Dear Neighbors,
At the House we have been working night and day to pass our various budget bills. While there is still a lot of session left this puts us in the final stretch!
1. Highway 65 funding - Getting Results!
- This week the House passed the strongest transportation budget bill in a generation. The bill includes $25 million for the Highway 65 project!
- Securing funding for the critical Highway 65 project has been my number one priority. I am incredibly proud the project was prioritized in this budget.
- The $25 million allocated is almost 17 times more than the Legislature had previously directed toward the project. Highway 65 is one of only three roads in the whole state to receive dedicated funding in this bill. This funding will allow improvements to the intersection at Highway 65 and 99th Ave. to begin, a critical aspect of the project.
2. Education Budget Bill - More Funding for Students
- Yesterday, we passed an amazing education budget plan to deliver transformational investments to support our students and school staff as well as stabilize our public school funding.
- The bill provides a 4% per-pupil increase in the general education formula in 2024 and a 2% increase in 2025 for an investment totaling $710 million over the biennium. The bill also links the formula to inflation in all future years to help school districts have more predictability in their financial outlooks. This provision was initially authored by me and I’m incredibly proud that it’s in the House budget.
- We have long prided ourselves on the quality of our public education in Minnesota. In recent years, our education system has struggled to meet the growing needs of students as funding has fallen short of what’s required to maintain a world class system. This funding will set us on the path towards a best in the nation education system once more!
3. Highlights of the Tax Bill - Helping Those Who Need it Most
- The House announced our tax bill and I’m happy to report that there are a lot of great provisions in it!
- There are two property tax provisions I drafted that will update eligibility for the Homestead Market Value Exclusion and “supercharge” the special property tax refund for homeowners who see a big year-over-year spike in their property tax bill.
- It eliminates the state tax on social security benefits for 76% of Minnesota seniors (joint filers under $100,000 and single/head of household filers under $78,000).
- We create a new child tax credit for working-class households so more families are able to get by. This provision will cut childhood poverty in Minnesota by 23%!
- It also includes the first update in 26 years to the income limit for the K-12 Education Tax Credit to help families pay for afterschool programs, driver’s ed, school supplies, and more. I’ve been working on this bill for years, even before my time as a Representative!
- Lastly, the bill contains another of my provisions to create a new tax credit to encourage a manufactured home park owner to sell the park to a resident cooperative when the owner wishes to sell.
Stay in Touch
Please feel free to reach out to me by email at rep.matt.norris@house.mn.gov or by phone at 651-296-2907. If you have a friend, neighbor, or relative who wants to receive updates about the Legislature, let them know they can subscribe to my email list here, and follow my Facebook here. It’s an honor to represent our community. Please stay in touch and Eid Mubarak to our Muslim neighbors!
Sincerely,
Matt Norris, District 32B
507 State Office Building
St. Paul, MN 55155