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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
We are in the final days of the 2021 Special Session and will be in session over the weekend and likely up until June 30. Many of the budget agreements have passed both bodies and the rest are nearing final agreement between the House & Senate Majorities to avoid a government shutdown on July 1.
I also wanted to take a moment to send my condolences and heartfelt prayers to the friends and family of Samantha Kriese of Red Wing who tragically died in a car accident earlier this month. Sammy made an impact on all who new her and our students and community are mourning her loss. A scholarship fund has been established in her honor.
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Local News
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HAPPENING NOW: Lake City Water Ski Days: will take place from 9am to midnight Friday, June 25 to Sunday, June 27th. Water ski shows, music, tournaments, art shows, games, and a parade!
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CONGRATS! Lake City girls won the Class 2A state golf title. Congratulations girls!
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CONGRATS! Red Wing trap shooting team won the Class 6A state championship. Congrats!
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Transportation Bill Passes House
This includes a $7.27 billion transportation package the Legislature approved this week providing significant funding for local governments to conduct work on roads and bridges across our state and community. The bill was approved with broad support in both bodies and has been sent to the governor for his signature to become law.
Funding in the bill includes $12 million increase for townships and $18 million in aid for cities with fewer than 5,000 residents. The township and small cities aid coming to our community include the following amounts:
- Goodhue: $694,070 for townships | $230,390 small cities
- Wabasha: $307,041 for townships | $210,928 small cities
We should note the final version of the transportation package also removed all $1.6 billion in tax hikes passed by House Democrats in their transportation bill during the 2021 regular session. It is good to see the finished product for this bill allows us to uphold roads and bridges as the priorities they are without raising taxes on Minnesotans at a time the state has a multi-billion-dollar surplus.
The full package (SSHFF 10) includes $220.4 million in net General Fund spending over base during the 2022-23 biennium, an increase of around 22 percent. The total appropriations by agency include $6.49 billion for the Department of Transportation, $516.3 million for the Department of Public Safety and $235.7 million for the Metropolitan Council.
The bill also features $213 million in trunk highway bonding authorized in fiscal year 2022 and an additional $100 million in each year of the 2024-25 biennium for the Corridors of Commerce program.
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Education Bill Being Considered Saturday
Another of our shared priorities and a key function of government is the education of our school-aged children. This is why I plan to support the Omnibus Education package being considered today.
This bill includes significant increases in education funding without many of the problematic provisions that were included in the House version of the bill while making investments in special education and recruiting more diverse teachers.
All school districts will see an increase in funding including the school districts in our community, which will see —
- ISD 252 Cannon Falls: $221,676 for 2022 and $365,355 for 2023
- ISD 253 Goodhue: $136,451 for 2022 and $235,586 for 2023
- ISD 256 Red Wing: $525,300 for 2022 and $874,176 for 2023
- ISD 811 Wabasha-Kellogg: $239,292 for 2022 and $462,802 for 2023
- ISD 813 Lake City: $234,430 for 2022 and $419,121 for 2023
Total spending in the bill is $20.983 billion in 2022-2023. The key finance provisions include a formula funding increase of 2.45% for 2022 and 2% for 2023, maintaining the current allotment for voluntary pre-k, programs to recruit more teachers of color, and one-time funding for special education, and English-language learner programs.
We need to make sure our students are back in school next fall and that students, teachers, and administrators have the resources to help students succeed after the difficulty of the last year and a half of distant and hybrid learning. This bill should help and, while the bill is not perfect, I am glad to support it.
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STAYING IN TOUCH
As always, if you have questions or concerns regarding any issue, please contact me. You can reach me at rep.barb.haley@house.mn or 651-296-8635.
Sincerely,
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/RepBarbHaley
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239 State Office Bldg.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
651-296-8635
rep.barb.haley@house.mn |
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