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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Tony Jurgens (R)

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Rep. Jurgens Legislative Update

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Hello from St. Paul,

 

A panel of five state judges has released its redistricting plan for the Minnesota Legislature, which was necessary due to population changes from the 2020 census. 

 

The good news for Hastings is that the city itself was not split into two legislative districts. The same cannot be said for Cottage Grove, as three state representatives will represent the city beginning in January.

 

Much of the current House District 54B will become the new House District 41B. To compare the two, the future district will contain all of Hastings and more of Cottage Grove but will no longer include Afton. Nininger Township and much of Denmark Township are also included.

 

The Legislature and Governor were unable to work out a redistricting agreement, so a panel of judges was assigned to create a plan. The Minnesota Constitution requires redistricting every decade after each census. 

 

The new legislative district boundaries will take effect in January.

 

HASTINGS VETERANS HOME

This week I traveled to the Hastings Veterans home to meet with staff from the facility as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs to see firsthand the problems the facility is facing with 100-year old structures. As stated last week, I’m working on a plan that would allocate state bonding proceeds to construct new buildings on campus, and I will unveil more of these details in the weeks ahead.

 

LOCAL BUSINESS TAX RELIEF BILL MOVES FORWARD IN SENATE

This week, the Minnesota Senate, on a strong bipartisan basis, approved legislation that would eliminate Minnesota’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust fund debt and prevent taxes from being increased by 15% or more on local businesses. Meanwhile, House Democratic leadership hasn’t budged, and appears to be moving its bill forward that would force business owners to pay higher taxes over the next six years. 

 

We have a March 15th deadline before this tax increase takes effect. Will House Democratic leadership come to its senses and utilize some of the nearly $8 billion surplus to eliminate this problem rather than financially punish our employers? Stay tuned. 

 

OUT AND ABOUT

Biker Day at the Capitol took place this week and I was happy to welcome members of the St. Croix Valley Riders Motorcyclist Rights Organization and other motorcycle groups to the Capitol. 

 

The number of bikers was way down this year because of the mask mandate and because the State Office Building is closed to the public, but I was happy to visit with motorcycle riders from around the state who made the effort to be there. 

 

Have a good weekend,

 

Tony