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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Anna Wills (R)

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News from Representative Wills 03-07-2014

Friday, March 7, 2014

Dear Friends,

The fast pace we set in week one continued into week two at the Minnesota House. Yesterday the House passed HF1777, a bill to repeal all three business-to-business taxes and restore important tax deductions by conforming Minnesota's tax code with the federal tax code.

I was the chief author of a proposal (HF1973) to repeal all three of the business-to-business taxes, and am grateful that my colleagues recognized the importance of urgency of correcting the mistakes made last session. But we shouldn't stop now: with hundreds of millions in surplus money remaining, there are other taxes that were passed last session we can repeal to give the surplus money back where it belongs: in your pocket.

You can read more about the tax repeal bill in today's Pioneer Press story.

Many of you responded to my request for ideas on how to use our surplus, and I appreciate your feedback. You made suggestions such as: putting money in a "rainy day fund," funding road and bridge projects, and additional education funding. I will keep your suggestions in mind as my colleagues and I continue to discuss the best uses for our surplus.

MnDOT Open House

Mark your calendars: on March 19th, MnDOT will host an open house to update citizens and explore options to help ease congestion on Highway 77 by improving bus access to the Cedar Grove Transit Station on the Red Line in Eagan. The open house will take place from 4:30-6:30PM at the Eagan City Hall in the Eagan Room, located at 3830 Pilot Knob Road. While Eagan is not in District 57B, the traffic conditions on Highway 77 affects our area and I wanted to make sure you aware of the opportunity to learn about this project.

For more information, or to sign up for email updates on this project, please visit the MnDOT website by clicking here.

Velvet Tones Festival of Music

Last Sunday, March 2nd, I had the chance to attend the Velvet Tones Festival of Music at Eastview High School that featured a number of talented singers and groups from our community. Local participants included Southview Elementary students, the Velvet Tones, and the Apple Valley American Legion Post 1776 Color Guard. The festival was funded in part by legacy grant money, appropriated from the legacy amendment funding passed by voters in 2008.


Southview Elementary Students at the Velvet Tones Festival of Music 


Visitors at the Capitol

Special thanks to the many constituents who stopped by to visit the Capitol this week, a few of them are listed below. As always, if you or a group you're a part of is planning to visit the Capitol, please call my office to schedule a meeting. You can reach my office at rep.anna.wills@house.mn or by phone at 651-296-4306.

 

It was great to have Rilee from the Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) program as my student shadow on Tuesday. FCCLA is a student leadership organization that focuses on young leaders, and works to empower young people to be active leaders in their family, school and community. For more information on FCCLA, please visit MNFCCLA.org.

 

Thanks to all of my constituents from the American Cancer Society who stopped by on Wednesday to share their thoughts on the 2014 session.

Have a great weekend, and be sure to enjoy the warmer weather we've been having!

Sincerely,

Anna Wills
State Representative, District 57B