January 24, 2013
Dear neighbors,
Earlier this week, Governor Dayton released his 2013-2014 budget proposal. The state faces a $1.1 billion budget shortfall and owes our schools an additional $1.1 billion. The governor’s budget aims to structurally balance the budget, overhaul state tax code and invest in K-12 and higher education. These initiatives are an important place to start as we focus on priorities to grow jobs and strengthen the middle-class this session.
Some key initiatives of the Governor’s budget proposal include:
Investing More Than $640 in Minnesota Students
The budget provides $240 million to higher education, including $80 million for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and $80 million for the University of Minnesota. The proposal allocates another $80 million to the State Grant Program, which will expand the opportunity for a college education to an additional 5,000 Minnesotans.
In addition, the budget provides $344 million for E-12 education, increasing funding per student by over $52. The budget includes necessary special education reform, early childhood education scholarships, optional all-day kindergarten initiatives, a new teacher evaluation system and attempts to combat the problem of bullying in schools.
We all know that a good education is vital to the success of our children. It’s time we make these investments and follow through on preparing our students for a 21st century job market.
Tax Reform
The Governor is proposing $1.4 billion in direct property tax relief, providing a rebate of up to $500 for homeowners. His proposal creates a new tax bracket for Minnesota’s wealthiest 2%, asking married couples making over $250,000 in taxable income per year and individuals making over $150,000 per year to pay a higher income tax rate.
The Governor’s budget cuts the sales tax rate from 6.875% to 5.5% but expands the tax base to include luxury items and some services. His proposal also reduces small business taxes and cuts the corporate tax rate by 14%.
Job Creation
The Governor’s budget will create thousands of jobs by investing $86.5 million in economic development. His plan provides loans to encourage businesses to set up shop in Minnesota, creates a performance-based business incentive program, makes vital investments in roads and bridges, invests in new affordable housing and encourages global competition by establishing trade offices in foreign markets to help small and large businesses grow worldwide.
During the next few weeks we will be learning more about the budget proposal and gathering information about how to address the budget deficit, create jobs and improve education. I welcome your input as we work to better our state. You can reach me by phone at (651) 296-4224 or by email at rep.john.lesch@house.mn. You can also follow me on Twitter at @johnlesch. Thank you for the honor of representing you in state government.
Sincerely,
John Lesch
State Representative
District 66B