Dear Neighbor,
On Tuesday, I was pleased to be joined by Minnesota House Aging and Long Term Care Policy Chairman Joe Schomacker (R-Luverne) as we held listening sessions with nursing home staff and administrators in Stillwater to discuss Minnesota's historic nursing home funding and reform law and to learn about its local impacts.
Both Chairman Schomacker and I really enjoyed the positive feedback from the staff at Golden LivingCenter – Greeley, the Good Samaritan Society, and Gables of Boutwells Landing. The 2015 Legislative Session made a real and meaningful investment in our seniors and caregivers in Minnesota, and I was pleased to support the most comprehensive nursing home funding reform in nearly 30 years. As we learned Tuesday, we have now brought care center reimbursements to a level approaching the actual cost of caring for our loved ones, and given caregivers a real chance to make their job a career.
In other news, a court order was recently issued regarding Minnesota's Sex Offender Program (MSOP). The order does not release any sex offenders or shut down the sex offender program. However, the Court states that failure to comply may result in the Court preventing new civil commitments and the continued commitment of current offenders.
Remedies contained in the order included:
*Risk and treatment phase reevaluations of all MSOP clients
*Ensuring that less restrictive placements are available for persons eligible for a reduction in custody
*Providing transitional assistance for anyone fully discharged
*To petition for the reduction in custody of any client whose reevaluation concludes they meet criteria
As always, our first priority is protecting Minnesota families. The Attorney General plans to appeal the order and seek a stay of the judge's ruling.
In case you hadn't heard, Minnesota's state auditor is wasting your tax dollars by protesting against bipartisan legislation that was signed into law by Governor Dayton.
State Auditor Rebecca Otto is taking issue with a new law allowing counties to contract with Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firms to perform mandatory audits. Under the old law, 28 counties had the power to contract outside of the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) in order to save taxpayer dollars. These audits must still be approved by the OSA ensuring government oversight but allows counties to possibly save on costs at the benefit of their residents.
The new law passed by Democrats and Republicans could save tax dollars and gives counties freedom from a government-imposed monopoly. Auditor Otto insists on fighting this bipartisan legislation, and to date has wasted over $100,000 in taxpayer money on private attorney fees.
Otto's reaction reeks of sour grapes, and rather than create an unnecessary turf war that will only harm taxpayers I'm hopeful she'll simply accept the new bipartisan law and avoid a potential lawsuit.
Finally, as we celebrate Veterans Day I encourage you to remember those who have served and are serving this great nation. Our veterans all made great sacrifices, personal and professional, to step up and serve on our behalf.
To all who fought for our nation's interests – thank you.
Talk to you soon,
Kathy