Dear Neighbor,
The legislative session is now more than a month old and committees are beginning to hear some major policy bills. Governor Mark Dayton and both of the legislative bodies have released major initiatives, including transportation and budget plans. You can read an Op-Ed I wrote about that here.
TRANSPORTATION LISTENING SESSION
Thank you to everyone who came to my town hall meetings on Saturday, January 24. I wanted to make you aware of an upcoming listening session on transportation and transit. I’ll be joined by the President of Century College, the Mayors of Mahtomedi, Maplewood and White Bear Lake, and East Metro Strong. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about possible transportation and transit development in our area. You can help shape the development by coming and sharing your thoughts with us on the various proposals.
What: Transportation and Transit Listening Session
Where: Century College, Lincoln Mall- 3300 Century Avenue North
When: Wednesday, March 11 between 6:30 and 8:00 PM
BILLS AUTHORED
The first bill I’ve authored is HF 442, which would raise Minnesota’s estate tax threshold to $5 million, bringing it in line with the federal government. While many more families would be exempted from the estate tax, it would raise the rate on those estates above the $5 million base.
I’ve also co-authored nearly 50 bills. They range from tax credits to help veterans get jobs to limiting the tax penalties when retirement funds are used to meet long-term care expenses, and from ensuring more children get vaccinated to guaranteeing that all people are paid fairly, regardless of gender.
MAPLEWOOD NATURE CENTER
While it’s not in the part of Maplewood I represent, the Maplewood Nature Center offers some great programs during the winter and spring. The Nature Center provides some great opportunities for hands on family learning. This weekend there will be a snowshoe hike where animal tracks will be identified and next weekend there will be live snakes on hand for children to learn about their role in the ecosystem. For information on those programs and other events, visit the Maplewood Nature Center.
As always, please feel free to contact me with questions, comments or concerns at (651) 296-5363 or at rep.peter.fischer@house.mn
Sincerely,
Peter