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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Dale Lueck (R)

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Legislative update

Friday, March 4, 2022
Tomassoni pic

Dear Neighbor,

We recently paused to honor Senator David Tomassoni, I-Chisholm, and to lend a hand in the fight to cure amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Senator Tomassoni, a friend and colleague, is waging a heroic battle against this disease. Typical of David’s indomitable spirit he remains fully engaged in pushing forward the medical research needed to find a cure for ALS.

The Iron Range Delegation, of which David is the senior member, along with supporters from all corners of the political spectrum, gathered at the Carpenters Union Hall in Saint Paul to thank Senator Tomassoni for authoring SF/3372/HF3603 and SF3310/HF3604.

The bills establish a robust framework for ALS related support services and medical research. The legislation seeks to dedicate $35 million across a broad array of advanced ALS-related medical research.

Despite battling serious health concerns, Senator Tomassoni continues to work hard representing the constituents of Senate District 6, as well as all Minnesotans.

Never Surrender is a local group based out of Herman Town that is doing a super job of helping in the fight to overcome ALS. Please check them out at this link: https://www.neversurrenderinc.org/site/TR?fr_id=1100&pg=entry

On other news, Minnesota Management & Budget recently issued the February economic forecast. The projected budget surplus grew to $9.3 billion. Since last fall, Minnesota has collected an additional $1.5 billion of tax revenue over and above authorized spending.

Now is the time to correct this chronic over-taxation. Minnesota’s lowest state income tax rate is higher than the top income tax rates in 17 states.

We are rapidly approaching March 15th, when Minnesota businesses will be hit with a massive unemployment insurance tax increase if House Democrats continues to delay paying back the federal loan and replenishing the state’s depleted unemployment insurance (UI) trust fund.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed a comprehensive UI fix two weeks ago. Gov. Walz, House Republicans, Senate Republicans, and Senate Democrats support that effort. The majority party in the House has possession of the bill but they continue to drag this out.

This is reckless behavior on the part of my colleagues across the aisle. There is no rationale reason to hold up the UI fix. We are experiencing soaring inflation across our entire economy. We should not add to the current level of inflation by unnecessarily increasing the cost for businesses to employ our people.

Sincerely,

Dale