Greetings,
Well, the bills that will make up our state’s next two-year budget are on the governor’s desk following a brief special session and the Legislature has adjourned for the year.
As my father used to say, if you have a weak stomach watch neither sausage nor laws being made. It’s not an easy process and there are a lot of moving parts and opinions, but in the end we got it done.
And, did we ever!
People asked us to provide robust tax relief this year and I am proud we delivered, to the tune of $650 million.
Of course I would have liked to have provided even more relief but, in a divided government with a Democrat governor, we still managed to pass the largest tax-reduction bill in nearly two decades. This will go a great distance toward lessening the burden for middle-class families, seniors, farmers, small businesses, college students and others.
People also asked us to provide more money for roads and bridges and we delivered, with $300 million more for transportation over the next two years alone and billions more for transportation over the next decade. This is the largest investment in road and bridge infrastructure in state history and it does not include an increase in the gas tax or license tab fees.
Those of us in District 29A also can celebrate the increased funding we are providing for roads and bridges. We all know Highway 12 needs major improvements and the $300 million increase in funding we provided for the next two years alone will help get things going.
In all, the Legislature sent 10 budget bills, a bonding bill and a labor standards bill to the governor’s desk for his signature. I urge him to sign them into law quickly.
I will circle back with more information on other areas of the budget in upcoming emails. The overall budget package includes many benefits for folks in Greater Minnesota and we can take a closer look at some of those provisions.
For now, it will be nice to be back in our district to spend more time with friends and family. I hope you have a nice Memorial Day weekend and please take the time to share with younger generations the legacy of our soldiers who have given so much in the name of liberty.
God bless,
Joe