Dear Neighbors,
Today is our first committee deadline, which means any policy bills under consideration must be through the Senate or House by today at midnight.
To date, a fair amount of my bills will have met this first deadline. Below is a brief overview of what I’ve been working on with my colleagues and constituents at the Capitol:
HF 879 Senior Fraud Prevention
This bipartisan bill is a renewed effort from last year to implement a statewide education and outreach program to protect vulnerable adults, seniors and caregivers from financial exploitation. HF 879 has had two hearings; one in the Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee, and the Job Growth and Energy Affordability Committee. It is being considered for inclusion to the final Jobs and Energy Omnibus bill.
HF 352 Resolving Drug Related Crimes More Quickly
The legislation provides funding to reduce the processing time for drug evidence leading to drug cases get resolved much more quickly. I presented the bill to committee members on the Public Safety and Security Policy and Finance Committee, where the Chair laid the bill over for possible inclusion to the final Public Safety Omnibus Bill.
HF 1563 Equine Therapy for Veterans
This bill would fund a grant to provide equine therapy to veterans suffering from trauma and PTSD. The bill has had two committee hearings; one in the Veterans Affairs Division and another in the State Government Finance Committee. Chair Anderson laid over HF 1563 for possible consideration of the final State Government Finance Omnibus bill.
HF 918 Simplifying Tax Filing for Small Businesses
HF 918 authorizes the Minnesota Department of Revenue to issue private letter rulings to allow individuals and businesses to get advice on tax issues in advance, rather than after an audit. The letter must be made public (posted on DOR's website), with identifying information of the tax payer redacted. The bill has been heard in State Government Operations and has advanced to the Taxes Committee where it awaits further action.
Survey
I hope you’ll take the time to take my 2017 survey. You can share your input online here.
The pace will continue to pick up throughout the month of March. Please keep me posted on your thoughts; I appreciate hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Paul