Greetings District 10! Here’s some news from St. Paul.
Minnesota Senate Votes for the Eighth Time to End Emergency Powers
On Thursday, the Minnesota Senate again voted to end Governor Walz’s emergency powers. Current law requires a majority vote from both the House and the Senate to repeal an Emergency Order.
Our Government was never meant to be a one man show, yet it has been for over an entire year. Now, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor are both in quarantine due to exposure, so who is left to lead? It certainly is not the Legislature—we have been shut out from any decision-making for a year. The very people elected to lead are left unable to step in, leaving Minnesota with no leadership. This was never the way we were meant to govern. These emergency orders need to end now.
In the wake of repeated votes to end emergency powers, Governor Walz sent the legislature a list of requests that must be met before ceding executive power, including a statewide mask mandate. Currently, forty states are reviewing laws on emergency powers—and no time-frame on the release of emergency powers has been provided by Governor Walz.
Also, this week the Senate passed SF4—the bill would require the Governor to obtain legislative approval to extend any emergency declaration beyond 30 days. Preventing situations where the Governor retains excessive power once an emergency has passed.
Phase-out Social Security Tax
I presented legislation SF2019 to the Senate Tax Committee this week that provides a phased-in subtraction of taxable Social Security for purposes of calculating taxable income in the state of Minnesota.
Under current law, Minnesota taxes Social Security based on income, which only started in 1985 after the federal government began taxing these benefits at the federal level. Currently, only 13 states, including Minnesota, impose a tax on Social Security.
I have carried this bill since 2013, and though we made progress in 2017, I’m hopeful we can finally phase out this tax—many of my constituents are senior citizens, and they homestead in other states because of Minnesota’s high taxes on social security benefits. This bill is especially timely as we work to recover from the pandemic. Our seniors have lost so much in the past year, and this bill will give them a bit more of their income and will help them recuperate after a year of hardship.
If enacted, this legislation would lower the tax by 25% every year until the tax is completely phased out. This bill was laid over in the Taxes Committee.
Thank you for taking the time to read my weekly legislative update. If you’re looking to hear more from the Capitol, please like me on Facebook.
As always please feel free to contact my office with any questions you might have. My office can be reached by phone at (651) 296-4913 or at sen.carrie.ruud@senate.mn.
Talk to you soon!
Carrie Ruud