Greetings Neighbors,
As we enter the final two weeks of the legislative session, we begin to negotiate our budget bills with the Senate to produce a final bill for passage in both bodies. I continue to advocate for fiscally responsible budgets.
This past week, we passed several omnibus bills. Our Health and Human Services budget delivers on our core commitment to guaranteeing outstanding care for our aging adults and vulnerable populations. In particular, our budget reforms facilities to ensure a high standard of care by implementing a statewide rate of reimbursement. This statewide rate will improve the wages of those providing care to our elderly and vulnerable adults. Our budget also increases the cost of living for home and community-based workers who care for the disabled.
As our children begin to consider college, we are ensuring that they have every opportunity to attain a great career and are working to lower student debt. Our Higher Education budget provides student loan relief to college graduates through a new tax credit for loan payments, provides a tax credit for families saving for college, and provides sales tax relief for educational supplies. Besides tax relief, our bill freezes tuition at MN State Colleges and Universities and lowers tuition in the coming years. Our bill also reduces parental worry by improving student safety on campus, ensuring that they have confidential resources to seek help and report any incidents occurring on- or off-campus.
Perhaps most important, we passed over $2 billion of middle class tax relief this past week. These tax cuts will primarily impact our Minnesota families, expanding the education tax deduction for E-12 education and providing new tax relief for graduates with student loan debt, and reducing taxes for seniors by phasing-out the tax on social security benefits. Our bill helps to offset years of over taxation, providing real relief to Minnesota families.
Lastly, please remember to attend my town hall THIS THURSDAY, May 7th, from 6:30-8:30PM at the Heritage Library in Lakeville (20085 Heritage Drive, Lakeville, MN 55044). Senator Thompson and I look forward to seeing you there!
Please continue to contact me to share your thoughts and concerns. I am always available via phone at (651) 296-4375, or via email at rep.jon.koznick@house.mn.
Have a great week,
Rep. Jon Koznick