Hello from the State Capitol,
The 2018 legislative session has come to an end, and I’m pleased we were able to finish the job and send a number of good, bipartisan bills to Governor Dayton for his consideration.
This past weekend we approved a supplemental budget bill, tax reform and relief, education and school safety funding, and countless other proposals.
It’s worth noting that we worked tirelessly to address problems the governor had with our bills. For example, in our supplemental budget bill he had issues with more than 100 provisions. So, in the spirit of compromise, we agreed to remove or modify 60 percent of those. We also included a number of the governor’s top priorities in our legislation to show our willingness to work together.
Our tax bill would provide the first income tax rate cut for Minnesotans in nearly 20 years by reducing the first and second tier income tax rates. In total, the bill cuts taxes for 2.2 million Minnesotans, and nearly all Minnesotans would see tax reductions or be held harmless by tax changes made at the federal level.
Roughly two weeks before the end of session, Governor Dayton threw lawmakers an unexpected curveball by insisting that emergency K-12 Education funding was necessary. In response, we agreed to make available up to $225 million in funding for schools across Minnesota. We also approved approximately $28 million in school safety funding that gives schools resources and flexibility to make physical safety improvements and boost efforts for student mental health. Combined with bonding dollars, we dedicated more than $50 million in this area.
Now it’s up to Governor Dayton to decide whether or not to sign these proposals into law. He has two weeks to think about it.
In my opinion, the 2017 session was highly successful as we approved historic tax relief for the middle class and made the largest investment in roads and bridges in a decade. We also received good news locally as we secured funding to reconstruct 105th Avenue in Blaine.
This year I believe we built on that success by passing more tax relief, providing additional revenue for transportation and our schools, and a securing a traffic and safety study for Highway 65 from County Highway 10 to Bunker Lake Blvd, including the 109th Avenue intersection.
Talk to you soon,
Nolan