State Rep. Mike Sundin
NEWS RELEASE
Minnesota House of Representatives
District 11A 651-296-4308 – rep.mike.sundin@house.mn
411 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Tim O’Brien
Communications Specialist
(651) 296-8877
tim.o’brien@house.mn
April 4, 2014
HOUSE PASSES $332 MILLION SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET,
$103 MILLION TAX CUT BILL
ST. PAUL – Friday, the DFL-controlled Minnesota House of Representatives approved a $103 million tax cut bill, a day after passing a $332 million supplemental budget that made additional investments in priorities important to all Minnesotans – education, health and human services, transportation and economic development.
The bill, which will provide further property tax relief for hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans, is the second piece of legislation cutting taxes this session. It will debated on the House floor today.
The second bill was made possible because of the budget passed in 2013, which helped Minnesota go from a $600 million budget deficit and a $800 million debt to its schools, to a $1.2 billion surplus.
It also allowed the House to take quick action on several fronts as the 2014 session opened. In the first weeks of the session, the House passed bills providing $443 million in tax cuts for Minnesotans and businesses, $20 million in propane assistance for Minnesotans and $150 million to bolster the state’s budget reserve.
Highlights of the supplemental budget bill passed last night are:
· Statewide investments to strengthen Greater Minnesota through broadband investments and economic development resources.
· Education investments that build on the 2013 “education session.”
· Funding for home- and community-based health care workers who provide care for the elderly and disabled.
· Critical transportation funding to repair potholes and make investments in highways, roads and bridges.
“This budget is an extension of the historic budget we passed last year,” said Rep. Mike Sundin (DFL-Esko). “It is a responsible budget but still makes needed investments in our children’s schools, job creation, health care, and transportation. And there is a rural Minnesota focus that is welcome. It’s a good budget for District 11A.”
The DFL supplemental budget included $170 million for economic development programs – much of it aimed at rural Minnesota – and some urgent infrastructure projects. The Greater Minnesota Initiative invests $25 million to expand broadband access in Greater Minnesota and $10 million in economic development resources to support rural job growth and the business sectors critical to rural economies.
Home- and community-based health care workers who provide care for the elderly and disabled will get a long overdue 5 percent increase for their work.
“To me, a raise for care workers is well-deserved,” Rep. Sundin said. “The service and care they provide is worth so much to our families. Providing this bump was one of my top priorities this year.”
The bill also increases funding for rural nursing homes and provides additional investments in senior nutrition.
An additional $92 million will go to education – providing a funding increase for K-12 schools to help address the costs of teacher evaluations and to further improve education outcomes, allowing more Minnesota children to have access to affordable, high-quality early learning opportunities, fully funding reduced price for school lunches to ensure no Minnesota child is turned away in the lunch line and investing in our higher education institutions to improve students’ access to an affordable college education.
The tax bill being considering today will cut taxes an additional $103 million, largely through further property tax relief. It includes $45 million in targeted property tax relief to Minnesota homeowners, renters, and farmers:
· Farmers: This provision builds off the effort to restore the Homestead Credit by enhancing the market value credit for homesteaded farms. The result is an immediate $18 million in property tax relief to more than 90,000 homesteaded farms. An average family farmer in Minnesota will see $460 in property tax relief.
· Homeowners: A one-time increase for all Homestead Credit Refunds paid in 2014. Each and every homeowner receiving a refund will see a 3 percent increase, providing an additional $12.1 million in property tax relief to 500,000 Minnesota homeowners. This comes on top of the $133 million in direct property tax relief passed in 2013 for homeowners and renters.
· Renters: A one-time increase for all Renters’ Credit Refunds paid in 2014. Each and every renter receiving a refund will see a 6 percent increase, providing an additional $12.5 million in property tax relief to 350,000 Minnesota renters. This comes on top of the $133 million in direct property tax relief passed in 2013 for homeowners and renters.
In addition to property tax relief, the House tax bill includes tax relief for Minnesota small businesses. The bill provides a property tax cut for small businesses with property value less than $1.1 million by excluding all commercial and industrial property value less than $150,000 from the statewide general property tax. The bill also includes sales tax reforms that provide additional sales tax relief to small businesses.
The bill also provides tax relief to our active military members. The bill extends our active military income tax subtraction to National Guard service members in the Active Guard Reserve.