News Release State Senator Kenneth S. Kelash District 63 129 State Office Bldg. 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. St. Paul, MN 55155-1206 Telephone (651) 297-8061 Use Mail Form Date: January 12, 2012

Kelash introduces plan with Governor to get Minnesotans back to work

Today State Sen. Ken Kelash, DFL-Minneapolis, together with Gov. Mark Dayton and other DFL legislators introduced a jobs plan to get Minnesotans back to work. The plan focuses on proven initiatives that grow jobs including small business incentives to create jobs, improving workforce development and training, and investing in infrastructure.

“The jobs plan will help Minnesota businesses by giving tax credits for new hires, and give workers the ability to expand their skills to meet the demands of the job market,” said Sen. Kelash. “The measures to train our workforce are in response to employers telling us they don’t have applicants with the proper skills to meet their business needs.”

The following investments in our state’s economy will help position Minnesota for success in the future by putting thousands of Minnesotans back to work.

New Jobs Tax Credit: The New Jobs Tax Credit is focused on immediate job creation to provide businesses with tax credits for hiring unemployed Minnesotans. This $35 million initiative would create over 10,000 new, private-sector jobs each year.

Invest in Infrastructure: The $775 million bonding bill to be announced next week will put many unemployed professionals back to work, while maintaining and enhancing our infrastructure. The bill would also include $20 million in bonding requests by the Department of Employment and Economic Development specifically designed to help businesses expand in Minnesota.

Help Minnesota Compete for Business Expansion: $10 million in additional funding would be provided for the Minnesota Investment Fund, which has a track record of helping Minnesota attract businesses to locate or expand here. Communities across the state have been able to attract new companies thanks to this fund.

Internet Sales Tax Fairness—Affiliate Nexus: Under current law, out-of-state retailers that do not have a physical presence in Minnesota are not required to collect the sales tax on online purchases used and consumed in Minnesota. Passing the Internet Sales Tax Fairness bill would level the playing field for Minnesota businesses and generate about $3.5 million in FY2013.

Expand the FastTRAC Initiative Statewide: The Minnesota FastTRAC initiative has been instrumental in making sure that workers are trained for the jobs in demand. The jobs plan would expand this initiative statewide to help even more Minnesotans.

Minnesota Opportunity Grants Pilot Program: This program aims to help 2,000 Minnesotans get new job skills training by providing $2,000 grants for professional education for in-demand jobs.

For more information, Sen. Kelash may be contacted at 651-297-8061, sen.kenneth.kelash@senate.mn or 129 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155.

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