Omnibus tax bill approved; goes to House Ways and Means Committee

An expected deluge of DFL-sponsored amendments to the omnibus tax bill did not appear on Tuesday during the House Taxes Committee. Only seven amendments were presented, and all were accepted, including the three presented by the minority party.

While Committee Chair Rep. Greg Davids (R-Preston) had expected a vote on the bill to come Wednesday, short on amendments, the bill, as amended, was approved along a party-line voice vote and moved to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Rep. Ann Lenczewski (DFL-Bloomington) said the absence of amendments doesn’t in any way mean the DFL doesn’t have concerns with the new version of HF848.

House Taxes Committee page Andrew De Jong organizes committee materials as lobbyists and the public wait to enter the hearing room April 21. Photo by Paul Battaglia

She said the real cost of the $5.6 billion bill for the 2016-17 biennium won’t be known until the tax expenditures are fully phased in during later years.

“This bill costs billions and billions of dollars — we talked about choices and this is about choices. [Revenue] Commissioner [Cynthia] Bauerly was right on when she talked about the size of this tax bill and that it is crowding out other spending.”

The bill lacks transparency and that it complicates the tax code, she said.

Directing her comments to Davids, she said: “You have said you want to get a bill signed. … I think we know this will not be it. We are so incredibly so far apart. … There is a long row to hoe.”

Davids said he recognizes that the bill is not a finished product, and that it will most likely change significantly as it moves off the House Floor and into conference committee.

Among the amendments added were:

• two sponsored by Rep. Erik Simonson (DFL-Duluth) related to extending the tax-increment financing district in Duluth’s west end;
• language of HF1565, sponsored by Rep. Linda Slocum (DFL-Richfield), to extend the duration of a TIF district in Richfield; and
• a study of the impact of additional health-related costs incurred by counties as they deal with the 2014 rollout of the MNsure system. Rep. Sarah Anderson (R-Plymouth) offered the amendment.