Reminder: Coffee Hour Tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.

Dear Neighbors,

I hope this email finds you well. We’re wrapping up our second week and continuing to build momentum on the key bills moving through the committee process and the House Floor.

Our unified state government has passed its first major legislation into law. Governor Walz signed a federal tax conformity bill, HF 31, which was passed quickly by the Minnesota Legislature on broad bipartisan and unanimous votes. The measure will make several changes to bring Minnesota into conformity with federal tax law, resulting in over $100 million in tax cuts to a wide range of Minnesotans, while simplifying future tax filings.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, there have been a number of federal aid initiatives enacted to help Americans, many of which would be treated as taxable income without passing this state legislation to conform to federal tax changes. Some of these initiatives included the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Security Act, the American Rescue Plan, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which would impact many Minnesotans who relied on this relief at a time when it was needed most. 

By passing this bill within the first two weeks of session, the Department of Revenue will be able to incorporate these measures in time for this year’s tax filing season. While we moved swiftly to pass this bill, it doesn’t end our discussions at the Capitol about taxes. There are a lot of ideas out there, especially to help young families, homeowners and renters, and Minnesota seniors, and as the session progresses, we will take a hard look at these solutions.

Connected to Community

Appreciated the opportunity to meet with the Schoonover family over the weekend to learn more about Play For Patrick. A tragic event turned into a positive for many other athletes, families, and communities. With their creation of the Play For Patrick Foundation, thousands of Minnesota kids have been able to get youth heart screenings, and of those, hundreds were found to have elevated blood pressure or abnormal electrical or structural heart defects. We at the Minnesota Legislature hope to build on their lifesaving work and make it sustainable.

Great to meet with Eastview FCCLA this week! These future leaders value the importance of community; their experience and devotion will ground them in public service for years to come, and I'm grateful for their work.

Reminder- Community Coffee Hour Tomorrow

I hope you’ll be able to join me for a casual community coffee hour tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. at the Dunn Bros on Galaxie Ave. in Apple Valley. I’d love to hear directly from you about your priorities and the issues most important to you this session.

We will have a virtual option on Zoom on January 28 at 9:00 a.m. as well. Please RSVP with Isabel to receive the information to join us.

 Keep in Touch 

Even if you can’t make it to a community coffee hour, please don’t hesitate to reach out anytime with questions, input, or ideas about how we can keep moving forward. I appreciate your perspective! I can be reached at rep.robert.bierman@house.mn.gov or 651-296-5506.

Thank you for the honor of representing you and our Apple Valley community at the State Capitol.

Sincerely,

Robert Bierman
State Representative