St. Paul, MN— House Republicans concluded the 2018 session on Sunday, passing a compromise tax conformity and education funding bill, a bonding bill, and a pension bill to the governor's desk for consideration. Earlier Sunday, the House passed the supplemental budget bill to the governor's desk.
“The last two sessions have been some of the most productive in recent memory as we delivered on meaningful, middle-class tax relief, invested in our students and schools, prioritized our roads and bridges, tackled our state’s MNsure mess, and advocated for policies that benefit rural Minnesota,” said Rep. Dan Fabian, R-Roseau. “We championed the shared priorities of Minnesotans in the bills we put on the governor’s desk this session, and it’s my hope he’ll sign them into law.”
The tax conformity and education plan were part of a compromise effort between legislative Republicans and Governor Dayton. The federal conformity plan protects taxpayers, simplifies Minnesota's tax code, and provides the first income tax rate cut in nearly 20 years. It also makes available more than $225 million to help students—nearly $100 million more than what the governor requested, provides new money and additional flexibility for school districts to address budget shortfalls.
In the supplemental budget bill, House and Senate Republicans compromised with the governor—more than 60 percent of the objections raised by the governor were removed or amended, meeting him more than halfway. The bill contains shared priorities like ensuring safe schools, repairing roads and bridges, tackling the opioid epidemic, protecting aging and vulnerable adults, and preventing a cut to caregivers of disabled Minnesotans.
“We invested in our communities and our citizens, championing critical local infrastructure needs, tax relief, and policies that benefit families, farmers, students and taxpayers,” added Rep. Deb Kiel, R-Crookston. “I also worked diligently to address the maltreatment and abuse of our vulnerable adults and seniors, and we passed several critical, bipartisan reforms this session. I think a lot of great things were accomplished for the people and priorities of Northwest Minnesota.”
A top priority for House Republicans this year was improved school safety and student mental health. The bonding bill passed Sunday night brings the total school safety investment to more than $50 million—double the amount proposed by Governor Dayton
House Republicans also advanced an infrastructure-heavy, geographically balanced capital investment package featuring $825 million in general obligation bonding to fund construction projects throughout the state. The majority of funding is dedicated to brick-and-mortar projects, such as roads and bridges, water infrastructure and statewide asset preservation. It includes funding for North Country Food Bank, the University of Minnesota-Crookston, flood mitigation in Thief River Falls, and clean water projects for communities like Climax who are updating their clean water systems. In addition, the bonding bill includes $32 million for the construction of new veterans homes in Bemidji, Montevideo, and Preston, as well as $10 million for the renovation of existing homes.
The bills sent to the governor build on the tremendously successful accomplishments from the 2017 session that included the largest tax cut in nearly two decades, the largest investment in roads and bridges in state history without a gas tax increase, major funding boosts for education, and reforms to lower health care costs and boost health care choices for Minnesota families.
The compromise proposals await action by Governor Dayton in the coming days.