Neighbors,
In the very early hours of this morning, the House passed the final bill of our state budget. After many hours negotiating with Governor Dayton and the Senate, we were able to reached a budget agreement and complete our work. We worked with Governor Dayton on these bills, and he has given his word that he will sign them into law.
The big highlights of our state budget are our road and bridge funding package and our tax relief bill.
Our tax bill provides $650 million in tax relief for families, small businesses, and senior citizens.
The transportation funding bill is a 10-year plan that will repair and build more roads and bridges around the state. Included in this bill is $16 million in dedicated funds for small cities (under 5,000 people) to repair local roads and bridges. This is the largest transportation funding bill we have ever passed in our state without raising taxes.
In the coming weeks I’ll give you more details regarding specific provisions in the budget bills, especially the ones that will have a positive impact for our area. We truly accomplished some great things this session.
In the meantime, I hope you have a chance this Memorial Day weekend to stop and honor the courageous men and women who have paid the ultimate price for our freedoms and way of life in our great nation. To all the families who have lost a loved one in service to our country, you are in my thoughts and prayers; the bravery and sacrifice of your warrior will never be forgotten by our nation.
-Josh