Dear Friends,
Conference committees are in full swing as House and Senate members work on what will be our final budget bills for the next two years. The Associated Press did a fun article about what lawmakers do during conference committee week, featuring my dog Colter, who I brought to St. Paul for the week since we aren't spending as much time on the House floor. You can read that article by clicking here.
There are three main issues I'm keeping a close eye on are transportation, funding for our nursing homes, and education.
Transportation
The choices on transportation couldn't be more different. On the House side, Republicans have passed a responsible, bipartisan plan that invests $7 billion in roads and bridges using existing sales taxes on vehicle leases, car rentals, and auto parts; highway bonds, and a small portion of our state's budget surplus. The sales tax changes will mean long term funding that is exclusively focused on roads and bridges.
On the other side, Governor Dayton and the Senate have proposed higher gas taxes and vehicle registration fees to pay for their plan.
I don't think it's fair for us to raise taxes on Minnesotans when there's a large budget surplus. Our plan demonstrates that we can fund our roads and bridges over the long-term without a gas tax increase. Minnesota's budget surplus and improving economy is partially thanks to lower gas prices—why would we want to take a step backward and raise the price of gas?
Senior Care Funding
One of the best parts of our Health and Human Services budget is the funding included for our senior care homes. Our bill would reform the way we reimburse senior care facilities, resulting in $138 million in new funding. This would mean as much as 30% or more in increased funding for senior care facilities here in our community. The Senate and the Governor do not include as much funding for senior care, and it's my hope that our reforms and funding remain in the final version of the HHS bill.
Education
As a member of both the Education Finance and Education Innovation committees, I'm keeping a close eye on the K-12 Education conference committee as well. I'm hopeful that we can reach an agreement that increases funding for schools and includes reforms that will help close our state's achievement gap. Both the House and the Senate plans increase funding for schools, but not quite as much as Governor Dayton has proposed due to his Universal Pre-K initiative.
Some schools I've talked to have reservations about the Governor's plan because it basically adds a grade level to schools, many of which don't have the space for all of the new students they would take on.
I will keep you updated on these and the other issues as we wrap up in the last several days of session.
Have a great weekend!
Peggy Bennett
State Representative, District 27A
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