Dear Neighbor,
Greetings from the House, where we are wrapping up another busy week and are about to enter the final full month of the 2024 session. Here are some of the latest items of note:
GREATER MN AMBULANCE FUNDING
House Republicans this week hosted a press conference to advocate for increased funding for Emergency Medical Services in Minnesota to mitigate a $120 million shortfall this essential service is facing. The party in full control of the Capitol has allocated just $16 million in their supplemental budget to address this issue, which is just a fraction of what is needed to sustain our EMS services. It is time to prioritize the lives of Minnesotans over frivolous spending like a $730 million palace for politicians.
TAX DAY
Tax Day was this week. While the income tax obligations for most Minnesotans have now been met, people continue to feel the pain of increased everyday tax burdens thanks to the decisions made by our state government with one party in full control.
Last year, Democrats raised taxes on Minnesotans by $10 billion despite an $18 billion state surplus and continue to find new ways to take more money out of family budgets. Of the $10 billion in tax hikes, only $3 billion of it has gone into effect. This means if you’re already having financial problems, brace yourself for more. For example, their new delivery tax takes effect in 11 weeks.
In addition to the new tax on deliveries, last session, a host of other completely unnecessary tax increases were approved, including to Metro Area sales taxes, motor vehicle registration fees, and a paid family and medical leave program that will be paid for by all workers and business owners. But the most regressive tax increase of all is the increase to the gasoline tax. They put the gas tax on an inflator, which means the state is automatically taking money out of Minnesotans’ pockets. This tax increase will be devastating to the poorest of the poor, as they will pay more just to drive to work.
Meanwhile, the party in control failed to deliver on their promise of $2,000 checks to every family, giving just a fraction of that to a small percentage of Minnesotans. They also broke their promise to Minnesota seniors by failing to fully eliminate taxes on social security benefits, voting repeatedly against Republican amendments to get rid of this unfair tax once and for all.
In just one year we went from a record surplus to a projected deficit thanks to reckless spending. Minnesotans do not want their hard-earned tax dollars going to a $730 million palace for politicians.
With rising gas, groceries, mortgage rates, and energy prices, I continue working to eliminate wasteful government spending so we can deliver permanent tax relief for Minnesota families to help you afford everyday necessities. This includes fully eliminating the state tax on Social Security after the ball was dropped on that promise despite a historic surplus.
There also are other smart, relatively easy moves we could make to improve the cash flow for seniors, such as providing them with two property tax refunds instead of one. One House Republican bill (H.F. 4826) establishes a system by which seniors could receive an advance payment of half of their homestead credit refund in the spring and the rest in the fall. Even seniors who don’t get a check from the state could benefit. Instead of paying the full amount of their property taxes in the spring and having their fall payment reduced by the homestead credit refund, the proposed change would result in a smaller sum being sent the government’s way both early and late in the year.
VISITORS
Thank you to all those who took time to come meet with me and discuss important issues this week, including:
The United Way
The Church Ambassadors Network
Gillette Children’s Hospital
EDUCATION BILL
An omnibus education policy bill (H.F. 3782) which recently passed the House is mostly comprised of provisions from the Department of Education. Maybe what is most notable about it is provisions not included in this bill. This bill does not include measures related to the so-called READ Act 2.0, a prohibition on book banning, a statewide mandate on health standards and changes to sex education. These provisions may be included in other bills, perhaps the education finance omnibus package.
This bill is much improved from the version we were asked to support last session, but still falls short of what we need to be doing for our schools and our parents. For example, it lacks focus on addressing our top priority – solving the literacy crisis. The bill also lowers expectations. We cannot close the achievement gap until we accept that every child can learn when challenged through academic rigor.
FINAL DEADLINE
Today marks the final committee deadline in the Legislature, the date by which committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills to keep them alive this session. While that may technically be true, we should note the House majority is not exactly honoring legislative rules and has issued at least 19 bill waivers to keep bills moving through the process even though they missed the deadline for seemingly no good reason. That high number of bill waivers is unprecedented, but this practice has become commonplace this session with one party in full control of the Capitol unable to get its work done on time.
Please Contact Me
It’s an honor and privilege to work for you at the Capitol. Don’t hesitate to contact my office at any time this session to share your thoughts, concerns or ideas. You can call me at 651-296-6316, or email me at rep.bernie.perryman@house.mn.gov. I am here to serve you!
Bernie
