Dear Neighbors,
Things are moving along at the Capitol as we wait for the February budget forecast that the legislature will use to set the budget for the 2016-17 biennium, the two year period beginning July 1, 2015. The governor proposed his budget based on the November forecast, and committees have been delving into the details of his proposals. He will propose a “supplemental” budget when we get the February forecast. In the meantime, bills are being introduced and a few have had hearings in the House.
Tax Proposals
While many committees have been reviewing the Governor’s proposed budget, our GOP-led House Tax Committee has been touting the benefit of more tax loopholes for special interests. House File One doesn’t lower taxes for middle class families. Rather, it lowers taxes for companies that are held by single individuals.
The Tax Committee also heard a series of bills that would increase the amount of money an estate can pass on without paying estate tax. Today, no one pays estate taxes to Minnesota on the first $1.4 million. That will increase to $2 million in 2018. (Assets that pass to your surviving spouse are exempt, and there are also special exclusions and benefits for homestead farmland and qualifying small business properties.) Only 1.26% of Minnesota estates are worth $2 million, and some of the GOP bills would increase the inheritance tax exemption up to $5.43 million. This would benefit only 700 estates and cost about $100 million.
One tax proposal we heard in the Health and Human Services (HHS) Reform Committee is Rep. Greg Davids’ proposal to have Minnesota refund the 2% sales tax that Minnesota medical device manufacturers pay the federal government on devices they sell. If this proposal is serious—and not just another jab at the Affordable Care Act—it would cost Minnesota about $7.5 billion over ten years. The non-partisan Congressional Research Service says that about 75% of the tax is paid by companies with assets over $500 million. In other words, this would be a tax break for huge corporations at enormous expense to Minnesota. The analysis also shows that the job loss effect on these companies is negligible: http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43342.pdf
Transportation Proposals
Transportation infrastructure is very expensive, but we all depend on it. It costs about $1.25 million to reconstruct a single mile of a two lane road in a rural area. Even if we put off reconstruction, it still costs between $150,000 and $370,000 per mile to redo the road surface. Even if you don’t own a car, you use goods that arrive on trucks that use our roads. And even if you never take a bus, some employees of the businesses who serve you probably do.
For as long as I can remember, Minnesota has paid for roads with fees from people who use them – gas taxes, registration fees, charges to trucking and the like. Some of it is also paid for through the sale of bonds—which are paid back over time with interest. This year the GOP wants to take money out of the State’s general fund to pay for roads and bridges. That would put roads and bridge funding in direct competition with K-12 Schools, Minnesota’s public colleges and universities, funding for the elderly and disabled, and many other important things that the state funds.
What deserves funding? We hear lots of ideas
The Health and Human Services (HHS) Finance Committee spent four hours this week listening to individuals and organizations give 2-3 minute presentations on their reactions to the Governor’s HHS budget proposal. Many of the people who come to testify are lobbyists, but some are ordinary Minnesotans who want legislators to know how our decisions impact their lives.
The Governor’s HHS budget is contained in a very large bill, which I am sponsoring in the House. Overall, the bill proposes to increase general fund spending on Health and Human Services by $118 million. It includes proposals to further strengthen our mental health system, reduces the waiting list for subsidized childcare assistance, improves access to dental care for low-income children, and many other provisions. Notably absent from the proposal are rate increases for nursing homes and other caregivers. The DFL legislature increased these rates over the last two years, but after many years of neglect the workers who care for people who are elderly or disabled and on public programs are still underpaid. Republicans have introduced bills that would spend hundreds of millions of dollars on nursing homes and other elderly/disabled care.
Sunday Sales
It’s 2015 and you can’t buy liquor from a store or a motor vehicle from a dealer on Sunday. The ban on car sales is especially notable because violations can lead to jail time. There’s plenty of interest in repealing the liquor sales ban and several bills would do that. I introduced a bill that repeals both bans, and the Minnesota Auto Dealers Association is going crazy over it.
Auto dealers and their employees seem to believe that if any dealer was allowed to open on Sunday it would destroy their business and their way of life. I’ve rarely seen a group more organized and ready to bombard a legislator with letters and calls. I’ve really touched a nerve. Why do I want to make them work on Sunday? Why do I want them to work seven days a week? My bill simply leaves the days of being open to the discretion of the business owner. It shouldn't be a crime to be open on Sunday.
No matter the issue, I love to hear from my constituents. Please send your questions, comments, or concerns to Rep.Tina.Liebling@house.mn or call me at 651-296-0573.
Warmly,
Tina