Dear Neighbor,
The Legislature provided final approval on a number of omnibus finance bills this week and soon should have a complete set of bills for our next two-year budget on the governor’s desk.
Taxes and transportation bills are a couple that are making headlines but, before we get to those, I would like to touch on the ag bill. It is very disappointing that the governor is playing politics with the ag bill, which typically is the least controversial of all finance packages.
First, the governor’s administration changed its position on a number of issues just two days after fellow ag chairman Rod Hamilton and I met with his staff and seemingly had agreement close in hand.
Then, a quote from the governor’s office was issued this week indicating language in the ag bill would “give a free license on pesticide overuse.” That comment is offensive to farmers on many levels and paints them as bad stewards of land. It also is factually incorrect because farmers still would be required to follow product application directions to comply with the law.
The bill we approved this week does not change anything in that regard. All that provision does is maintain the status quo instead of following the governor’s cumbersome, impractical executive order indicating farmers need to provide a verification of need before applying pesticides.
As for other bills, the Minnesota House on Wednesday approved the conference committee report of a tax bill providing $1.15 billion in relief over the next two years, including a $218 million reduction on the state tax on Social Security income.
The tax relief we have approved is long overdue and it is the right thing to do in light of our state’s $1.65 billion surplus. The bill we approved would mean a great deal to seniors by reducing their Social Security taxes, but it also would help farmers, small businesses, college students and others. This bill is just one component in assembling a new two-year state budget and I hope the governor understands how important tax relief is to Minnesotans so we can get it signed into law.
The transportation bill we passed would invest $5.5 billion over the next 10 years in the state’s transportation needs without raising taxes. The plan includes $2 billion for roads and bridges in the next two years. It uses transportation-related state tax revenues to invest $372 million in new dollars for roads and bridges.
On a final note, I am among a growing bipartisan coalition of legislators, agriculture, and other stakeholders urging the governor compromise on changes to the state buffer law set to go into effect later this year. To date, Dayton has flatly refused to even discuss changes.
I have been saying for months that serious concerns about several aspects of this buffer legislation need to be resolved before reasonable enforcement can begin. All we are asking is for the governor to take a step back from his rigid stance on this so we can work with landowners and others to reach a sensible compromise and a smoother resolution to this issue.
Look for more as we make our way into the final full week of the 2017 session.
Sincerely,
Paul