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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Jeanne Poppe (DFL)

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Legislature Schedules September Special Session to Provide Disaster Relief, Repeal Equipment Repair Tax

Thursday, August 8, 2013

ST. PAUL, MN – Today, Rep. Jeanne Poppe (DFL—Austin) announced that the Minnesota Legislature has made tentative plans to hold a Special Session on September 9th to provide a state and local match for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster assistance for 18 Minnesota counties in the wake of the federal disaster declaration signed by President Obama on July 25.

The following counties are eligible for aid: Benton, Big Stone, Douglas, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Grant, Hennepin, Houston, McLeod, Morrison, Pope, Sibley, Stearns, Stevens, Swift, Traverse and Wilkin. Rep. Poppe represents a portion of Freeborn County.

Preliminary damage assessments determined that the storms caused $17.8 million in damage and resulted in the largest power outage in Minnesota history. FEMA will reimburse 75 percent of approved costs. The 25 percent non-federal share is the responsibility of state and local governments.

Rep. Poppe called the decision to hold a Special Session “the right thing to do,” adding that state lawmakers have a strong record of providing disaster relief in a timely and bipartisan manner.

“We live in an unpredictable world, but one thing Minnesotans can count on is for their elected officials to support them in their time of need,” said Rep. Poppe. “I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues to get the job done so our communities can recover from the damage caused by last month’s storms.”

Rep. Poppe added that a Special Session provides an opportunity to provide tax relief to Minnesota farmers by repealing a sales tax on farm equipment repair that went into effect on July 1 without a divisive political fight over how to pay for the tax cut.

Based on data from the Department of Revenue, repealing the tax will cost around $28 million over two years. The full cost could be paid for by extra reserves the legislature built in to the structurally balanced budget that was passed and signed into law in May. 

“I absolutely support the repeal of the farm equipment repair tax,” said Rep. Poppe. “Now that we know there is enough revenue on the state’s biennial bottom line to absorb this cost, I think we should move forward with the repeal and remove the economic hardship it puts on Minnesota’s farmers.”

Rep. Poppe urges her constituents to contact her with any questions about disaster relief or the farm equipment tax in the coming weeks. She can be reached by phone at (651) 296-4193, by email at rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn, or by postal mail at 487 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.