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Dear Neighbor,
Another busy week is coming to a close as we come up on two-thirds of the way through the 2021 session.
Budget talks are just starting to pick up, now that proposals from the governor and the House and Senate majorities all have been issued. The House majority was the latest to put out its plan and, while the $52.5 billion is the largest price tag of the three blueprints, we are still waiting for the details on the tax components.
Unfortunately, we did learn House Democrats do not plan to take prompt action on tax issues that need to be corrected as soon as possible. The House chair on taxes confirmed the majority plans to offer only one tax bill, which means Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Unemployment Insurance (UI) relief will have to wait until the end of the session to be addressed.
A bipartisan PPP relief bill recently passed the Senate with a veto-proof 55-12 vote. You have to wonder about the logic of the House holding back such bipartisan legislation and subjecting it to the negotiating process instead of just doing the right thing by passing it now.
Business owners are pleading with the House to pass this legislation now to spare them added headaches and expenses incurred by delays, but it appears that will not be the case. So, for now, Minnesota remains the only state in the Upper Midwest that has not eliminated state taxes on these forgivable federal emergency loans that were issued to help businesses keep people on the payroll.
In other news, the House did pass a bill this week with $104.5 million to provide additional summer programming to help students make up for learning loss during the coronavirus pandemic.
While this bill provides help for schools, it seems we could have done even better for our children by distributing funding directly to local districts. In the approved bill, only 27 percent of the funds goes toward summer programs for K-12 students to address learning loss, and only 36 percent goes directly to schools. Overall, this plan gives $1 million to the Department of Education, and millions more to grants to be distributed by MDE.
Furthermore, significant portions of the funding in this bill have no in-person requirement, which goes against the intent of funding summer school programming to help our students catch up after a year of distance learning.
House Republicans offered an amendment that would have distributed funding on a per-pupil aid based on enrollment, rather than through grants to districts and charters distributed by the Department of Education, as is prescribed in the bill. This would have resulted in a much larger share of these dollars reaching students, as should be the case. Also, if we're trying to help kids get caught up after a year of distance learning, then it stands to reason kids need to be in the classroom.
As for committee work, the ag committee this week heard a bill to legalize marijuana. It passed along party lines and I am not in favor of this proposal. The social costs of legalizing marijuana, to me, outweigh the purported tax revenue it may generate.
Have a good weekend and I will keep you in the loop as we head into the final stretch of the session. Next week, the House will be on break observing the Easter/Passover holiday. When we return to business in St. Paul, just six weeks will remain before adjournment.
Sincerely,
Paul
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