Dear Neighbor,
We are now in the final month of the 2017 legislative session and work continues on the bills that will serve as the foundation for the state’s next two-year budget.
The Legislature is about three weeks ahead of schedule compared with typical budget years, which is reason to be optimistic things will come together in good order and a new plan will be in place before our constitutional date for adjournment arrives.
One thing that would be helpful to the process would be for the governor to be engaged in the conference committee process. The main benefit of that is we would all be on the same page with the bills we are preparing to send him, eliminating surprises down the road. Unfortunately, that has not been the case this week. We still have plenty of time to get our work done, but the clock is ticking and it would be good to have the governor on board.
Last week the governor did communicate a message on transportation through the media. Thankfully, he acknowledged his proposal to raise the gas tax at the wholesale level is lacking support. He went on to say he is more open to the House proposal, which would put $6 billion toward transportation over the next decade without a tax increase. This would be accomplished, in part, by directing the taxes we already pay on transportation-related purchases (such as auto parts) toward a new Transportation Priorities Fund.
Tax relief is another subject people are asking about at the Capitol. Progress continues to be made in the conference committee that is getting that bill in order. A number of House proposals remain in the mix, including provisions that would reduce taxes on senior citizens’ social security, farmers, college grads with student debt and many others.
In closing, I want to mention I have been in contact with the folks over at the Department of Transportation to involve them in discussions as we look at issues related to Highway 371 in our region. I plan to set up meetings in District 5 later this year so we can receive feedback, share thoughts from all the different angles and make the right decisions for our future. I continue to welcome your input and will pass along information regarding the meetings when the arrangements are in place.
Until then, I will keep you posted as things develop in St. Paul during the final weeks of this legislative session.
Sincerely,
Matt