Dear Friends,
We're entering the home stretch of the 2014 session. We have just ten days left before the legislature must complete its business and officially adjourn. In the final ten days, the legislature still has to pass a bonding bill, a supplemental spending bill, and a second tax cut bill.
As legislative leaders work out the details on all three, I will be sure to keep you posted once the final versions come to the House floor to be voted on. Here's a quick summary of those three major items still remaining.
Bonding bill: The bonding bill requires bipartisan support, and Republicans have been working with Democrat leaders to ensure a responsibly-sized bonding bill that prioritizes critical needs versus things that might be "nice to have." Two projects important to our area are the Champlin Mill Pond Dam, as well as funding to add an extra lane for Highway 10. I have worked hard to secure bipartisan support for both, and hope to see both included in the final version.
Supplemental spending bill: Rather than passing dozens of smaller spending bills to fund various projects and programs here and there, the majority has rolled all of the spending bills into one 440+ page supplemental spending bill. Included in the spending bill are good projects like funding for the 5% Campaign, a bipartisan effort to provide a rate increase to workers who care for some of Minnesota's most vulnerable citizens. Unfortunately this bill spends far too much money in this biennium and the next, cutting our projected deficit in 2016-2017 significantly and putting Minnesota at risk for a future budget deficit if the economy slows down.
Second tax cut bill: The first tax bill was more of a tax correction bill, repealing the three business-to-business taxes and conforming Minnesota's tax code to the federal code to restore important tax breaks. The second tax bill, which passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support is targeted toward tax relief, particularly in Greater Minnesota where farmers have seen skyrocketing property taxes due to increased farm land value.
Town Hall Meeting
District 36 Senator John Hoffman and I will be hosting a town hall meeting on Saturday June 07th at Champlin City Hall from 8AM-10AM. We will provide an update on the work done in 2014, and take your questions and listen to your feedback and comments.
Details:
DATE: Saturday, June 07
TIME: 8AM-10AM
LOCATION:
Champlin City Hall
11955 Champlin Drive
Champlin, MN 55316
If you're unable to make it, as always, don't hesitate to call or email me. My door is always open and I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions.
Have a great weekend,
Mark Uglem
State Representative, District 36A