Dear Neighbors,
Greetings from St. Paul as lawmakers worked feverishly last week to move omnibus bills through the process in order to meet Friday’s third and final committee deadline. We have about 5 weeks left in this year’s legislative session and it is sure to be a very busy finish. Here is a brief recap of some of the things that have been happening.
School Safety a Priority
Prior to taking our Easter/Passover break at the end of March, my colleagues and I in the House unveiled a multifaceted approach to improve safety at our schools.
This discussion has been a top priority for lawmakers and on the minds of students, parents, and teachers as we try to make sure that another tragedy like the one in Parkland, Florida never happens again.
I am proud of the initiatives we are offering in the House. Initiatives that take a comprehensive approach to the issue of school safety while giving school districts the flexibility to leverage these resources in a manner that fits their district’s needs.
Best of all, these proposals are workable, have a realistic chance of being signed into law by the Governor, and will go a long ways in keeping our children safe.
Here is a brief rundown of some of the proposals:
- School resource officers, student support personnel, and other school security programs funded through increased Safe Schools revenue, including a floor level of funding for small schools
- School building security upgrades, and expanded use of Long-Term Facility Maintenance revenue for security projects, including emergency communications systems
- School-linked mental health programming to ensure better outcomes for all kids
- Physical security audit grants to provide state assistance to review facility security and crisis management policies
- Suicide prevention training for teachers to help educators learn how to engage and assist students experiencing mental distress
- School-based threat assessment teams established to assess, intervene, and report threats facing students, teachers, and staff
Federal Tax Conformity
We continue to make progress on legislation to conform Minnesota’s tax code to federal changes made by last year’s federal tax relief bill.
The Department of Revenue is on record stating that with full conformity and no other policy changes an additional $460 million in new state taxes could be collected from Minnesotans in the current biennium and more $1 billion in the 2020-21 biennium.
Clearly such an increase is unacceptable.
On the flip side, if the state doesn’t conform, simple tasks like filing your state taxes may be virtually impossible. That’s why conformity of some sort must happen this year.
Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee adopted budget targets for this session with the largest portion of the state’s budget surplus going towards tax conformity.
Stay tuned for more information on this as we enter the final weeks of session, this is sure to be a huge lynchpin in end-of-session negotiations with the Governor.
Other Issues
I had a bill heard in the Property Tax Division last week that modifies the 5 year rule requirement, changing it to 10 years, for the Mississippi Crossings tax increment financing (TIF) district in Champlin.
TIF districts divert future property tax revenue increases from a defined area or district toward an economic development project or public improvement project in the community. For Champlin, that project is Mississippi Crossings and I appreciate the committee’s support of this legislation.
My “hands free” bill is currently sitting in the House Ways and Means Committee waiting to receive a hearing. Ways and Means is a bill’s last stop before going to the floor for a full vote. This legislation will help discourage drivers from texting, checking Twitter or Facebook, or any other type of behavior that could distract them from driving. Unfortunately we are rapidly running out of time on this bill. Nevertheless, I will continue fighting to get this legislation across the finish line.
I would expect a bonding bill to come together in the final weeks of session as this is historically a “bonding year”. To that end, I am co-author of a bill that would allocate bond dollars for the Mighty Ducks grant program. This program offers grants to communities to build and/or repair ice rinks used for hockey and curling.
Staying in Touch
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at 651-296-5513 or emailing me at rep.mark.uglem@house.mn.
Thank you,
Mark