Greetings from the Capitol:
Appleton Prison:
In an effort to solve Minnesota’s prison shortage and bring hundreds of good-paying union jobs back to western Minnesota, I co-authored a piece of legislation with Rep. Tim Miller that would re-open the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton.
The bill would allow offenders to be housed in non-publicly owned facilities. It also would require the state to enter into a contract to operate and purchase, or lease to own, the Prairie Correctional Facility. This proposal has been included in the Public Safety and Security Policy and Finance Committee’s omnibus bill and is expected to be brought up for a vote in the near future.
Budget Proposal:
This week, House Republicans laid out their budget proposal for the next two years; one of the important initiative in the 2018 & 2019 budget is a substantial tax relief bill of $1.35 billion.
Some of the bill’s highlights:
- Reduces the state tax on social security income for seniors
- Provides more credits and deductions for families saving for post-secondary education using 529 Savings Plans, as well as tax credits for student loan payments
- Exempts the first $200,000 of property value from the extra tax on local businesses and freezes the automatic inflator
- Reduces the burden agriculture land owners pay for school bond referendums
- Conforms the state death tax to the federal exclusion
This bill is currently working its way through the committee process and will be heading to the floor of the House for a vote of the entire body in the near future.
On Tuesday Dennis Feuchtenberger, Matt Solemsaas and Dave Lonergan from Stevens County SWCD and Jessica Oldakowski and Holly Kovarik from Pope County SWCD visited with me at the Capitol.
I also met with Beau Peterson and Ron Reisdorph from Big Stone County SWCD and Kim Melton, Don Bajumpaa, and Ross Aigner from Wilkin County SWCD.
Staying in Touch:
Please be sure to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding any issue related to state government. I can be reached by phone at either 651-296-4929, 701-361-1909, or via email at rep.jeff.backer@house.mn.
Have a great weekend,
