Dear Neighbor,
The dust is starting to settle after the Legislature adjourned last week and the governor has signed into law the various finance bills to set the next two-year state budget.
My last email focused on what should be considered the two headline issues in what was a rather successful year for the Legislature: $650 million in tax relief and a historic investment in roads and bridges without raising the gas tax or tab fees.
This time I would like to provide an update on some legislation I authored that made the final cut and became law. Those provisions include:
- Telecommunications equipment exemption expanded (H.F. 1250): Expands the sales tax exemption for telecommunications equipment to fiber and conduit for telecommunications services to maximize the effectiveness of investments made in broadband expansion; approved in the tax bill.
- Veterans Journey Home (H.F. 1526): Appropriates in $700,000 over the next biennium to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the grants to Veterans Journey Home; approved in the state government finance bill.
- Support our Troops account flexibility (H.F. 1527): Expands how grant funds from the Support Our Troops account can be used to benefit a Minnesota National Guard member; approved in the state government finance bill.
- Minnesota Humanities Center funding (H.F. 806): Provides $2 million over the next biennium to the MHC for statewide humanities programs; approved in the Legacy bill.
- Veterans’ Voices (H.F. 2415/2302): Appropriates $200,000 over the next biennium to support and expand the ongoing work of the center’s Veterans’ Voices program; approved in the Legacy bill.
There also are local successes to be found in other bills that have been enacted, such as in the K-12 education package. A provision to increase transportation funding for Bemidji Area Schools and other districts has been enacted after a whole lot of twists and turns along the way. It is not the full amount I would have preferred, but, at $4 million, this pupil transportation adjustment will help districts such as Bemidji’s close the gap on their busing shortfall. This issue has been going on for a decade, so we’ll call this progress and keep working on it.
Overall, the K-12 bill is a good package. It provides $1.35 billion in new education funding over the current biennium – 2 percent more each year, which adds up to $245 more for each student. There also is funding for early learning initiatives including scholarships and school readiness aid plus.
As pleasing as those results are, there unfortunately were some projects I worked on that fell to the cutting room floor. Proposals I worked hard to get through for BSU didn’t last and neither did legislation to construct veterans homes in Bemidji and Montevideo. House Republicans strongly supported the vets homes, but the governor had other priorities and would not agree to sign the related omnibus bill until the veterans homes were scrapped. It’s highly disappointing but, once again, we will keep working on these issues.
On a quick side note, the governor this week took an unprecedented and unconstitutional step to defund the Legislature, attempting to shut down the House and Senate for the next four years. This is a baffling move on his part to eliminate an entire branch of government. The fact we are coming off one of the most productive sessions in recent memory makes this all the more curious.
This could end up in court and we’ll see how things shake out, but just know I’m still here working for the folks in District 5A.
Sincerely,
Matt