Greetings,
After spending the first part of this session going over procedures and conducting informational hearings to get new members up to speed, the committee process is getting revved up in the House.
This coming Tuesday we will begin hearing bills in the Tax Committee on which I serve. Tax conformity is one of the subjects I anticipate discussing as we look to get our state in line with sweeping federal changes that were enacted about a year ago.
The House and Senate passed a “conformity” tax bill last year that would have lowered state income taxes and simplified tax returns. Unfortunately, this was vetoed by Gov. Dayton. His disappointing actions mean we are not in line with significant federal changes and likely will cause higher taxes for many of us this year.
By blocking tax conformity, Dayton also is presenting additional challenges when filing our returns. We need to address this situation asap this session and I hope we can include provisions making conformity retroactive. I will keep you posted as things develop.
Tuesday’s March for Life rally drew a huge crowd to the Capitol.
This has been a big week for citizens coming to the Capitol. A March for Life rally took place Tuesday and Second Amendment supporters visited today. I support both causes and it was good to see people assemble to voice their advocacy.
House members return to their districts most weekends during the session, a time we can meet with local officials and citizens back at home. I enjoy this opportunity to hear directly from so many people I represent. It helps keep me in touch with what our friends and neighbors think about the issues. As always, your input is welcome. If I don’t see you out and about in 29A, feel free to call or email me using the contact information in this email. Also, if there's an upcoming public event you would like me to help spread the word about, please send me an email with the details so I can try to share them in a constituent email.
Until next time, do your best to stay warm during this cold snap.
Regards,
Joe