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Bliss




Dear Neighbor,

Lots of ground to cover in this week?s newsletter, so let?s get right to it:

*Town hall meeting Saturday*

I hope you can join Sen. Steve Green, Rep. Matt Grossell and me for a legislative town hall meeting 11 a.m. Saturday at the Bemidji Eagles Club (1270 Neilson Ave. SE, Bemidji). This meeting is in response to request constituents have made to conduct a public discussion on bills related to gun control moving through the Legislature (see more below). No RSVP is necessary and you can call my legislative office at (651) 296-5516 with any questions. This should be a good conversation and I look forward to hearing more of what local citizens have to say.

*Bill to eliminate state tax on Social Security*

I am co-authoring a bill to fully repeal the state tax on Social Security so seniors and others can keep more of their money. Minnesota is one of 12 states that still tax social security benefits. The state has a $17.6 billion state budget surplus and price increases are straining family budgets. The time is right for a full repeal.

We made some progress as a Republican House majority a few years ago, but it?s time to finish the job. Let?s do what?s right for our seniors and other people on Social Security by eliminating this unjust tax.

Minnesota?s tax structure is unfriendly to retirees and our state loses [ [link removed]. ] far more domestic residents each year to other states than we gain. Business and personal finance publisher Kiplinger lists [ [link removed] ] Minnesota among its ?not tax-friendly? states for retirees, indicating, ?The North Star State offers cold comfort on the tax front to retirees.?

Cold winters play a role in Minnesota?s migration patterns, which highlights the importance of improving our state in areas the Legislature actually can control. Winter is a fact of life around here, so we need to make sure we are doing our best to compensate other ways, such as with a warmer tax structure.

A full repeal of the state Social Security tax would benefit 473,000 people, with an average tax savings of $1,276. In contrast, Gov. Tim Walz?s budget proposal also doesn?t repeal the Social Security tax, with only 43% of Minnesotans would be receiving some form of social security relief ? on average, $278 per household.

Fully eliminating the state tax on Social Security should be a top priority this session, especially after Democrats last fall signaled this is something they support. We?re now more than one month into the session but the majority has spent more time bringing controversial bills than passing bills such as this that we all should support.

In addition to co-authoring a repeal of the Social Security tax, I am working non legislation to reduce property taxes for seniors and another to provide disabled veterans with property tax exclusions.

*National Popular Vote*

The House committee on elections, which I serve, recently heard a bill that would adopt the National Popular Vote, doing away with the Electoral College and awarding our electors to the winner of the National Popular Vote.

This is a bad idea for our state. Minnesota currently has about 3.5 million voters, just a fraction of other more-populous states such as California. Minnesota theoretically could vote 100% for a candidate and still be dramatically outweighed by more heavily populated states. The balance would be lost, which would be unfortunate because what?s good for California is not necessarily good for Minnesota, or the Midwest for that matter.

The bill we heard in committee came on short notice, with little or no chance to inform our constituents prior to the meeting. This bill was given about 30 minutes of testimony and questions and is on track to receive a vote of the full House soon. Regardless of where you stand on this issue, I think we can all agree that something of this magnitude deserves more than 30 minutes of discussion. Here is a link to the bill: H.F. 642 [ [link removed] ].

*Gun-control bills*

I mentioned in my last newsletter [ [link removed] ] that Second Amendment supporters should be on high alert over gun-control bills House Democrats are moving through the committee process in an attempt to force unprecedented restrictions on us. Two of those bills received another committee hearing this week as they continue moving through the process, including:


* H.F. 14 [ [link removed] ]: Universal Background Checks (aka Universal Gun Registration): Criminal background checks required for firearm transfers, and grounds modified for disqualification of transferee permit.
* H.F. 15 [ [link removed] ]: Red Flag Gun Confiscation Orders: Law enforcement and family members enabled to petition a court to prohibit people from possessing firearms if they pose a significant danger to themselves or others by possessing a firearm, and money appropriated.

If the House majority decides to pass these bills, it will put the Senate on the hot seat. I urge you to reach out to your Senator and urge them to oppose these bills. If you are uncertain regarding what Senator represents a specific address, you can click here [ [link removed] ] to do a quick search.

This is a huge deal and I hope you will make your thoughts known.

Sincerely,

Matt






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State Rep. Matt Bliss
311 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
St. Paul, MN 55155
[email protected]
(651) 296-5516







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