Dear Neighbors,
It has been a busy first month of the 2014 legislative session. It has been a busy first month of the 2014 session and we’ve already made a lot of progress for Minnesotans and our community.
We’ve come a long way in just one year. At this time in 2013, we were facing a $600 million deficit, owed $800 million to Minnesota schools that we had previously borrowed from, and faced the highest property tax rates in over a decade. The legislature then passed a balanced budget, paid back our schools in full, and provided property tax relief. Now, Minnesota has a budget surplus of $1.23 billion, our employers created 45,000 jobs over the past year, and our unemployment rate is 4.8% - one of the lowest rates in the country. Minnesota is moving forward and making progress, but now we need to focus on growing and strengthening our middle class.
SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET
The House is building on the progress already made this year with a supplemental budget that provides $322 million in targeted investments for the middle class families, students and seniors. Highlights of the supplemental budget include:
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$92 million in targeted investments in education: K-12 schools will see a funding increase to help address the costs of teacher evaluations and to fully fund reduced priced school lunches to ensure no child is turned away in the lunch line. It also invests in higher education institutions to improve students’ access to an affordable college education.
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$50 million in transportation funding: Provides $15 million to help local governments throughout the state address the need to repair potholes after the worst winter in recent memory. It also provides funding for additional statewide highway repairs as well as increases funding for Safe Routes to Schools to help Minnesota students get to and from school more safely.
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$91 million in health care and human services: Provides a 5 percent increase for home and community-based health care workers who provide care for the elderly and disabled. It also increases funding for rural nursing homes and provide additional investments in senior nutrition.
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$37 million in targeted investments in job creation: Invests $125 million for additional critical statewide investments as well as $25 million in broadband access in Greater Minnesota. It also provides $10 million in economic development resources to support rural job growth and the business sectors critical to rural economies.
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$36 million in Public Safety and Disaster Assistance: Provides $36.5 million from the General Fund to support the Department of Corrections, such as enhanced penalties for repeat criminal sexual offenders in addition to funding specific public safety bills assisting crime victims. It also establishes a Disaster Assistance Contingency Account to provide critical disaster relief without the need for a special legislative session.
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$16 million in Environment and Food Shelves: Invests $1.5 million in Farm to Food-Shelf funding - funding goes to Second Harvest to reimburse food producers for labor costs when producers donate surplus food to food banks. It also establishes the Terrestrial Invasive Species Research Center to conduct research on invasive and problematic plants and pests in MN and traveling to MN.
MIDDLE-CLASS TAX CUTS
The Minnesota Legislature worked quickly with Governor Dayton this session to pass $508 million in middle-class tax cuts for more than one million Minnesotans. Due to the legislature’s quick action, many Minnesotans will see immediate tax savings during the current tax filing season. If you have not yet filed your 2013 taxes, you should file now. If you have already filed your 2013 taxes, you don’t need to do anything currently – the Department of Revenue will review your return and notify you if you are eligible for an increased refund.
Last Friday, the House approved a second tax bill that includes $103 million in further tax cuts for Minnesota homeowners, renters, businesses, military members, and farmers. 500,000 homeowners will see a one-time increase of 3% for all Homestead Credit Refunds paid in. 350,000 renters will see a one-time increase of 6% for all Renters’ Credit Refunds paid in 2014. This comes on top of the $133 million in direct property tax relief passed in 2013 for homeowners and renters. This bill also provides tax relief to our active military members by extending our active military income tax subtraction to National Guard service members in the Active Guard Reserve.
PROPERTY TAX RELIEF
After more than a decade of ever-increasing property taxes, Minnesotans will pay less in property taxes in 2014. This is in large part due to our $133 million investment in property tax relief for homeowners and renters last session through the new Homestead Credit Refund and expanded Renter’s Credit. When both levies and refunds are calculated, we find Minnesota homeowners will pay $161 million less in property taxes in 2014 than they did in 2013. I encourage you to see if you are eligible for the Homestead Credit Refund or Renter’s Credit. You can find more information on eligibility and how file for your property tax refund at the Department of Revenue website: http://bit.ly/1loIEcw.
BONDING
Last week, the House released its plan for the 2014 bonding bill to create good jobs and to invest in our state’s infrastructure. The Springbrook Nature Center is included in this year’s bonding bill, set to receive $5.5 million in bonds, to renovate and improve the diverse habitat that attracts 150,000 visitors per year. Also included in the bonding bill is $2.7 million for a special recreational feature at Silverwood Park.
SCHOOL LUNCHES
A couple of months ago, we learned that 46 Minnesota school districts have denied students a hot and nutritious lunch if those children have insufficient funds. Another 165 school districts offer an alternative, less nutritious meal to those children who cannot pay – such as a cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The Governor signed – and the House unanimously passed – a bill to provide an additional $3.519 million to the school lunch program, which is equivalent to $0.40 per low-income child who is receiving a reduced price school lunch. This guarantees that no child will go hungry in a Minnesota school because of an inability to pay. This will increase the student’s ability to learn and give them greater opportunity to succeed.
ELECTRONIC POLLBOOKS
This session, I am authoring a bill to implement electronic pollbooks at polling locations. Municipalities would have the option to switch from their paper voter rosters to an online version that would be accessible on laptops and tablet computers. Electronic pollbooks will allow us to modernize and streamline our election process. This legislation will help improve speed and accuracy on election day as well as reduce some costs over the paper pollbooks. It will also eliminate the multiple, alphabetically sorted lines – every line will be the correct line. The bill has made it through the committee process and is waiting to be heard on the House floor.
WOMEN’S ECONOMIC SECURITY
Women in Minnesota still face disproportionate barriers to basic economic security. Women are critical to strengthening our workforce and providing for our families. Minnesota leads the country in women participating in the workforce, and women in Minnesota earn the majority of post secondary degrees. However, these facts do not translate into economic security or equality. More and more families depend on a woman’s income to help support their families and achieve the American dream. I’m proud to support the Women’s Economic Security Act to close the gender pay gap, increase access to affordable childcare, and expand paid leave for working families among other initiatives to help women achieve economic security. The House is expected to a full vote on the Women’s Economic Security Act soon.
Please stay in touch during this year’s Legislative Session by sharing any questions, comments or other feedback. You can reach me by phone at 651-296-4331, by email at rep.carolyn.laine@house.mn, or by postal mail at 485 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Sincerely,
Carolyn