Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I wanted to touch base and share some of the details as we move forward with the timeline previously shared regarding the deadlines to have our budget omnibus bills ready. To recap:
May 28th: Spreadsheet for omnibus bills done by 5pm.
June 4th: Language for omnibus bills prepared by this date.
June 14th: Expected day of special session being called to finish budget work.
Approaching that May 28th deadline next week, the actual budget numbers each committee is working with are listed below:
- There are no new taxes this year and a tax reduction for middle income earners.
- The budget reserve level (rainy day fund) will be increased from $1,596,522,000 to $2,377,319,000.
Committees below are in millions - $70m in broadband funding.
- $75m for Summer learning
- $525m for E-12
- $100m for Higher Ed
- $100m for HHS
- $30m for Environment
- $10m for Agriculture
- $10m for Housing
- $200m for Transportation
- $105m for Public Safety
- $125m for Labor/Workforce
- $16m for Energy
- $67m for State Government
- $754m for Taxes ($644 for PPP and UI conformity)
Discussions are ongoing for the varying budgets though below you will find detailed the PPP Loans and Unemployment Tax Relief information.
PPP and UI Tax Relief
The Senate and House came to agreement on Paycheck Protection Program and Unemployment Insurance tax conformity. This means for PPP the full amount of forgiven PPP loans may be excluded from income, and business expenses supported with PPP loans also may be deducted from income. For UI, up to $10,200 of unemployment benefits received in 2020 may be subtracted from income. This will provide about 553,900 Minnesota returns an average tax reduction of $486 for Tax Year 2020.
Monday, May 17 was the deadline for filing and paying Minnesota income taxes. Since no tax changes were passed before that date, many Minnesotans may have faced large tax bills that could be reversed considering the global budget agreement.
The Department of Revenue’s website will be updated with guidance once the Legislature passes a tax bill: https://www.revenue.state.mn.us/tax-law-changes . That page also directs constituents how to sign up for instant email alerts. In the past, the Department has been able to automatically adjust many tax returns without additional taxpayer action required.
Finally, I wanted to share some vaccine updates as of the last few days that I have received:
The State Fair Community Vaccination Site officially has thousands of open appointments again as of this morning! This site now offers anyone 18 and older to get a single-dose, Johnson & Johnson, shot at the facility from May 26 through June 8 with scheduling open NOW! The site is not yet accepting walk-ups while we finish administering second dose, follow up, Pfizer appointments, however, from May 26 until June 8 the site will again accept walk-ups daily from noon to 8 p.m.
How you can get an appointment at this site:
- Minnesotans from anywhere can schedule appointments at the State Fair NOW by clicking on this link: https://www.primarybio.com/r/mnvax-sfg?registration_type=general_public
- Or schedule an appointment by calling (833) 431-2053
- Minnesotans from anywhere can WALK-IN to the state fair site from May 26-June 8, no appointment necessary!
- There is no requirement to show ID either during registration or at the site.
- Getting the vaccine is free and health insurance is not required.
With that, I will continue to work on the health and human services omnibus bill and keep you updated on how all of the budgets are progressing as I receive information. As always, stay safe and keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Senator John Hoffman
If you have any questions or concerns feel free to call my office at 651-296-4154 or by e-mail at jhoffman@senate.mn