Greetings,
This week marks the final deadline for all bills to clear their final finance committees and no doubt was the busiest thus far in the session.
Transportation Funding Round One
The Minnesota House of Representatives and Senate unanimously passed a bill for the first round of transportation funding, which now on its way to Gov. Dayton for his consideration.
As you will recall, a large transportation funding bill died in the Minnesota Senate at the end of the 2016 session given a last minute amendment that was placed on the bill to fund Twin Cities area light rail projects.
The legislature took action this week to pass this $105 million bill to make funding available for 2017 road and bridge construction projects.
2017 Minnesota House Tax Bill
The House passed, on a bipartisan 80-52 vote, tax relief, which includes a number of tax relief provisions for middle income Minnesotans and hometown businesses.
Highlights of the bill include:
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Relief for senior citizens by increasing the limit at which Social Security benefits are taxable. Under this provision, 284,000 senior citizen tax returns (single and married filing jointly) would be eligible to receive a tax exemption on their social security benefits with an average tax reduction of $710.
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Relief for college students through a first-in-the-nation tax credit for student loan payments. 77,500 students would benefit, seeing an average a $640 tax reduction.
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Relief for farmers by reducing the burden farmers and agriculture land owners pay for school bond referendums. Approximately 240,000 farmers could receive property tax relief to reduce their disproportionate share of school district debt service. Farmers will also benefit from a measure conforming the state death tax to the federal exclusion.
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Relief for working families by modifying the child and dependent care credit. A family of four earning $50,000 a year will receive an additional $1,200 toward their childcare expenses as part of this bill.
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Relief for every hometown business by exempting the first $200,000 in property value from the extra tax on businesses and freezing its automatic inflator. This helps every business owner reinvest, protecting 30,000 Minnesota jobs.
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$100 million in direct property tax relief for homeowners and renters.
The Senate is expected to pass its tax relief proposal in the coming weeks. Once both bills are passed, a conference committee is expected to reconcile differences before a final tax relief bill is re-passed by the House and Senate and sent to Governor Dayton.
Reinsurance and Improving Health Insurance Premiums in Minnesota
The Minnesota legislature continues efforts to improve the health insurance market in our state. This week a compromise proposal on reinsurance, which mitigates the impact of high-risk individuals on the individual health insurance market, was sent to Governor Dayton. We still have more work to do, but this is just another step towards stabilization. We’re also keeping a close eye on what happens in Washington with Obamacare, as any changes Congress makes will inevitably impact Minnesota as well.
Real ID Moving in Senate
Good news from the Minnesota Senate as it approved Real ID legislation on Thursday. You’ll recall that in 2018, Minnesotans will need to obtain Real ID compliant identification in order for travelers to board an airplane. A conference committee will likely be called soon in order to create a compromise bill that can be approved in both the House and Senate.
Constituent Visits:
Connor Kockler, a frequent guest writer at the Newsleaders, participated this week in the high school page program. Connor is a junior at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School. While in St Paul, pages learn more about how state government works and also assist in preparing for committee work and floor sessions.
If you’d like to learn more about the high school page program, click here.
Staff from the Good Shepherd Nursing Home also visited the Capitol this week to discuss nursing home funding issues. Pictured with me are Bruce Glanzer - Good Shepherd Community CEO/President, Tomi Fyle - Program Director at the Memory Cottages, and Barb Rebischke - VP of Outreach Services.
Fun Fact of the Week:
On this day in 1889, the Eiffel Tower in Paris was opened. The tower’s architect, Gustave Eiffel, was in attendance, along with the French Prime Minister: Pierre Tirard and other government officials, as well as hundreds of construction workers who helped build this iconic structure.
If you know of anyone who would like to receive future email updates, forward this email to them and have them sign up here. Also, if you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding any issue related to state government, please feel free to contact me at either 651-296-7808 or rep.tim.odriscoll@house.mn.
Sincerely,
