Dear neighbor,
Last week marked the beginning of the 2014 Legislative Session. I’m looking forward to working with you and our community to build on the progress we made in 2013.
As we kick off this year’s Session, we have good reason to be optimistic about the direction our state is heading. Employers added over 45,000 jobs last year, lowering our unemployment rate to 4.6 percent – one of the lowest rates in the country.
Thanks to our outstanding businesses and talented workforce, our state has a budget surplus of $1.23 billion for the next two years. A year ago we were facing a $600 million deficit with an $800 million IOU to our schools. We’ve come a long way in one year. Now, our schools are paid back in full, and now we have a strong surplus to lead us into the future.
I also want to highlight the significant investments we made to our schools and students last year. We passed all-day Kindergarten, provided early childhood learning scholarships for low-income families, and provided additional funding for basic k-12 curriculum. Now, our graduation rates are the highest they’ve been in a decade and our achievement gaps are closing and we realize more needs to be done to continue to close the gap. By investing in education, we are giving people the ability to join our world class workforce and to lift them out of poverty.
TAX RELIEF FOR THE MIDDLE AND WORKING CLASS:
With Minnesota on sound fiscal footing for the first time in years, we need to stay focused on helping families and businesses who have not yet felt the economic recovery.
Providing tax relief for the middle class and working poor through federal tax conformity and repealing some business-to-business taxes – including the warehouse tax, farm equipment tax, and the telecommunications equipment tax – has drawn broad bipartisan support. Thanks to a growing economy, we are in a position to pay for additional tax cuts for the middle class and working poor while maintaining a structurally balanced budget.
RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE
We must raise the minimum wage to support the working poor in Minnesota. Right now, we have the third lowest minimum wage in the entire country, lower than the federal minimum wage. The last time we increased the minimum wage was nearly a decade ago. During that time, wages have not kept up with increasing costs of living such as gas, groceries, housing and other necessities. Increasing the minimum wage will give our hardworking Minnesotans more economic security and stability that they need and deserve.
BONDING
This year we will pass a robust and bipartisan bonding bill to create jobs and to support our state’s infrastructure in local communities. I hope we can work together this session to pass a strategic and bipartisan bonding bill that will benefit our entire state. Putting aside our partisan differences to create good jobs while repairing and improving state assets like roads, bridges, and facilities at our public colleges and universities is not only smart economic policy, it’s simply the right thing to do.
One such project is renovations to labs and classrooms at St Paul College to better meet training needs and allow for the school’s programs to expand and thrive. I also want to see investments made in Promise Neighborhood to work alongside families to provide children with the support they need to succeed in school and to build a strong community.
WOMEN’S ECONOMIC SECURITY
Another challenge we must address is the disproportionate barriers to economic security facing women in Minnesota. Women in our state on average earn only 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. In addition, women make up two-thirds of individuals earning at or below the minimum wage. That’s why DFLers are working to pass the Women’s Economic Security Act – to ensure women have an equal opportunity to succeed. Our priorities include closing the gender pay gap, expanding paid sick leave, increasing access to high-quality and affordable childcare and helping women-owned small businesses grow and thrive.
THE “UNSESSION”
Lawmakers are also focused on efforts to make government better, faster, simpler and more efficient for people and businesses – an idea Governor Dayton coined as the ‘Unsession.’ I’m hopeful that we can take some serious steps to cut red tape for businesses and streamline our state government by improving services, shortening wait times, and eliminating old and outdated rules.
WANTING TO HEAR FROM YOU:
As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or feedback. You can reach me by phone at (651) 296-5158, by email at rep.rena.moran@house.mn, or by postal mail at 413 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155
Together we are stronger!
Sincerely,
Rena Moran
State Representative, District 65A