Dear neighbor,
As you know, I’ve authored a bill to repeal the three business-to-business taxes that were passed by the Democrat majority during the 2013 Legislative Session. Recently, both KSTP and Politics in Minnesota covered my testimony about the devastating effects of the warehousing tax. I’m happy to report that repeal of all three of those taxes moved out of the House Taxes Committee and to the Ways and Means Committee – the last stop before legislation comes to the floor of the House. Time is truly of the essence to repeal these damaging taxes to our manufacturing industry which employs one out of seven in Minnesota, to our warehousing sector who have lost a substantial percentage of their clients already, to our farmers whose profits margins are so slim already and to our rural area that want and need broadband.
Last week at the first House Transportation Finance Committee meeting, we heard an update on the Corridors of Commerce, including I-94 expansion. Steve Bot, I-94 Coalition Co-Chair, wrote the following in an email to Coalition members:
"Wednesday, during a Corridors of Commerce update before the House Transportation Finance Committee, it was great to hear Chair Frank Hornstein specifically mention 94 during his introduction as well as to have our great 94 supporter, Representative Marion O’Neill express both her continued support/push for 94 improvements as well as our shared frustration with the long Met Council approval process.
Thanks for your continued help and support for 94!"
On Monday evening, the House-Senate conference committee on an increase of the minimum wage met. Reportedly, an agreement has been struck to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 per hour. However, not all details have been worked out yet. Job providers have repeatedly testified that imposing an increase to the minimum wage will lead to layoffs, fewer working hours for those who need jobs the most and increased prices for consumers.
This week the House is scheduled to take up federal tax conformity. In 2013, the Democrat majority and Governor Dayton made a new $90 million Senate Office Building a priority over federal conformity, while increasing taxes by $2.1 billion and spending by $4 billion. I’m hoping we can get tax conformity done soon so Minnesota families can qualify for important tax deductions.
On Friday, I’m scheduled to take a tour of the MNDOT road testing and research facility in Albertville to get an update of the latest road surface research results.
As always, you can contact me by e-mail at Rep.Marion.ONeill@House.MN or contact my office at 651-296-5063. You can also write a letter to me. My office address at the Capitol is 229 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55155.
Sincerely,
Marion