Dear Neighbor,
The focus this week has turned toward establishing a new two-year state budget after the House unveiled its proposal on Monday. Various finance bills are moving through the process in preparation for coming to the floor for a vote of the full body.
Some of the high points of the House plan include $1.35 billion in tax relief for Minnesota families, and $450 million in new funding for road and bridge infrastructure. The overall budget total is geared toward setting a sustainable level of state spending for the next biennium. The House budget limits spending more than what both the governor and the Senate propose.
The transportation budget we propose is key with the increased funding it provides for roads and bridges throughout the state. It would invest $6 billion in Minnesota’s transportation infrastructure over the next 10 years. The House bill also dedicates $12.5 million over each of the next two years to the popular small cities funding program, which allocates funding to cities of fewer than 5,000 residents for local road improvements.
The additional funding for road and bridge infrastructure throughout the state would come from redirecting existing taxes on auto parts, repairs and rentals and leases to a Transportation Priorities Fund. This is a far more sustainable plan than, for example, increasing the gas tax at a time our society is moving toward consuming less petroleum through advancing technology.
Main benefits of the tax bill include $270 million to reduce the state tax on social security income, which will help senior citizens. Middle-class families would see a $35 million bump from modifying the child and dependent care credit. As a result of the expansion of the dependent care credit, a family of four with childcare expenses will receive $660 more relief than current law. Also, hometown businesses would benefit from $203 million to reduce the extra state property tax on businesses, exempting the first $200,000 in property value from the extra tax on businesses and freezing its automatic inflator.
The bottom line is this puts money back in the pockets of seniors, college students, farmers, Main Street businesses and more. Look for more details as things develop on these parts of the House budget proposal and other particular areas soon.
Sincerely,
Matt