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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Bob Vogel (R)

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End of Session Update from Rep. Vogel

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Friends,
 

On Sunday we concluded the 2018 session, passing what we hoped would be a compromise tax conformity and education funding bill, a bonding bill, and a pension bill which were sent to Governor's desk for consideration. Earlier Sunday we also passed the supplemental budget bill and sent it as well.

We worked hard this session to come to a compromise agreement on a wide variety of issues to address the priorities of Minnesota families which are reflected in the bills we put on the governor's desk. The bills included emergency education funding, school safety funding, tax simplification and relief, and a host of other common-sense proposals to make Minnesota a better place to live and work.  We all knew the Governor had concerns with the bills before him, but due to his lack of dialog, it was difficult to determine how to find compromises that would work for both the legislature and him.  Since I just learned of his veto of the tax/education bill, and the supplemental spending bill, and because I have been working on this summary for the past few days, I decided I would use this same summary so you will have a summary of what was done by the legislature, and what might have been accomplished had the bills been signed.  From everything that I saw the aim as the bills were finally constructed was to recognize that not everyone in government would be happy, but if they were done in such a manner that overall they were good for the people of Minnesota, then all sides involved could leaving knowing they had done what they should.

As a member of the Pension Commission, I’m very pleased with the work that was done to pass a pension bill this session. Pensions are a legally binding contractual liability of the state, and the bond rating agencies have been increasing their scrutiny on how those liabilities are addressed relative to the overall financial condition.  The bill passed both the House and the Senate unanimously and is now awaiting a signature by Governor Dayton. From my perspective, after two consecutive years of the pension bill sustaining a veto, it was absolutely necessary to have all stakeholders come together to find common ground on something that now had become a “must have.” Although the bill is good, I plan to keep promoting a technique I brought forward to stress test, which looks to the future years using numerous scenarios, so the commission will have regular information when adjustments or changes need to be made. 

Tax conformity and education plans were part of what was considered to be a “find the middle ground” effort between legislative Republicans and Governor Dayton’s press interviews after his pronouncement that he would not sign tax conformity without additional education funding. The revised bill protects taxpayers by simplifying Minnesota's tax code relative to Federal code and provides the first personal income tax rate cut in nearly 20 years. It also makes available more than $225 million to help students and additional flexibility for school districts to address budget shortfalls.

Serving as the Vice Chair of the Ways and Means Committee I had the chance to see all the bills dealing with money.  After many hours and lengthy conversation, the supplemental budget bill was drafted and was passed with bi-partisan support.  It then went to conference committee where it was further discussed and refined, and again passed with bi-partisan support.  However, as it was being drafted the governor still was not satisfied and late in the week wrote a letter with over 100 issues he had with it.  In an effort to partner and meet him more than halfway on his concerns the House and Senate Republicans granted the governor more than 60 percent of the objections he raised by removing or amending different portions, which then became the bill that was passed off both chamber floors and now has been vetoed by the governor. The bill contained shared priorities like ensuring safe schools, repairing roads and bridges, aggressively addressing the opioid epidemic, protecting aging and vulnerable adults, and preventing a cut to caregivers of disabled Minnesotans.  Also, important to me it contained language to help in implementing the Legislative Budget Office, of which I have been chairing the workgroup toward implementation.

A top priority for House Republicans this year was improved school safety and student mental health. The bonding bill passed Sunday night brings the total school safety investment to more than $50 million—double the amount proposed by Governor Dayton.  As I understand it that bill has not yet been acted on by the Governor.

We also advanced an infrastructure-heavy, geographically balanced capital investment package featuring $825 million in general obligation bonding to fund asset preservation, maintenance, repairs, and some construction projects throughout the state. The emphasis in the bill was to keep existing infrastructure adequately maintained, as well as investments in roads and bridges, and water infrastructure. I was particularly happy to see the addition in the bonding bill of $32 million for the construction of new veteran’s homes in Bemidji, Montevideo, and Preston, as well as $10 million for the renovation of existing homes since there is a growing need to provide for those who have protected our freedoms.

Overall, I feel the bills sent to the governor build on the accomplishments from the 2017 session that included the largest tax cut in nearly two decades, the largest investment in roads and bridges in state history without a gas tax increase, major funding boosts for education, and reforms to lower health care costs and boost health care choices for Minnesota families.

Now two of the bills that were changed with the hope of being signed into enactment have been vetoed, and 2 remain (Pensions and Bonding) yet to be decided.  My hope was that after the Governor had time to read over the bills he would come to the same conclusion I have, which is that no one should expect to get everything they want, that compromise can work, and most importantly the focus should not be on those in St Paul, rather it should be on the people who support government with their tax dollars.

Please continue to stay in touch to share your thoughts and ideas on issues important to you. You can schedule a time to meet with me in my office, or in the district by calling (651) 296-7065, or as always share your thoughts via email by emailing me at rep.bob.vogel@house.mn

Have a great week,

Bob