Dear Neighbor,
Before we get to legislative news, I want to congratulate local athletes for successful high school sports seasons, including strong state tournament runs for the Andover girls hockey team, and the Anoka gymnastics and wrestling squad and wrestling team. Good luck to the numerous local individual wrestlers as they compete at the state meet this weekend, and to the Andover boys hockey team as it looks to defend its Class AA title in next week's state tournament after claiming the section championship last night with a win over Duluth East.
As for news from the Legislature:
Red Oaks project
Bills related to infrastructure have been placed on the calendar for this Monday in the House. This also likely means a vote regarding funding I have been fighting for to fix the water problem in the Red Oaks neighborhood of Andover, where the cancer-causing chemical dioxane was detected in private drinking water wells. I continue working on behalf of local residents to get this project done and will support its inclusion in an infrastructure bill.
Town hall meeting this Saturday
I hope you are able to attend a legislative town hall meeting I am co-hosting with area legislators 10 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday) at Ham Lake Lanes (16465 Hwy. 65). There’s much to discuss regarding the state’s revenue surplus (see below), tax relief (also see below) and anything else of importance to area residents.
State surplus update
State officials issued a new economic forecast for Minnesota on Monday and it projects a $17.5 billion surplus for the new biennium. That figure will serve as the official framework as the Legislature works to establish a new two-year state budget this session before adjourning in late May.
While that bottom-line figure is consistent with the last full forecast, issued in early December, the report actually signals state revenue continues to grow because this forecast factored for inflation for the first time in decades.
In short, the DFL added inflation to the forecast try to keep growing government, and that ended up reducing projected revenue by almost $1.5 billion. Despite that, the state surplus stayed flat because Minnesotans are paying even more in taxes than the previous forecast, which means tax relief should continue to be our top priority for this session. Just hours after receiving the updated economic forecast, House Republicans moved to fast-track legislation fully eliminating the state tax on Social Security but, unfortunately, House Democrats voted it down.
It also is abundantly clear we need structural changes to provide fiscal balance in Minnesota, including a constitutional amendment to stop the endless growth of spending and over-taxation. I’m personally working on a Taxpayer Bill of Rights (the first bill is H.F. 2549) to limit spending and require taxpayer refunds so we can prevent the state from making these massive over-collections in the future.
Republican “Give It Back” tax plan
House and Senate Republicans conducted a press conference this week to unveil our “Give It Back” tax plan, which provides $13 billion over two years in permanent tax cuts and one-time rebates.
The package features tax relief benefiting Minnesotans both now and in the long-term, including measures to:
- Lower first- and second-tier rates
- Fully eliminate state Social Security tax
- $1,800 tax credit per child
- Property tax relief
- $5 billion in taxpayer rebates
The House majority may not think tax relief is a priority, but to hardworking Minnesotans it is. Our state government is swimming in cash by over-collecting tax dollars from Minnesotans who are struggling to pay gas, groceries.
With a $17.5 billion surplus, if we can’t give tax relief to Minnesotans now, when can we? This is the perfect opportunity to give bipartisan tax relief and put more money back into Minnesotans’ pockets. There is no excuse not to get this done.
Reading RESET
With half of Minnesota’s students unable to read proficiently at grade level and no real science-based reading plan in sight to address this urgent problem head on, House and Senate Republicans announced their “Reading RESET” plan this week to address our state’s reading crisis.
Reading RESET has three primary components: funding for schools that would like to replace the ineffective literacy materials they are currently using and purchase proven Science of Reading curriculum and instructional materials and books; funding for teacher training and professional development in the Science of Reading, and funding for tutoring to help struggling students who have fallen behind in reading.
This should not be a partisan issue. Test results show we are failing our children in the classroom and this plan would help them succeed. It’s not only a good idea, it’s our obligation.
Have a good weekend and, as always, your input is welcome.
Sincerely,
Harry