Friends,
When I returned to the Capitol this January to serve as your state representative, I made a commitment to you and your family to rein in the out-of-control spending and give Minnesotans real tax relief. As we wrap up a long week of debate over our budget bills, I’m proud of the work we have done to deliver on that promise while continuing to invest in Minnesota’s future. Among the major budget bills passed this week, we have passed our education bill, our health and human services bill, and perhaps most important to you and your family, our tax bill.
Improving Education for Minnesota Kids
Last week we passed our education budget bill, a $1 billion increase in E-12 education funding over last biennium. We are making your children’s education a top priority. Along with ensuring school districts are properly funded, our bill gives schools greater flexibility to manage their budgets and improve their classrooms, empowers teachers by ensuring that more teaching and less unnecessary testing occurs, and prioritizes early childhood learning for under-served kids.
Restoring Minnesota’s Health Care System
Our Health and Human Services budget protects the quality of life for our aging adults by increasing investments in long-term care services. By retaining and attracting top-quality staff and improving our care facilities, we are fulfilling our responsibility to care for aging adults and the most vulnerable among us. Also included in our HHS bill is an audit of MinnesotaCare recipients to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse. This is necessary for us to be able to care for our most vulnerable Minnesotans, ensuring that only those who are truly in need continue to receive assistance.
Tax Relief for Middle Class Families
Many of you have reached out to me to share your stories of overtaxation and to ask for relief. Our tax bill, passed on Wednesday, includes $2 billion of tax relief over the next biennium, much of which goes directly to middle-class families. Our expansion of the education tax deduction ensures that Minnesota families with school-aged children keep more of their hard-earned income, and additional tax cuts will provide more than $500 in savings for an average family over the next biennium. Additionally, college students will receive relief on their student loan debt through a newly established tax credit for principal and interest payments on their loans. Our tax bill gives you and your family much needed relief.
As my colleagues enter the conference committee process to deliberate these and other budget bills with the Senate and the Governor, please continue to stay in touch to share your thoughts. You can reach me via phone at (651) 296-5813 or via email at rep.peggy.scott@house.mn.
Have a great weekend,
Rep. Peggy Scott