Dear Friends,
On Monday the House announced our budget proposal for the coming biennium. The highlights of this budget, and a few other items, are detailed below.
House Budget Proposal
On Monday House leadership announced our budget proposal, which will give Minnesotans significant tax relief, more funding for education, lower health care costs, and help build up our road and bridge infrastructure. This budget is fiscally responsible, while also addressing the needs of Minnesotans around our state.
Specific details are still emerging regarding the specifics of each finance bill. A few details on the tax bill and education finance bills are below, since I am a members of both of these finance committees. I will include more information on the other finance bills as they come to the House floor.
House Tax Bill
Our tax bill, HF 4, includes $1.35 billion in tax relief over the next two years. $35 million is dedicated toward improving the child and dependent care credit for middle-class families. In addition, families setting money aside for college in 529 savings plans will see expanded subtractions and credits; which is a provision similar to my bills HF 520, HF 521, and HF 1733. Approximately 77,500 students in our state will get a tax reduction averaging $640 through a tax credit for student loan payments, the first of its kind in our nation.
Main street businesses will be able to expand and create more jobs through a reduction in the statewide general property tax that they pay by having the first $200,000 in the property’s value be exempt, and by freezing the automatic inflator; which is the same provision from a bill I authored a couple of years ago. The tax bill also includes my bill, HF 215, that extends the tax-exemption window for certain non-profits at fundraising events from 5 days to 10 days. I worked with my fellow members of the House Taxes Committee to finalize this bill earlier today.
To read the Tax bill and see committee actions, visit: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?f=HF4&b=house&y=2017&ssn=0
Education Finance Bill
The Education Finance bill, HF 890, is focused on putting more funds into classrooms by investing $1.1 billion in new education funding over the next biennium, and an increase on the school funding formula of 1.5% and 1.5%. However, I signed on to a bill to provide an increase on the school funding formula of 2% and 2%, so I am hoping that we can get to those percentages in the conference committee with the Senate.
In addition, $24 million is dedicated toward a new program that will help low-income students who are falling behind academically participate in before school, after school, and summer programs. Our youngest learners and their families will also see $25 million invested in early learning scholarships and $8.5 million in school readiness aid, empowering parents to make the best decision for their child’s unique needs. As a member of Education Finance as well, I worked with my fellow committee members to finalize this bill earlier today.
To read the Education Finance bill and see committee actions, visit: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?f=HF890&b=house&y=2017&ssn=0
Legacy Bill Finalization
The House Legacy bill is still in progress, and my fellow Legacy Committee members and I will be completing the bill on Monday, March 27th. I am grateful that my bill, HF 1662, which will provide funding for the Minnesota Zoo, is included in the Legacy bill at this time.
To read the Legacy bill and see committee actions, visit: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?f=HF707&b=house&y=2017&ssn=0
County Road 42/ Highway 52 Open House
The City of Rosemount is holding an open house on March 27th on the upcoming County Road 42/ Highway 52 road construction project. The open house will run from 4:30-6:30 PM at the Rosemount Community Center. More detailed information is available here: http://www.ci.rosemount.mn.us/Calendar.aspx?EID=2731
To see details and the status of this and other local planned road construction projects, visit: https://www.co.dakota.mn.us/Transportation/PlannedConstruction/Pages/default.aspx
Dakota County “Get Jobs Fair”
As I have mentioned before, on March 30th, Dakota County will be holding a jobs fair at the Eagan Civic Arena from 10:00 AM-3:00 PM. The Eagan Civic Arena is located at 3870 Pilot Knob Road in Eagan, and more information can be found at this link: https://mn.gov/deed/events/gjjf17.jsp
Capitol Visits
As always, I’d like to thank the people who took time out of their busy schedules to visit me at the Capitol:
I enjoyed having John Przytarski shadow me at the Capitol on Monday.
Some community members also stopped by on Tuesday to talk about manufactured housing issues.
On Wednesday, Lori, Tim, and Steve came by to discuss Howling for Wolves’ legislative priorities.
I also had a visit on Tuesday from Marcie and Cheryl to talk about gun safety issues. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a photo!
Town Hall Questions
Thank you to everyone who submitted questions at the town hall that Rep. Erin Maye Quade, Senator Greg Clausen, and I hosted a couple of weeks back. With over 40 extremely thoughtful questions remaining to be answered after the town hall, I realized that I unfortunately won’t have the time to give each the thorough answer it deserves. If you are a constituent and did not have your question answered at the town hall, please contact me directly using the contact information below, and I will be very pleased to respond!
Keep in Touch
As always, please don't hesitate to contact me with your comments, questions, and concerns. Email me any time at rep.anna.wills@house.mn or call 651-296-4306. You can also follow my updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/repannawills and Twitter at https://twitter.com/annacwills. If you plan to stop by and visit me at the Capitol, my office is 491 in the State Office Building.
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Anna Wills
State Representative, District 57B