Dear Neighbors,
The first committee deadline passed last Friday and the second committee deadline is today. That means policy bills have to be completely through the committee process in both chambers in order to still be “alive”. The third deadline is March 31st, which is the last day for committees to pass a bill with a major appropriation or fiscal impact. All of this means that March is a very busy time at the Capitol with 201 legislators trying to get their bills heard by committee chairs before deadlines pass.
Here is an update on some of those issues:
Town Hall Engagement on Healthcare
At the request of local residents, I will be hosting a healthcare town hall with Rep. Jean Wagenius, Sen. Patricia Torres Ray and local experts. Join us for a panel conversation exploring developments on the state and federal level and avenues for engagement on the issue of healthcare. We will provide information and take questions from members of the community. This event is free and open to the public and people are welcome to come and go as they please.
WHAT: Town hall meeting with Rep. Davnie, Rep. Wagenius, and Sen. Torres Ray. Joined by representatives from TakeActionMN, Minnesota Nurses Association, Voices for Racial Justice and Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance.
WHEN: 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
WHERE: Mayflower Church
106 East Diamond Lake Road
Minneapolis, MN 55419
Read about impacts of these changes here: https://mn.gov/dhs/assets/ACA_Analysis_House_Bill_tcm1053-283040.pdf
Reinsurance vs MinnesotaCare Buy-in
On Monday, the House passed a Republican reinsurance plan that provides an ongoing public subsidy to insurance companies operating in Minnesota. The Republican plan (HF 5) uses $384 million of public money from the state Health Care Access Fund to essentially insure insurance companies without ensuring transparency and lower premium rates for Minnesotans. You’ll note that the Health Care Access Fund is the same money we currently use to fund MinnesotaCare. This is a nearly $400 million giveaway to insurance companies with no assurance it will stabilize the market or increase access for Minnesotans.
I joined my DFL colleagues in opposing the Republican reinsurance plan. I supported a more affordable option to provide health care coverage to a greater number of Minnesotans through a public ‘buy-in’ to MinnesotaCare. MinnesotaCare is the successful plan that has existed in Minnesota for 25 years. The buy-in would provide more affordable choices for an additional 100,000 Minnesotans who are currently in the individual market. Participant’s premiums would cover the entire cost of their policies, meaning there would be no ongoing cost to taxpayers.
Preemption at the Legislature
A number of constituents have contacted me about the issues being debated about the state preempting laws passed by cities and counties. On March 2, Republicans pushed their “preemption” bill (HF 600) through the House. The goal of this bill is to block the ability of local units of government to set their own labor standards. These efforts have been triggered by the successful efforts in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and developing efforts elsewhere to increase wages for low wage workers and provide benefits such as sick leave and family leave. If implemented, it would rollback workplace protections for hundreds of thousands of workers won in Minneapolis, St. Paul and other communities throughout the state.
The Republican majority argues that wages and working conditions should be decided on a statewide basis. This ignores two realities, that the GOP has blocked attempts to advance a set of employment policies - paid family leave, paid sick & safe time, and more at the state level, and that the cost of living is different in different parts of the state. In response to this refusal at the state level, cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul, working with residents and local businesses, have been passing fair labor policies at the local level. The “preemption” bill that Republicans are advancing now would prevent communities from democratically adopting local labor policies such as paid leave or a minimum wage. It would block the progress we’ve made to raise wages and expand benefits for hardworking Minnesotans.
Plastic Bag Bans Preempted?
Efforts at preemption aren’t limited to issues of workplace wages and benefits. Republicans in the legislature are even attempting to preempt ordinances in cities like Minneapolis and Duluth that would limit the use of plastic bags. The Minneapolis plastic bag ban won’t go into effect until June, 1, but there is a bill moving through the legislature that would take away this small piece of local control. Another example of this Republican legislature trying to micromanage local governments and silence the voices of people who are resolving the problems they see facing their communities.
Supplemental Budget and Spending Targets
On February 28, the budget forecast was released showing a $1.65 billion surplus. Governor Dayton is putting the finishing touches on his supplemental budget with the details expected today. When the Governor releases his revised budget priorities this afternoon, you will be able to find materials here.
Budget spending targets have yet to be announced by the House majority. Targets are the final piece of information committee chairs need to continue assembling the spending priorities for their area of the budget. We expect those sometime next week.
Courts Stop Second Immigration Ban
Earlier this week, federal courts in Hawaii and Maryland put a hold on President Trump’s second attempt to implement the hateful and racist “Muslim ban” he discussed in the campaign. The second refugee ban was set to go into effect this week. I am grateful for the resilience of our US Constitution and court systems during this uncertain time. You can read more here.
Trump’s Devastating Budget Proposals
Earlier this week President Trump announced his proposed federal budget and deep cuts to 62 federal agencies. As he had indicated previously the budget increases military spending 10% and reduces spending on domestic programs and the State Department by an equivalent amount. I wanted to share a few ways Minnesota could be impacted by President Trump’s proposed federal budget if Congress were to pass into law:
- $1.2 billion cut from after school programs
- $121 million cut from home weatherization and energy efficiency programs
- $3.4 billion cut from low income home heating assistance
- $3 billion cut from community development block grants (cutting about $10 million/year for the city of Minneapolis). This is the funding cut that would devastate the Meals on Wheels program that has gotten a lot of attention.
- $427 million cut from EPA programs that fund water quality checks at public beaches and the Great Lakes Restoration clean up
- $771 million cut from Americorps programs, including the Math Corps and Reading Corps program that provides tutors in schools.
- $485 million cut from the Corporation for Public Broadcast (PBS television & NPR stations)
- $366 million cut from Legal Aid to the poor
- $152 million cut from National Endowment for the Arts
- $155 million cut from National Endowment for the Humanities
And many, many others listed here.
With the American Health Care Act projected to also cut $80 million from public health programs and as much as $5-8 billion from health care programs, Minnesota should be having careful conversations about how we approach our current budget surpluses and where we may want to step into the funding gap being created by the federal government.
Stay in Touch
I hope to see you at the upcoming town hall meeting. You can always contact me if you have questions or concerns at 651-296-0173 or by email at rep.jim.davnie@house.mn.
Sincerely,
Jim Davnie
State Representative