Dear Neighbor,

The 2017-2018 biennium will go down as one of the most productive in recent memory. Working under divided government, the Legislature completed the state budget, successfully advancing key priorities including:

• The largest tax relief package for Minnesotans in nearly two decades.
• The largest investment in road and bridge infrastructure in state history without a gas tax increase.
• Nation-leading reforms to stop double-digit premium increases and expand health care options.

This session, I co-authored and helped pass legislation that funds the Highway 14 four lane expansion project from Owatonna to Dodge Center. The Highway 14 expansion has been in the works for decades and is desperately needed for our area. I appreciate Governor Dayton’s willingness to sign the bonding bill into law, ensuring that this project is fully funded. Additionally, I was happy to author legislation that provides funding for badly needed asset preservation projects at the Minnesota State Academies for the Deaf and Blind in Faribault.

It’s been nearly two decades since Minnesotans have received meaningful tax relief. The 2017 Tax Relief bill delivered $650 million in tax relief to Minnesota families in 2018-2019 and $790 million in 2020-2021.

• Nearly 284,000 senior citizen tax filers received tax reductions; 72,000 of those no longer pay state income tax on their social security benefits.
• A family of four making $50,000 a year received an additional $1,200 toward their child care expenses.
• 240,000 farmers received property tax relief to reduce their disproportionate share of school district debt service.

Following the passage of major tax reform by Congress in 2017, the Legislature passed legislation to simplify the filing process and deliver tax relief to middle-class Minnesotans. In addition to blocking Governor Dayton’s billion dollar tax increase, Republicans worked hard to:

• • Hold 99.8 percent of Minnesota filers harmless with over 2.2 million benefiting from a tax cut.
• • Help middle-class Minnesotans keep more of what they earn by cutting the first two income tax rates, the first rate cuts in almost two decades.
• • Protect families by preserving the state personal & dependent exemption as well as standard and itemized deductions.

House Republicans worked quickly to lower costs and increase options for Minnesotans who have seen three years of double-digit premium increases and been restricted from seeing their doctors due to Obamacare.

• Emergency Premium Aid & Access: This reform provided a 25 percent rebate and ensured continued access to doctors for people receiving life-saving treatment.
• Premium Security Plan: This nationally recognized program put a stop to double-digit premium increases, reducing premiums by 20 percent on average.

The 2017 K-12 Education Budget combined more than $1.3 billion of increased funding, including a 2% yearly increase to the per-pupil formula that was requested by our school districts, with proven reforms.

School districts in our area will see increased per-pupil funding which means more dollars in the classroom for our students and teachers.

The Legislature put student safety first this session by passing $25 million in funding to improve student safety. The package gave school districts the resources and flexibility necessary to meet their school safety needs.

A top priority for the House over the past two years was to increase safety and reduce traffic congestion by fixing the roads and bridges Minnesotans use every day. The Legislature invested a historic level of existing funds into our transportation infrastructure without increasing the gas tax.

• A more than $300 million influx of funding for roads over two years, with an additional $16 million for small cities’ road projects.
• 97 bridges will be repaired or replaced statewide as a result of $25 million in funds for a new local bridge account.

The Legislature built off 2017’s historic transportation investment by passing $57 million in funding for roads and bridges this year, with a majority of that dedicated to small cities assistance, township road aid, and local bridge replacement.
Furthermore, the Capital Investment package sent to the governor includes $519 million for long-term transportation needs.

• REAL ID – A REAL ID compliance law passed in 2017 enables Minnesotans to use a state-issued ID to board an airplane or enter a federal facility. They will begin being issued in October 2018.
• Elder Abuse – Responding to reports of widespread elder abuse, Legislators worked to hold state agencies accountable for shortcomings on investigations, improve transparency in reports of maltreatment, enhance patient rights, and anti-retaliation measures.
• Opioid Crisis – Almost 400 people die each year from opioids in Minnesota. Legislators sent a bill to the governor to provide a rate increase for chemical dependency providers, enhance the Prescription Monitoring Program, and institute prescription limits to reduce the availability of opioids.