Good morning, and happy Wednesday.
Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign the first bill of the legislative session today. The measure conforms state tax laws to recent changes in federal law, and all told will provide Minnesotans with more than $100 million in tax deductions. The Senate passed the bill unanimously Wednesday after the House did the same last week.
A marijuana legalization bill took one small step in the Minnesota Legislature Wednesday but has many more ahead.MPR’s Brian Bakst has the story: Lead sponsor, DFL Rep. Zack Stephenson of Coon Rapids, tried to sum it up to the House Commerce Committee, which sent the bill to its next stop by a divided voice vote. “Our bill will create a safe, well-regulated legal marketplace where Minnesotans can grow, sell and buy cannabis if they choose to do so,” said Stephenson, who chairs the committee. Stephenson’s bill is a Minnesota-specific proposal that aims to adopt successful practices while avoiding the pitfalls seen in other states with legal marijuana. “We aren’t copy pasting from any other state,” he said. “But we are learning from both the successes and failures that have occurred in other states that attempted legalization.” The basics are this: Anyone over 21 would be able to possess the drug and use it with limitations on smoking at schools, behind the wheel and other defined settings. A system for licensing growers, shippers and retailers would be set up and taxes would be assessed. People with prior low-level marijuana offenses could have those removed from their record.
The House elections committee approved two bills Wednesday that are DFL priorities.MPR’s Dana Ferguson has more: John Runningen, president of a college student group called Lead Minnesota, said he wasn't interested in elections or policy issues before he turned 18. But he said being able to pre-register could change that for other teenagers. "I believe that allowing 16 and 17 year-olds the opportunity to register to vote helps by providing an on-ramp for our students to become engaged citizens. They will also have the opportunity to have the support of their teachers to help them understand what it means to be civically engaged." The other bill restores voting rights to felons once they have completed their time in prison. Willie Lloyd, a teacher who remains on supervised release, said he pays taxes and contributes to his community, but state law prevents him from casting a ballot. "I am a leader in my community but unlike you, I don't have a voice,” Lloyd said. “Unlike you, I've been made to feel like a second-class American because I can't vote." Faith leaders, election officials and others spoke in favor of the bill.
Some at the Capitol are talking about a $1.7 billion annual subsidy to help more than 200,000 people with low incomes pay rent.The Star Tribune reports: Key legislators in the Democrat-controlled House and Senate back the assistance program, which would ensure low-income Minnesotans don't spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent. It is one of many housing-related spending and policy changes that lawmakers are considering given the $17.6 billion budget surplus and what officials stress is a worsening housing crisis. Many Minnesotans' inability to afford rent is one piece of a troubling housing problem: The state doesn't have enough housing to meet demand; there is a massive racial gap in homeownership; some people spend freezing nights in homeless encampments or sleep on friends' couches or in shelters. Lawmakers are considering a suite of options to help, including increasing down payment assistance, changing zoning restrictions, altering eviction policies and spending and borrowing more to maintain existing affordable housing and help build new properties.
U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach is now a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. “The communities I represent understand that agriculture benefits from a competitive tax code and robust market access. The Ways & Means Committee is the strongest platform by which Congress can pursue both of these goals,” Fischbach said in a statement. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to fight for American agriculture and American families on this important committee."
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