Dear Neighbor,
The Legislature passed a compromise tax conformity and education funding bill, a bonding bill, and a pension bill on Sunday and then adjourned by midnight as scheduled.
Tax relief, funding for safe schools and money for care workers who provide for the disabled are just some of the good things we sent to the governor and Minnesotans are counting on him to enact them. The governor has the opportunity to sign all these good things into law. If he doesn’t, he will finish his last session in office by handing the people of Minnesota a big disaster, especially on taxes. That will be his legacy.
The tax conformity and education plan were part of a compromise effort. The federal conformity plan protects taxpayers, simplifies Minnesota's tax code, and provides the first income tax rate cut in nearly 20 years. It also makes available more than $225 million to help students – nearly $100 million more than what the governor requested, provides new money and additional flexibility for school districts to address budget shortfalls.
Earlier Sunday, the House sent a supplemental budget bill to the governor's desk. It contains shared priorities like ensuring safe schools, repairing roads and bridges, tackling the opioid epidemic, protecting aging and vulnerable adults, and preventing a cut to caregivers of disabled Minnesotans.
Improved school safety and student mental health were top priorities for the House this year. The bonding bill passed Sunday night brings the total school safety investment to more than $50 million – double the amount proposed by Dayton.
We also sent to the governor an infrastructure-heavy, geographically balanced capital investment package featuring $825 million in general obligation bonding to fund construction projects throughout the state. The majority of funding is dedicated to bricks-and-mortar projects, such as roads and bridges, water infrastructure and statewide asset preservation. In addition, the bonding bill includes $32 million for the construction of new veterans homes in Bemidji, Montevideo, and Preston, as well as $10 million for the renovation of existing homes.
These bills we sent to the governor build on the historic accomplishments from the 2017 session that included the largest tax cut in nearly two decades, the largest investment in roads and bridges in state history without a gas tax increase, major funding boosts for education, and reforms to lower health care costs and boost health care choices for Minnesota families.
Look for more news as things develop in St. Paul regarding how the governor acts on the bills we presented to him.
Good luck,
Jeff