Dear Neighbor,
The first committee deadline is only one week away, meaning it is crunch time for legislators to get hearings on bills they have authored.
A few bills I authored are in the mix and I’m hoping to get committee hearings on them. I’ll circle back to this soon to update what transpires.
Meantime, I have introduced a bill to take $400 million from the $1.23 billion projected state surplus and put it toward the formula that funds state roads and bridges, county state aid highways and municipal state aid streets. This gives the surplus back to the hardworking taxpayers in projects that will benefit them for the next 20 years. This would be good for all parts of the state, including in our area and the Interstate 94 corridor in general.
In other news this week, Gov. Mark Dayton has issued a supplemental budget to update his recommendations. His modified proposal is in response to new information learned in our state’s latest economic forecast. A press release issued by the governor includes $616 million in tax eliminations, placing $455 more in reserves and spending the remaining $162 million on various projects. We inquired on the House floor as to when the Legislature will receive the governor’s updated budget proposal in bill form, but the majority leader said no timeline was available.
On a related note, we learned earlier this week that Minnesota’s tax collections were $17 million below projections in February. This news should not cause a knee-jerk reaction, but it underscores the importance of making responsible decisions when we decide how to appropriate our state’s projected surplus funds.
Lastly, we learned this week that Minnesota’s new government health insurance program – MNsure – faces a $5 million shortfall for next year. Officials say they won’t be coming back to the Legislature for more state funding because federal funding provided to the state for this program remains. March 31 is the deadline to apply and avoid penalties for not having insurance, so be sure that if you need insurance that you meet that deadline.
Good luck,
Jeff