Dear Friends,
We received some good news this week on the state budget. The November budget forecast was released yesterday by the Management and Budget office and gives us an update about the state's financial health. We are fortunate to have a surplus of more than $1.8 billion for this biennium, meaning we've collected $1.8 billion more in taxes than what was projected when the most recent budget was passed.
State law requires that some of that money go toward our budget reserve. Our budget reserve is now at about $1.6 billion total and is a rainy day fund of sorts if the state faces an economic downturn or a future budget deficit.
It's great to see our state budget on firm financial footing, and I hope we can use this surplus to help Minnesotans see a surplus in their family budgets next session by putting more money back in their pockets through targeted tax relief. I look forward to supporting middle class tax relief next year, and hope we can use some of the surplus to pass our long-term transportation bill as well to help fix our roads and bridges.
I welcome your input, feedback, and suggestions on what you'd like to see done with our budget surplus. What taxes would you like to see cut? Do you support using the surplus to rebuild roads and bridges? Let me know! I will continue to listen to feedback as we look ahead to the 2016 session which begins in March.
Congrats to Riverland!
Riverland Community College was one of several MNSCU schools to receive a grant from the Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council (MAELC), which awarded more than $3 million to schools with Farm Business Management programs. These grants are provided through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and were funded as a part of this year's Agriculture bill. The grants are intended to help address an instructor shortage in Farm Business Management, and will be a big help in training the next generation of farmers throughout the state.
Please email or call any time with your comments, questions, and concerns. Reach me by email at rep.peggy.bennett@house.mn or call 651-296-8216. You can also follow my updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/reppeggybennett or Twitter at www.twitter.com/PeggyABennett.
Have a great weekend,
Peggy