Dear Lakeville Friends,
It’s been a little while so I wanted to pass along a quick update from what I’ve been up to, as well as a short look back at the legislative session and the work we did.
Pan-O-Prog
Lakeville is a special place! Home to a number of amazing events and people, one of my favorites each year is Pan-O-Prog. This past week we celebrated the 50th Annual Panorama of Progress. Before the fireworks on July 4th, also my 44th birthday, I was honored to present a statewide proclamation naming July 4th to July 10th “Lakeville Panorama of Progress Week!” From the Lions Beer, Brats and Bingo, to the Baby Crawl, Ping Pong Drop, Cruise Night and the Grand Parade: it’s such an exciting time in Lakeville to celebrate and come together. My daughters loved a chance to see their friends during summer, and even got to meet Miss Lakeville and the Lakeville Princess. It was a busy and fun week, a week to celebrate the character and strength of our citizens and city. A very sincere thank you to the city employees and all the Pan-O-Prog volunteers who make the celebration among the best in the state!
Tax Relief
Serving on the Tax committee, we House Republicans advocated strongly for meaningful tax relief for the past two years. With a $900 million budget surplus funded by taxpayers, it is appropriate that significant tax relief be provided.
This year, we passed a historic tax cut for Minnesota veterans to exempt their retirement benefits from state income tax. We were not able to get Democrats to phase out tax on Social Security income that we introduced, I’ll keep fighting for this.
The House and Senate came to agreement to provide $800 million of tax relief for working families, veterans, college grads, and small businesses. Sadly, Governor Dayton refused to sign the bill over an error we could have easily fixed. We’re still working on coming back for a special session to re-pass this bipartisan bill.
Transportation and Bonding
As a member of the Transportation committee, funding our roads and bridges was a top priority. I supported a long-term funding plan that invested in our road and bridge infrastructure without a gas tax increase or metro area sales tax increase.
Although we passed a bill – with wide bipartisan support – off the House floor, Senate Democrats attempted to tack on an unnecessary amendment for light rail and ran out of time, killing the legislation. There is a small chance we can come back in a special session to re-pass these bills, but I am not interested in increasing spending beyond what was passed during normal session.
Supplemental Budget Bill
The governor signed our supplemental budget bill into law earlier this summer. For Minnesota schools, students and educators, there were a number of provisions to address our state's growing teacher shortage, improve staff safety, and build on successful programs aimed at closing the achievement gap.
Also contained in this bill were provisions to improve healthcare in our state. To help protect Minnesotans, this bill eliminated estate recovery claims retroactively for those aged 55 to 64 on Medical Assistance who are not in a long-term care facility. We also helped at-risk children by increasing the reimbursement rate for foster care and adoption assistance.
Even though the legislature is now adjourned, please know that if you have any questions or concerns on an issue relating to state government, or need constituent assistance, my office is available to help.
Have a great rest of your summer!
Jon Koznick
State Representative
Lakeville, 58A