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Political Agenda

Aside from federal dollars, state senator seeks some home-grown stimulus

By G.R. Anderson Jr. | 05/13/09

Before the Obama bailout, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle spent the beginning of the session crowing about jobs, jobs, jobs. Given various budget battles, some of the idealism has been lost.
 
But today, there will be some action on a bill proposed by Sen. James Metzen, DFL-South St. Paul. According to the Senate public information services, the so-called "Minnesota Stimulus Bill" (S.F. 2078) will be discussed by the House/Senate Tax Conference Committee today.
 
Here is a link to a rundown of the bill, including its status, summary and text.
 
According to the Senate press release, the bill "was put together by a coalition of business and labor and received wide bipartisan support in the Senate" and includes “incentives to spur private investment in commercial and residential construction projects," such as:

 
• A state-backed loan guarantee program to thaw the frozen credit market for businesses seeking to expand and grow Minnesota’s economy. 
• Granting local governments more flexibility to grow new jobs through capital investments and local tax incentives.
• A state income tax credit to provide incentives for the construction of low-income housing.
• An advance loan program for first-time homebuyers receiving the $8,000 tax credit through the federal stimulus bill. This is modeled after similar programs in Missouri, Ohio and other states, and will help first-time homebuyers.