Greetings,
The annual “St. Cloud Day at the Capitol” event took place in St. Paul on Wednesday. It was great to talk and meet with so many people from central Minnesota and hear about the issues that are impacting them. Thanks for taking the time to visit!
GOVERNOR SIGNS BLACKOUT BILL INTO LAW
This week's Number 1 inquiry in my office was concern about the “blackout bill,” which Governor Walz has now signed into law. This will force Minnesota’s electric utilities to generate or acquire 100 percent carbon-free energy in the next 17 years and require only renewable sources such as solar and wind energies to be utilized.
Residents are concerned that eliminating reliable energy sources in our state, such as coal and natural gas, will lead to rolling blackouts. They are right to be worried as California, which is a significantly warmer state than Minnesota, has a similar law and has frequent blackouts. Sadly, this new law will force you to pay more each year for your energy and create a statewide power grid system that is unreliable.
GOVERNOR’S BUDGET WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY RAISE CAR TAB FEES
Recently, Governor Walz unveiled his budget priorities for the next two years, and even though Minnesota is sitting on a nearly $18 billion budget surplus, the governor wants to massively increase statewide taxes and fees. This includes a major increase on motor vehicle tabs.
A recent news report found that under the Walz plan, a new car's registration cost would be determined based on 160% of the manufacturer's suggested retail price instead of 100%. That means if you bought a $40,000 vehicle, you’d pay about $308 more in tab fees in year one. If you buy a used car that was originally a $40,000 vehicle, you would pay $51 more per year.
PERMANENTLY REDUCING THE PROVIDER TAX
Did you know that every time you see your doctor you are forced to pay a tax? The provider tax – or as many of us call it, the sick tax – is a regressive tax the State of Minnesota imposes on every doctor’s visit.
Due to our budget surplus the rate of that tax has been lowered, but it’s only temporary. A bill being offered by House Republicans states that this lowered rate would become the new ceiling rate, and if Minnesota continues to have budget surpluses the provider tax rate will continue to be reduced.
While I’d rather eliminate the tax altogether, the House majority won’t consider that. The next best thing is to try and permanently reduce the rate and allow sick Minnesotans to keep more of their money.
KEEP IN TOUCH
As always, I'm continuing to support constituent needs. Feel free to contact me anytime at rep.tim.odriscoll@house.mn or by phone at 651-296-7808.
Have a good weekend,
Tim