Dear Neighbor,
One of the headline items this week in the House was passage of a bill I authored to provide deficiency funding to state agencies and repeal raises for state commissioners.
The bill (S.F. 174) was designed to patch holes in various state budgets as some areas run low near the end of the biennium. But the headline provision in the package pertained to recent salary increases Gov. Mark Dayton provided to commissioners.
Democrat majorities in the House and Senate changed the law in 2013, allowing the governor to provide raises for his cabinet members without legislative approval. The recent revelation that Dayton had approved raises of $25,000 to more than $80,000 caused backlash from legislators and citizens alike, spurring action.
By passing this bill I authored, we will be taking away the huge pay increases that were given to the commissioners. Secondly, we returned to the Legislature the authority to raise pay for commissioners that had been given away two years ago. Governor Dayton, however, will under the bill that was negotiated with his office, have authority to grant raises on the one day of July 1, 2015, but then lose that authority after that day. It is possible that this will be modified by later legislation this session.
Some of the deficiency funding provided by the bill will go to the Department of Health to cover for unanticipated expenses to guard against an Ebola outbreak. Other money was appropriated to the St. Peter State Hospital to help cover new safety standards.
The bill received broad, bipartisan support as it passed the House 106-21 on Thursday. It now goes to the Senate.
In other news, a bill I authored to extend tax credits for public and private students passed through the House Education Innovation Policy Committee this week. The credit is extended to tuition, and the deduction and credit amounts and the income qualification adjusted for inflation. The bottom line is this will help middle-class citizens access these tax benefits, which will be worth up to $1,500 per child.
We also received a report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor this week which provided a status report of MNsure through the program’s first year in operation. Its assessment was that “failures outweighed achievements.” Discussions will continue.
I was pleased to meet with a number of individuals and groups from the Saint Cloud area in my office this week. Thank you to the following for visiting me and giving me information on important issues that affect them:
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Jim Davis and others from the Stearns County Historical Society
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Several constituents from the Benton County Farm Bureau
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East Central Energy
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Tom Dick, Pete Hill and Bernadette Perryman representing the Minnesota Beer Wholesalers
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Dave Gruenes and others representing Stearns Electric
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Lori Smith with the Minnesota School Nutrition Association
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A large group of builders with the Central Minnesota Builders Association
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C and L Distributors
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Students and others with the Saint Cloud Technical and Community College
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Jerry Maciej with the Benton County Soil and Water Conservation District
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Eli Fark with the Minnesota Physical Therapists Association
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Saint Cloud Police Chief Blair Anderson and representatives from the Youth Intervention Project
I encourage any of constituents who are ever in Saint Paul to stop by. But if that is not possible, please stay in touch by contacting me by email or phone.
Sincerely,
Rep. Jim Knoblach