on the Wild Rice Sulfate Standard bill that has passed both bodies. The bill retires the 45 year old obsolete standard that to date has not been implemented, provides MPCA with a clean slate to work out new standard based on today’s science and will provide the DNR with $500,000 in funding to begin real work on protecting, enhancing and where appropriate restoring natural wild rice beds. I anticipate the bill will soon get a final vote in the House and Senate and should be on the governor’s desk for his review early next week.
The sixth-graders from Rippleside Elementary School at Aitkin where down for a day at the capital for a visit this week. Thank you to our teachers and parents for providing the opportunity for young people to learn about state government.
Please be safe and enjoy the weekend.
Sincerely,
Dale