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Committee forwards Great Start Child Care Tax Credit to tax panel after supporters stress affordability for families with young children
Summary
House File 1384, the Great Start Child Care Tax Credit, would increase the state dependent care credit for children under age 6 and expand income eligibility. The Children and Families Committee re‑referred the bill to Taxes after testimony from providers and lawmakers and a sponsor estimate of substantial fiscal cost.
Chair Katiza Wintoun moved House File 1384, the Great Start Child Care Tax Credit, and the committee voted to re‑refer the bill to the Committee on Taxes by voice vote.
The proposal would increase the state dependent care tax credit for households with children under age 6, expanding the per‑child credit and the number of qualifying children for credit calculations. Sponsor remarks framed the bill as an affordability measure for families with young children and intended to broaden assistance beyond very low‑income households. The bill phases down after a graduated income threshold and phases out for higher incomes.
Claire Sanford, chair of government relations for the Minnesota Child Care Association, testified in support. Sanford told the committee that many licensed child‑care centers in Minnesota are underenrolled because families cannot afford care and that expanding credits for children under 5 would target the period when child‑care costs are highest. “Families with young children are typically early in their earning cycle. They don't have as much to give,” Sanford said, and argued tax credits should help middle‑income families who currently receive little assistance.
Members asked about the fiscal impact. Chair Wintoun said a prior fiscal estimate from 2022 put a similar proposal near $200 million per year; she and other members said they planned to pursue funding paths including tax‑committee changes and advance payment options already introduced for other credits. Committee members also discussed how the proposal relates to the child‑care assistance program and other subsidies; witnesses and nonpartisan staff clarified that CCAP is treated as a public assistance program rather than a grant under current executive practice and that billing and monitoring rules differ.
Representative Wintoun said the bill will continue to tax committee consideration and urged members to continue working on packaging and funding. The referral passed by voice vote; the committee did not record a roll‑call tally in the transcript.
