April 4, 2023
The legislature will be adjourning today until Tuesday, April 11. In the past week, most of the Senate and House committees have posted, walked through, marked up, and passed their omnibus bills, with the tax omnibus bills expected to emerge soon after lawmakers return from the break.
Speaking of taxes, this will be an issue to watch closely as the chambers appear to not agree about the finer details of how to provide tax relief or credits to Minnesotans. The Senate and House Tax Chairs have different outlooks on property taxes, local option sales taxes, whether to fully exempt social security tax liability, and on the concept of a new income tax bracket for individuals with high incomes. Because of these philosophical differences, the tax conference committee process will be closely tracked by lobbyists and stakeholder groups.
As mentioned in the last update, the Redevelopment Fund amount was maintained in the House version but was not increased. The Senate Jobs and Economic Development bill has since been released and includes an increase in the Redevelopment base funding from $2.24 million a year to $4.24 million per year. Both versions include increased flexibility for the DEED Commissioner to transfer funding from the Job Creation Fund in addition to the transfer authority that comes from the Minnesota Investment Fund. EDAM has submitted letters to the House encouraging them to consider additional funding, and has thanked the Senate and encouraged them to advocate for the increased Redevelopment Fund during the conference committee.
We will continue to promote EDAM President Bachmayer’s Opinion Piece to stay on the radar of the House and Senate Economic Development Chairs and ask for your help in sharing it with your networks.