Dear Neighbor,
Here is an update from your Capitol and community.
Tax Conformity
On Saturday, the House Tax Committee unveiled their plan for tax conformity. With sweeping changes to tax policy at the federal level, conforming Minnesota’s tax code to federal tax code is far more complicated than in past years, but it also provides us with a significant opportunity to simplify our tax code and return more to taxpayers.
In total, our conformity proposal will mean more than 2.1 million filers will see a tax cut in tax year 2018. Highlights include:
- Helping Minnesotans keep more of what they earn by cutting the second tier income tax rate from 7.05% to 6.75% by tax year 2020. This would mark the first income tax rate reduction in Minnesota since 2000.
- Lowering taxes for people at all income levels by increasing the standard deduction from $13,000 to $14,000.
- Protecting families by preserving a state personal and dependent exemption of $4,150.
- Encouraging affordable homeownership by allowing a state-itemized deduction of up to $30,000 in property taxes.
- Supporting hometown businesses by reinvesting extra revenue from corporate tax changes into Section 179 conformity and overall rate reductions.
Getting tax conformity done this session will also ensure there are not undue complications when Minnesotans go to file their taxes next spring. I will keep you updated as this proposal moves forward.
School Safety and Education
On Thursday, the House passed bipartisan legislation that puts our kids first—funding school security improvements, addressing student mental health, increasing transparency in school finance and performance reporting, and advancing innovative solutions for education and higher education in our state.
First, the school safety and student mental health portion of the bill gives our districts the resources and flexibility they need to address student safety and security. It includes a number of measures like expanding the use of long-term facilities maintenance revenue for facility security upgrades, strengthening the state’s commitment to school-linked mental health grants, and increasing funding for Safe Schools Revenue. It also includes a provision I championed to support suicide prevention training for teachers. In all, our plan allows for everything from hiring more school counselors or school resource officers to making critical building security upgrades.
In addition, the bill also includes a number of other important provisions. It strengthens and clarifies state law to address teacher misconduct and licensure, strengthens laws that protect kids from school lunch shaming, and supports cybersecurity programs at our higher education institutions.
To bring more transparency to education, this bill requires the Minnesota Department of Education to create a School Report Card —a one-stop-spot for summative and easily accessible school and district ratings that will provide families with a place to research, compare and help determine which school will work best for their child. To ensure education dollars are being properly allocated within districts and reaching the students intended, we are also doubling the number of school audits each year.
It is a privilege to work for our students and schools. We made significant education investments last session, and this year we are following that up with additional reforms to improve academic outcomes and school safety measures to help keep our kids safe.
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
This Saturday, April 28th is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which encourages people to safely dispose of unused pharmaceuticals including opioids. From 10 AM to 2 PM, you can drop off medication at a number of locations in the metro area.
Opioid addiction is a serious issue, and something we’re working on at the Capitol this year. You can learn more about National Take Back Day here.
At the Capitol and Around the Community
I really enjoyed meeting with this great group of kids that came to visit from the Blake School!
I appreciated the opportunity to speak with the House High School Pages last week. Every time I speak with them, I always come away so impressed with their questions and passion for good government!
Great panel at the HP4HC event to talk about Minnesota’s climate and health
A special thank you to Pastor John Crosby from Christ Presbyterian for giving the invocation before session.
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Please know my office is available to you should you need assistance on a matter of state government. I welcome you to contact my office at any time to share your thoughts, concerns and ideas about what you would like to see happen at the Capitol. Your input is invaluable and helps me better represent the voices and priorities of our community. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-4363 or by email at Rep.Dario.Anselmo@House.mn.
Sincerely,
Dario
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