Dear Neighbors,
Minnesota’s 2023 Legislative Session officially began January 3rd as I joined 133 of my colleagues in taking the oath of office during a ceremony at the State Capitol in St. Paul.
It is exciting and an honor to return to St. Paul to represent you, your family, and our south metro, Lakeville-area communities in the legislature. It is sure to be a busy year as we negotiate a two-year budget and determine how to handle the state’s $17.5 billion budget surplus.
It is my hope that we can provide significant tax relief to Minnesotans to mitigate the impacts of inflation while passing a responsible budget that holds the line on growing government. Further, I plan to promote a healthy economic climate where families and main street businesses can thrive.
Committee Assignments
Most of my work during the first months of session will take place in House committees. For the 2023-2024 legislative biennium, I will serve as the Republican-lead on the Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee. I will also continue to serve on the State and Local Government Finance and Policy Committee and will return to the Taxes Committee after four sessions on other committees.
State – Federal Tax Code Conformity
Last Monday, the Minnesota House of Representatives unanimously approved a “Tax Conformity” bill that gives Minnesotans the ability to take advantage of tax changes that have passed at the federal level. Governor Walz has since signed this into law.
This was a commonsense tax bill to pass at the start of session and I am glad that we were able to get this done to simplify filing taxes this season and to avoid increasing tax liabilities for businesses and families. This move will especially help individuals and businesses that were hardest hit because of pandemic shutdowns like the restaurant, hospitality, and entertainment industries. Passing the conformity bill avoided about $100 million in tax liability to individuals and businesses! Remember, these were not technically tax cuts, but still very important.
Radical, not Common Sense
Despite this fast start, there are serious concerns about the radical priorities that have been introduced by Democrat majorities in the House and Senate during the first two weeks of the legislative session.
House Democrats are jamming through a pair of bills that would expand abortion practice in Minnesota and allow abortions up until the moment of birth and deny parents the ability to be notified if their minor daughter is seeking an abortion, among other protections. Most Minnesotans support the previous common-sense abortion safeguards.
With these bills, Democrats are legalizing abortions at any time throughout a pregnancy and without any guardrails, putting our state’s abortion laws on par with just seven countries in the world, including radical regimes like North Korea and China.
This is an emotional and deeply personal issue, but reasonable people on both sides of the policy understand that moving forward without any guardrails not only puts the unborn at risk but also presents a substantial health risk for women. I very much appreciate the many emails and postcards received and share your concerns. I also appreciate your notes and messages of support.
Inflation
I am also concerned about a bill that is quickly moving through the legislative process that would automatically tie the forecasting of state expenditures to inflation.
Setting government spending on autopilot is irresponsible and would be an abdication of our responsibility as legislators to be active participants in the budgeting process. Those pushing for this do so to minimize the over-collection of taxes beyond the current forecast and base funding levels.
Nevertheless, regardless of the extreme and reckless bills introduced and passed without compromise or commonsense, I will continue to advocate for families and put commonsense first. That is my responsibility.
Staying in Touch
An inspiring group of high school students participating in the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) visited this week.
I appreciate your trust and support to represent balanced, common-sense values. We remain committed to advocating for you to make our state stronger and better by protecting our families, our freedoms, and our state’s future.
Jon Koznick
State Representative