Above, Kerry Netzke of the Area II Minnesota River Basin Project came to my office, as did Pat DeWitt and Michael Deyo, below, during Physician Assistant Day on the Hill. Thanks much for taking the time to talk!
Dear Neighbor,
We received some great news from the Supreme Court earlier this week as they ruled against State Auditor Rebecca Otto, who was suing multiple counties over their ability to hire a private firm to conduct required audits rather than being forced to use her office.
The provision Otto challenged was part of the 2015 State Government Finance Bill, which received significant bipartisan support and was signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton.
Metro counties currently have the ability to contract private firms and we wanted counties throughout the state that are managed well to be able to do the exact same thing. Thankfully, we were able to be victorious in court to uphold local control when it comes to auditing practices.
Dayton budget plan would tax us all
Here’s one for the Knock Me over with a Feather File: Gov. Mark Dayton’s supplemental budget proposal would raise taxes on Minnesotans of all income levels.
The governor recently unveiled a supplemental proposal and the governor’s own Department of Revenue completed a report on how his plan would impact Minnesotans. Revenue found that under the governor's plan, Minnesotans in every income bracket – not just the rich – would be hit with a tax increase, and that households making less than $32,000 would be nicked the hardest. Overall, the Dayton proposal would make Minnesota's tax code more regressive in nature. The governor has proposed reinstating more than $1 billion in health care tax increases, repealing tax reductions enacted last session, and numerous changes reacting to tax changes at the federal level.
The picture this report from Revenue paints is far different from the sales pitch Dayton has used to try to sell his bill to the public by saying his plan focuses on Minnesota families.
The House soon will be putting out a supplemental tax bill and overall supplemental budget package of its own. The details are still coming together, but our overall supplemental budget focus is on returning the state surplus to Minnesotans in the form of tax relief, along with holding Minnesotans harmless to every extent possible as we adjust for substantial tax changes recently made at the federal level.
Have a good weekend and we’ll be back soon with more news from the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Chris