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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Jeff Backer (R)

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Legislative Update from Rep. Jeff Backer

Friday, May 4, 2018

Dear Neighbors,

It was a busy week in St. Paul as the House approved its remaining supplemental omnibus finance bills. In total, we approved supplemental spending and policy bills for nine different committees’ jurisdictions. As is always the case, our bills strive to represent the values and priorities that matter most to Minnesotans.

Here is a brief recap of a few of these bills.

On Monday, the House approved its federal tax conformity plan on a bipartisan vote of 90-38. As detailed in last week’s update, our tax plan seeks to conform to changes in the federal tax code while simplifying and lowering taxes for Minnesotans.

Thanks to our bill, 2.1 million Minnesotans will see lower taxes. The centerpiece of our proposal is a cut to the second tier income tax rate from 7.05% to 6.75% by tax year 2020.

The Senate released their tax proposal this week. Governor Dayton has also released a plan. With only three weeks to go until adjournment, this is sure to be a very important piece of the puzzle for end-of-session negotiations.

On Tuesday, the House approved omnibus supplemental finance and policy bills for transportation, health and human services, and public safety.

The transportation bill utilizes surplus funds leveraged with trunk highway bonds to spend $385 million on transportation needs this year. Included in the funding is $25 million for county roads, $6.6 million for city roads, $2 million for township roads, and $7 million for Small Cities Assistance Program for cities under 5,000—all without raising the gas tax.

On Wednesday, the House approved omnibus bills related to jobs and energy affordability, state government finance, agriculture, and environment and natural resources.

I am proud to have authored two provisions that were included in the agriculture bill.

The first allocates funding for mental health counseling specifically tailored to farm families and other rural professionals. The second requires nitrogen fertilizer rules proposed by MDA to have legislative approval.

Other highlights from the bill include $35 million in bonding dollars for farmer loans through Rural Finance Authority.

Staying Connected

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I met with Kathy Draeger this week to discuss funding for the University of Minnesota

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John and Lila Salls stopped in this week to discuss Minnesota water protections

If you have any questions about the other omnibus bills we passed this week, please do not hesitate to reach out to me, I’d love to connect with you. I can be reached by phone at 701-361-1909 or 651-296-4929. I can also be reached via email at rep. jeff.backer@house.mn.

Have a great weekend,

Jeff