Legislative Update from Rep. Andy Smith

Neighbors,  

Today, Minnesota Management and Budget released its February budget forecast. This forecast shows the budget outlook moving in the wrong direction compared to the forecast released last November. Donald Trump’s reckless economic policies are impacting this forecast, with inflation expected to climb and tax receipts expected to fall. Tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and corporations and cuts to Medicaid are expected to bring additional negative impacts. Here in Minnesota, House Republicans are following suit with proposed tax breaks to mega data centers like Meta/Facebook. Tax breaks like this are brought under the guise of “creating jobs,” but it does so at the cost of better ones. The bigger the tax breaks, the less money there is for important projects our communities need, like Rochester’s sewer project.  

Instead of bringing down prices like they promised on the campaign trail, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are on the verge of enacting a sweeping tax cut for corporations and the ultra-wealthy, and they’re going to pay for it by slashing federal spending on health care for children, families, seniors, and people with disabilities. This will have dire consequences for the people of Minnesota and our state budget – including major impacts on Rochester. Researchers in our community have been losing funding to continue medical advancement, agriculture subsidies have been slashed across the board, and highly skilled and educated immigrants in our community who provide medical care are at risk of losing visas.  

Meanwhile, rather than working with Democrats to pass legislation to help Minnesotans navigate these impacts, House Republicans are wasting time playing politics by bringing partisan MAGA bills to the House floor, knowing they will not pass, like we saw this week when they tried to ban trans youth from playing sports. This is a disservice to Minnesotans who need their state legislature to provide stability and help protect their quality of life and their future. It is time to focus on a budget that will help Minnesotans weather this storm. 

My Bills

Among the turmoil and drama of the House Floor, some good-faith bipartisan work is happening behind the scenes. I’m excited to be a co-author of HF 457, which would create a tax incentive to refurbish under-utilized buildings, especially in downtowns. Rochester has tons of empty office space downtown that could be turned into housing, which our community is in desperate need of. I’m looking forward to continuing work on this bill so we can get it signed into law. 

Community Town Hall

Thank you to everyone who joined us last weekend for our Rochester town hall! There were a lot of concerns raised about the chaos and calamity coming from Washington, how we protect our kids, and how we can support education. We also discussed housing at length, so I’m including some helpful information on the Tenant’s Bill of Rights that we passed last term. The Attorney General’s office has a helpful guide to rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords. You can find that here.  

If you were not able to make it to last week’s event, Attorney General Keith Ellison will be joining us for another town hall on March 15th at 1pm. You can register to attend here. The location will be provided to registrants by email before the event.  

Community Connection

For many of us, the news coming out of Washington has been overwhelming lately. In between calling my congressmembers and working to protect our progress here in Minnesota, I’ve made a point to spend time connecting with community. No matter who we are or where we come from, it’s vital that we know and care for our fellow neighbors - we must find common ground with each other and love our community like family.  

We are lucky to have a fantastic library here in Rochester that puts on exciting events for people of all ages. I’ll be featuring free community events from the library and other local partners here this session so you can join in on fun happenings. Registration is required for some events, so be sure to check them out early.   

Here are some fun upcoming events to meet neighbors and make new friends.  

Rochester Public Library: 

• Storytime at the Historic Chateau Theatre, March 7th, ages 0-5, families 
• Getting to Know Our Big Rivers, March 8th, Adults 
• Craft & Chat for Adults: Victorian Puzzle Purse, March 11th, Adults 
• Family Storytime with the MedCity Roller Derby Team, March 14th, Youth 0-12, Families 
• Game Day at the Library, March 15th, All ages 

If you know of exciting free events in our community, send them to me at rep.andy.smith@house.mn.gov to be added to the list!   

Stay Connected!

Unfortunately, due to technological constraints, replies to this newsletter won’t reach my email account. To share your input or ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance, please feel free to reach out at rep.andy.smith@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9249, and I will be happy to help.

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Warmly, 

Andy Smith,
State Representative