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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I hope you are all have a great summer! With the legislative session over, I am enjoying spending more time in the community and catching up with friends and family.
A huge congratulations to Minnesota's own Suni Lee for taking the gold medal in the women's all-around gymnastics competition in Tokyo! I’m excited to celebrate “Sunisa Lee Day” in Minnesota today! We are so proud of her! If you missed her epic performance in the all-around competition, you can find it here.
We are also very proud of ALL of Minnesota’s athletes who have worked so hard to represent our state and our country at the Olympics in Tokyo. This group has been especially determined and dedicated, given the postponement of last year’s games due to the pandemic. They have had to train an additional year, deal with the uncertainty of the whether the games would be held this year and perform without the usual support of family and spectators in the arenas. Here’s a good story about all of the amazing athletes from Minnesota at the Olympics!
I want to give a quick shout-out to Mason Ferlic of Roseville, who is the son of a member of our non-partisan House Research Staff who ran in the Steeplechase race last night! We were all cheering for him! He placed 8th in his heat but was later eliminated. I’m not sure if he will be in other events later. It was his first Olympics and I’m sure we’ll hear more about Mason in future years!
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Executive Summary
- Hometown Heroes Assistance Program
- Protecting Homeowners
- Links to Important Tax Information
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Hometown Heroes Assistance Program
The Hometown Heroes Assistance Program passed the Minnesota Legislature providing $4 million per year to ensure firefighters have access to the education, prevention, and care necessary to address health issues that may arise from the profession. Grants will be administered through the Minnesota Firefighter Initiative and will provide up to $30,000 one-time payments to each firefighter diagnosed with cancer or heart disease. Funding may also be used for counseling programs to address emotional trauma incurred on the job. At least two hours of training will be provided to all firefighters on cancer, heart disease, and emotional trauma.
I am proud to support our firefighters, so I am very pleased that this program passed during special session. Firefighters do so much to serve their communities. When the unthinkable happens, they are often the first on the scene to support their fellow Minnesotans in an emergency. This program will make a huge difference in supporting our firefighters and ensuring they have access to the physical, mental, and emotional care they need to continue their work as our hometown heroes.
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Protecting Homeowners
This session I was pleased to coauthor the Equity Stripping Customer Protection Bill. The legislation had bipartisan support and was unanimously passed by the House and Senate. This bill supports homeowners in tax forfeiture as a result of predatory lenders.
The equity stripping legislation originated in 2004. Predatory scammers would offer homeowners in foreclosure a deal where they would promise to help save the home. The homeowner would be convinced to deed the home over to the scammer and the scammer would sell it back on contract for deed or would establish a rental agreement. However, the terms of the contract for deed or rental agreement would be so onerous that they would set the homeowner up to fail. Then, when the homeowner would inevitably default or miss a rent payment, the scammer could evict the homeowner in 60 days or less – rather than the homeowner being protected by the foreclosure redemption period (which is 6-12 months in MN).
A 2004 bill cracked down on this predatory practice, but the legislation only applied to mortgage foreclosures. In 2007, the protections were expanded to cover other situations as well, like tax forfeiture. This bill cleans up the definitions to ensure the intent of the 2007 bill is expressly clear and sets up protections to ensure that a quitclaim deed is only given to the homeowner and not to a potential scammer.
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Links to Important Tax Information
PPP/UI Conformity Update: If you or your business filed a 2020 income tax return that included unemployment compensation or PPP loan forgiveness, the Minnesota Department of Revenue will either adjust the return or ask you to amend it. More information on tax conformity can be found in the updated 2020 tax forms here.
Opting-Out of Child Tax Credit Payments: Eligible families are now receiving monthly checks. These prepayments are not a tax deduction, but an actual cash credit. Some families may want to opt-out of these monthly payments in favor of one check in 2022. Those who wish to opt-out have until MONDAY, AUGUST 2 AT 9PM PT. Learn more on how to opt-out here.
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Photos
Had so much fun with friends in Dayton this week! Dinner at Dehn's Country Manor followed by “Newsies” at Bunce Backyard Productions! As always it was a fantastic production! You can still go 7/29-7/31! Check out details on their FB page! Always a highlight of the summer and free to the community!
Wonderful to support Osseo Lions at the Osseo/Maple Grove American Legion Post 172 with the best breakfast in town! Great way to start the day!
So cool to see the Arthur M. Anderson leaving Duluth last week! Cpt. Bernie Cooper of the Anderson was the first to report the Edmund Fitzgerald missing on Nov. 10, 1975. My uncle, Cpt. Donald Erickson, Captain of the William Clay Ford, took his ship and crew out of safe harbor to join Cpt. Cooper and his crew in searching for the Fitzgerald. My uncle and Cpt. Cooper have now passed away and the William Clay has been retired. It is great to see the Anderson is still sailing!
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Please Contact Me
Many of you have already been in touch to discuss your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you. Thank you for sharing your ideas! Please continue to contact me to discuss any matters to which I can be of assistance.
The House is adjourned until January 31, 2022. The best way to reach me is by email: rep.kristin.robbins@house.mn. For occasional updates, you can follow my Facebook Page at @RepKristinRobbins. You can also leave a voicemail on my office number, 651-296-7806, which is checked a couple of times/week. I hope you all have a wonderful summer!
Have a great weekend!
Kristin
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225 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.7806 |
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