Note: This column originally ran in local papers on March 7, 2020
An update about Coronavirus, disaster relief, and tax cuts
It has been a busy few weeks at the capitol, and there is a lot of news to catch up on. You may have read that the final stretch of the Highway 14 expansion from Nicollet to New Ulm is set to potentially receive funding thanks to a federal transportation grant. From day 1, my number one priority was to secure funding for Highway 14 in our district. We got that done in 2018, and now I am committed to finishing the expansion on the west end of the highway as well. We have been working on Highway 14 for so long, it’s exciting that the end may finally be in sight!
I am also excited that the Air Grant program that I designed last year has issued its first round of grants to airports in Alexandria, Duluth, and Elbow Lake. The entire point of the program is to maximize the immense economic development potential of these regional airports, and I am excited to see what these three communities have planned.
Here are a few other issues I have been working on:
Coronavirus: I have been getting several questions about the COVID-19 coronavirus and how Minnesota is preparing. Even though there is only one confirmed case here, we are taking necessary precautions. We recently fast-tracked $20 million in emergency funding to help contain a potential outbreak. We have not yet received specific information from the governor or medical professionals about what tools will be necessary, but when that time comes the money will be ready so we can move quickly.
Disaster relief: Up until 2014, every time there was a natural disaster the governor had to call the legislature back for a Special Session in order to provide emergency clean up funding. As you can imagine, that slowed recovery down significantly. In 2014, we created a special Disaster Assistance Account to expedite that process and get money into the hands of communities much faster after tornadoes, straight line winds, flooding, and other disasters.
I am proud to say the first bill that we passed off the Senate Floor this year completely refilled that disaster relief account. Due to bad flooding last year, the account is actually running a small deficit, so it is critical we replenish it as soon as possible. The bill passed unanimously, so I am hoping we can get it signed into law by the governor as soon as possible.
The state budget surplus and tax relief: At the end of February we received a new revenue forecast from Minnesota’s budget office. That forecast predicted a budget surplus of $1.5 billion for the next biennium.
While it’s always better to have surpluses than deficits, we also have to recognize what that number means: it means that state government took too much money from taxpayers.
The most responsible thing to do with that surplus, then, is return it to taxpayers in the form of tax relief. We have a plan that helps working families, families with young children, farmers, mom-and-pop business, retirees, and much more.
One proposal I am particularly interested in is eliminating Social Security income taxes. We started to phase out this tax in 2017, but with a surplus this big we should be able to get rid of it entirely. Minnesota is one of only 13 states that still taxes Social Security income. It is long overdue that we catch up to the rest of the country and eliminate this tax.
As always, if you have any questions about an issue the legislature is working on, please contact me any time at sen.john.jasinski@senate.mn.