Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Monday, May 18th marked the end of the 2015 legislative session. The House and Senate passed a bipartisan budget that invests in Minnesotans' priorities and puts a larger emphasis on the needs of Greater Minnesota.
One of the House’s biggest accomplishments this session is something that was left out of legislation this year—a substantial gas tax increase.
Governor Dayton’s plan to increase the gas tax would have cost Chisago County families several hundred dollars each year and, with 60 percent of Chisago county commuting to the Twin Cities each day, was tremendously unpopular with almost everyone. The Senate DFL insisted that without a new wholesale gas tax, which would have added a minimum of 16 cents to a gallon of gas and increase with the price of gasoline, they would not pass a transportation bill or a tax relief bill. House Republicans had passed a $2 billion tax relief bill earlier in the session. Unfortunately this will need to wait until next session.
While it’s good news that a gas tax was not implemented, it's unfortunate there was no tax relief and we didn't get to pass a comprehensive, long-term transportation bill that focuses on our roads and bridges this year.
Included in the final Health and Human Services bill was an investment in our senior living facilities. Chisago County has lower reimbursement rates than counties in the metro area and the Iron Range. This new legislation will increase funding to Ecumen in Chisago City and Parmly in North Branch. This will also help increase the wages of the dedicated caregivers at these facilities and consequently, improve the quality of care and quality of life for aging Minnesotans.
Also this session, the House and Senate crafted a bipartisan $17 billion education budget bill (an 8.1 percent increase in education funding). We also focused on early learning initiatives for low income and at-risk kids, investing $60 million into school readiness aid and early learning scholarships. Unfortunately, Governor Dayton vetoed this bill and is sending us into special session because he wants $160 million more to implement universal pre-k in our schools. Many people have told me how unfortunate this is considering that Dayton’s universal pre-k bill has not been well thought out and leaves school districts on the hook for many additional costs of fulfilling this new pre-k mandate.
Important to note is that the bill Governor Dayton vetoed was a bipartisan negotiation between a Republican-controlled House and a Democrat-controlled Senate who, by a vote of 52-14, voted in favor of this bill. Governor Dayton’s veto has forced us into a special session sometime in June.
Once this special session is complete I will be looking forward to the 2016 session and hope that we can continue our work to pass tax relief for Minnesota families and craft a comprehensive road and bridge plan that doesn't rely on a regressive gas tax that hurts poor and middle income families.
If you have comments about the 2015 legislative session, please don't hesitate to share them with me by calling my office or sending me an email.
As always, it's a privilege to represent the people of Chisago County.
Sincerely,
Bob