Ann Rest represents District 45, which includes portions of the western suburbs of Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metro area. Learn more about Sen. Rest. Read more news from Sen. Rest.
“I have been ready since day one to put in the work necessary to pass a state budget that will build a better Minnesota for all. It’s disappointing that we finished this legislative session with a lot more work still left on the table.
Senator Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope) was appointed to serve on the House and Senate Taxes Conference Committee. Five appointed members from each legislative body will work over the course of the next few weeks to find a compromise on a final budget bill to bring back to the chamber of each legislative body for a final vote.
The women of the Senate DFL gathered today virtually to rally for Minnesota to finally pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The federal Equal Rights Amendment was originally written in 1923 and finally passed by Congress in 1972. Minnesota ratified the ERA one year later in 1973. After nearly 100 years, the ERA bill was passed in the Minnesota House in 2019, but did not make it past the Republican-controlled Senate.
Senator Ann Rest, DFL lead on the Taxes Committee and co-author of Senate File 263 (Bakk, I, Cook), successfully added a proposal to the bill in the Senate Tax Committee hearing that offers workers receiving unemployment compensation, tax relief at a total one time cost of $30-50 million for 2020. SF 263 conforms to the federal treatment of 2020 COVID-19-related loans to businesses that will not be taxable income to recipients and allows for deductions for various expenses with the nontaxable loans – just like the federal treatment.
The February budget forecast from Minnesota Management and Budget was presented today with a budget and economic forecast projecting a positive balance of $1.6 billion for the FY 2022-23 biennium. Minnesota’s budget outlook is significantly better for this biennium and the next due to an improved U.S. economic outlook that is bolstered by large federal actions that have emerged since November and were not incorporated in earlier projections.
Thank you for your work to ensure that all Minnesotans voices and perspectives are heard in our state legislature. As we work for the good of all Minnesotans, we write to strongly encourage you to support legislation that we will be introducing alongside Representative Hodan Hassan. This bill makes small changes to ensure that all Minnesotans have full access to the religious freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Minnesota.