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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Dan Fabian (R)

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Capitol Update from Rep. Dan Fabian

Monday, February 1, 2016

Dear Neighbors,

Here is an update from the Capitol.

Buffer Law

After a meeting between legislative leadership and the governor last week, Governor Dayton announced his administration will uphold an agreement made in June regarding the new buffer law. This is great news for many folks in Northwest Minnesota who had concerns regarding the overreach of the DNR, and we now have assurances that the law will be interpreted as the legislature intended. 

During last year's special session, House Republicans, Senate Democrats and Governor Dayton came to an agreement regarding buffers, and that agreement became law. That buffer law requires a 30-foot minimum wide buffer on public waters and a 16.5 wide buffer on public ditches, but private ditches were not included in that agreement.
The DNR initially implemented the law as agreed upon, but in October, they began asking counties and watershed districts for data on ditches that fell within the benefited area of public drainage systems. This would have included things beyond public ditches, violating the agreement.

I am pleased Governor Dayton agreed to uphold the bipartisan buffer law, and I expect the legislature will draft clarification language next year to ensure the DNR does not overstep its authority on buffers.

MNsure

The nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) released a report on MNsure last week, showing that between January and May of 2015, overpayments to ineligible people enrolled in public programs through the exchange were anywhere from $115 to $271 million. 

That kind of excessive government waste is both astonishing and unacceptable. It's clear MNsure is continuing to fail Minnesotans and not living up to its promises. Tied in with skyrocketing insurance premiums, something must be done to rein in MNsure and protect hardworking taxpayers from this excessive waste. 

OLA arrived at its data by sampling cases from early 2015, finding errors in 38 percent of those cases for people who enrolled in public programs through the exchange. Of those 38 percent, three-quarters did not qualify for any public program at all. In all, more than 80,000 Minnesotans enrolled in a public program for which they were not eligible.  

In 2015, House Republicans passed legislation to improve public program eligibility verification to prevent abuse and overpayments like this, and it was estimated to save $300 million. Unfortunately, those savings were disputed by Governor Dayton's Administration and Senate Democrats. OLA's nonpartisan report, however, proved proper eligibility verification could have saved as much as $271 million in on quarter alone, and that's why these common sense reforms are vital for our state and must be revisited when the legislature reconvenes in March.

Environment Listening Session 

As a reminder, this Wednesday I will be hosting an Environment Listening Session in Thief River Falls with Representative Denny McNamara, Chair of the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee.

The listening session will cover numerous constituent concerns related to land, water and wildlife laws and regulations, including those set by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

I look forward to hosting this meeting, hearing first-hand about the concerns residents are facing so we can tackle these issues at the State Capitol. Please contact my office if you have additional questions.     

What: Environment Listening Session with Rep. Dan Fabian and Rep. Denny McNamara
When: Wednesday, February 3rd from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Where: Thief River Falls City Hall, Council Chambers
      205 Third Street East
  Thief River Falls, MN 56701

I hope to see you there!

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To stay up-to-date on what’s happening at your State Capitol, feel free to “like” my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/RepDanFabian.

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My door is always open to the needs and priorities of our area. Please feel free to let me know if I can be of assistance to you and your family. I am here to serve you! 

Dan


**Encourage your neighbors and friends to sign up for my email updates at www.house.mn/01A