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

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Rep. Jurgens Legislative Update

Friday, February 25, 2022

Hello from St. Paul,

 

This week, my bills that would fund reconstruction of the Hastings Veterans Home were introduced. The two bills, HF 3656 and HF 3657, are identical except in one way: one would allocate nearly $60 million in bonding proceeds to pay the construction costs, the other would use ready cash available due to the state budget surplus.

 

I’m also pleased to report that both of these bills are being co-authored by nearly every member of the House Capital Investment Committee and the Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee - Republican and Democrat - and I expect others will sign on. That doesn’t guarantee the Hastings Veterans Home will be included in the final House bonding bill proposal, but it can’t hurt.  

 

I just learned today that I have a hearing on the cash appropriation bill for the vet’s home next week. I will keep you posted.  

 

ELIMINATING STATE DEBT

Speaking of Capital Investment, I am chief authoring a bill that could save the State of Minnesota hundreds of millions of dollars by paying off and avoiding debt. As you know, Minnesota currently has a nearly $8 billion surplus. An updated budget forecast number is scheduled to be released on Monday, and most everything suggests that forecast total is actually going to increase.  

 

Generally every two years, Minnesota has a capital investment bill that borrows money at low interest rates in order to fund needed construction or repair projects of statewide significance. With this in mind, I am working on legislation that would spend $1.76 billion in available funds to pay off bonding debt, which dates all the way back to 2002.

 

Think of it as a home mortgage. Often times when a homeowner has the money to pay off the remainder of the home loan principal, they will do so in order to avoid making costly interest payments over the life of the loan. The thought being, why waste money on interest when you could be chipping away or eliminating the principal?

 

My bill follows the same logic. Minnesota spends millions of dollars just on bonding interest payments every year. By using the available surplus funds to pay off eligible debts, we could save taxpayers millions in future interest payments. To me, it’s a common-sense measure that would benefit all Minnesota taxpayers over the long term. I will keep you updated on the bill’s progress as it moves forward.

 

NO MOVEMENT ON LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER TAX INCREASE

We’ve still heard nothing from the House DFL majority about a solution to the pending tax increase that will soon be leveled on local business owners. You’ll recall many of us are trying to eliminate Minnesota’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust fund debt and prevent taxes from being increased by 15% or more on our employers. Meanwhile, House Democratic leadership appears to be moving its bill forward that would force business owners to pay higher taxes over the next six years, but they haven’t made that official either. We have 18 days to get a bill to the governor. The time for action is now.

 

OUT AND ABOUT

One of my favorite days of the year is Bus Driver Appreciation Day. Since taking office, on this day I have traveled to the Hastings Bus Company to show my appreciation and say thank you to the drivers for safely transporting our kids to and from our schools. This year was no exception. A big thank you to all of our bus drivers across our district and across our state for their commitment to our students!

 

Have a good weekend,

 

Tony