Dear Lakeville Neighbors,
We hope you had a nice Thanksgiving, followed by some fabulous football.
Congratulations to the Lakeville South football program on their state championship victory! They rallied from behind to defeat Maple Grove in the Class AAAAAA title game.
I remember when my high school also won the state championship in 1991, so a special congratulations to all the seniors and the south community. This is a memory they will take with them the rest of their lives. Thank you for showcasing Lakeville so well.
Updated Budget Forecast
Tuesday morning, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released an updated budget forecast that revealed a record setting $7.7 billion state budget surplus. The surplus is a $9 billion turnaround from one year ago.
In their report, MMB indicated that the surplus is driven largely by “strong growth in income, consumer spending and corporate profits drove extraordinary revenue growth in FY 2021, and higher tax receipts to date in FY 2022 combine with an improved outlook for income, consumer spending and corporate profits to raise the revenue forecast for the current biennium.”
While government has more of your money than ever, Minnesotans are struggling with inflation at thirty-year highs, gas prices up 50% or more, and soaring energy bill costs.
A surplus this size makes clear that government is over collecting from the hardworking taxpayers of Minnesota, and it should be the job of lawmakers to return this surplus to the people.
What do you think the legislature should do with the surplus?
- permanent tax cuts
- a one-time tax rebate
- paying off state debt
- reduce spending
- combination of measures
Stay tuned for more information on this as it will be the most important topic of debate during the upcoming legislative session that is set to begin on January 31st.
Catalytic Converter Theft Prevention
I have heard from many of you that are concerned about the rising levels of catalytic converter thefts in the area and across the metro. This year, the legislature approved a pilot program and funding to try and curb this growing problem.
Thanks to the new law, Minnesota will spend $400,000 over the next two years on marking and engraving tools, sending the materials to the highest-theft areas. Law enforcement hopes that thieves will be deterred from action by marking catalytic converters. The law also requires every scrap metal dealers to include in their purchase any numbers, bar codes, stickers, or other unique markings to purchase a detached catalytic converter. We need to add more deterrents to this system.
These are first steps that will hopefully begin to make a serious dent in this criminal operation. I am hopeful that the legislature will continue to address this problem during the upcoming legislative session.
Heating Assistance
Charlie is not a fan of this cold weather!
As the temperatures have turned cold and with energy prices continuing to skyrocket, I wanted to make sure I share with you Minnesota’s energy assistance program.
The Energy Assistance Program helps pay for home heating and water costs and furnace repairs for income-qualified households.
Follow this link to learn more: https://mn.gov/commerce/consumers/consumer-assistance/energy-assistance/
Staying in Touch
It’s been a joy to see so many of you out and about as folks head out to celebrate Christmas events.
Here I am pictured with one of the littlest attendees of an event I recently hosted
Feel free to forward this Koznick Connection to neighbors or friends that would be interested in keeping up with legislative business. As we start to ramp up for the 2022 legislative session, I expect these newsletters to be sent on a more consistent basis.
Jon Koznick
State Representative, Lakeville, 58A