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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Tony Albright (R)

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Capitol Update from Rep. Tony Albright

Monday, February 4, 2013

Neighbors,

I am excited to begin my first term in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Thank you for subscribing to my legislative updates. I hope to keep you aware of the issues I’m working on in St. Paul periodically throughout the year.

We began the 2013 Legislative Session on Tuesday, January 8th. I am honored to serve the cities of Prior Lake and Jordan along with St. Lawrence Township, Sand Creek Township, Spring Lake Township and Credit River Township. This year I will be serving on the Capital Investment, Health & Human Services Policy, Jobs & Economic Development Finance & Policy and Rules Committees.

Here is a short interview I did describing our district and my goals in the legislature. Please submit your ideas for questions or topics I should cover in future video interviews by replying to this message. I will do my best to cover a wide variety of issues this session.

Budget

Last week, Governor Dayton proposed his budget plan for 2014-2015 and it includes numerous changes to Minnesota’s tax code that will increase taxes on the middle-class as well as our job providers. Dayton is asking for a new income tax bracket on individuals with incomes above $150,000 a year or $250,000 per couple, raising the rate to 9.85% which would be the fourth highest in the nation.

In addition, he would impose a quarter cent sales tax in the metro for transit. This tax increase would be on top of the additional sales tax on many services and clothing items that cost more than one hundred dollars. While he is proposing to lower the rate to 5.5%, the fact is there would be an additional $2.1 billion dollars raised from the sales taxes that we all pay. This burden falls more heavily on low and middle-class taxpayers. Disappointingly, the Governor has yet to release the full list of goods and services that would be taxed under his new sales tax proposal. We already know that Minnesotans will see increased taxes on things like haircuts, oil changes, digital downloads, and piano lessons, but the list remains incomplete a full week later.

Despite all the talk of taxing "millionaires and billionaires," Dayton’s new income tax is 25% higher than the current rate and will impact thousands of Minnesota families and small businesses that file individually. He even proposes adding sales tax to the cost of preparing your income taxes.

Specifically, the budget would:

  • Increase spending to $37.9 billion in FY14-15
  • Raise $3.7 billion in new taxes and cut spending by $225 million
  • Add a new sales tax on business services, clothing (items over $100), and personal services
  • Increase the tobacco state tax by $.94 per pack
  • Delay full repayment of shifted aid to Minnesota schools until 2017

The average income for families in Minnesota is not growing at nearly 8% every two years like state government would under the Dayton plan. I believe the cumulative impact of the governor's tax increases will drive our job creators to relocate in neighboring states, like Wisconsin and North Dakota, which have lower business tax burdens as well as more business friendly regulatory climates.

I look forward to a thoughtful and productive discussion about how we can protect the middle-class from further tax increases while providing good services to the people of our state.

Gun Control Legislation

Many of you have asked about my stance on current gun control policies given a recent focus by the federal government on this issue. As a state legislator, I feel our role in changing gun laws is very minimal. We currently have a set of state and local laws in Minnesota that ought to be enforced properly to keep people safe. However, I am open to considering policies that address the issue of mental illness and ensure, through our application process, that those suffering from certain mental illnesses do not have access to firearms.

A Move for Our Veterans

I’ve signed on to legislation in the House that aims to attract more retiring vets to the state, ultimately bringing in millions in economic activity and a new wave of talent for hiring employers to take advantage of. HF 60 would do away with the state income tax on the pensions of retired members of the military. So far, the bill has 14 co-authors from both parties.

Minnesota is currently only one of six states nationwide that still tax the retirement pay for the military. This is a simple change we can make to state law that will have a strong impact for those that have served and to the entire state. We all benefit from the experiences and capital that retiring vets bring when they decide to settle in Minnesota.

State Healthcare Exchange

As part of the Affordable Care Act, Minnesota’s DFL leaders have selected to set up a powerful and expensive state health insurance exchange in Minnesota. I am opposed to HF 5, which establishes the exchange, for several reasons.

The exchange is dangerous to middle-class Minnesotans and small businesses. It would create a seven-member ‘super agency’ without proper oversight, transparency, and accountability. It would be positioned to control the entire health insurance market in Minnesota, and thus, our health care providers. This group would be setup and appointed by one political party, accountable to no one, have access to spend taxpayer dollars without discretion, picks winners and losers as to who can sell insurance, and impose and collect up to 3.5% tax on plan premiums just to fund its activities. The DFL’s Health Exchange is not a basic exchange—it goes far beyond Obamacare mandates and threatens your freedom and choice of health care.

Meeting with Constituents

In January, I had the pleasure of meeting with many constituents from District 55B, including business and community leaders. If you are planning on visiting or would like to set up time to meet with me about an issue of importance to you, please contact me using the information in this email.

To stay informed on my work at the Capitol, please encourage others to sign up for my email updates.
 

Thank you for the honor of being your state representative.

Sincerely,

Tony