Dear Neighbor,
Another week of the 2016 legislative session is underway.
The biggest news from the floor last week was House passage of legislation to extend unemployment benefits for eligible workers on the Iron Range by an additional 26 weeks, retroactive to the start of the recent steel-industry downturn. It also provides reform for an over-funded unemployment insurance trust fund.
As for the reform, the state's unemployment insurance trust fund is over-funded, currently carrying a nearly all-time high $1.6 billion balance. The legislation we passed credits approximately $258 million to employers and reduces their future obligation to the trust fund when the balance exceeds the fully-funded threshold per federal standards. There is no need for the trust fund balance to be as high as it is. We can give small businesses some relief from unemployment insurance obligations so they can reinvest and hire more employees and still have more than enough to meet demand even in the event of an economic downturn.
The bill passed with broad bipartisan support, 104-25, and now is in the hands of the Senate. Gov. Mark Dayton has indicated he will sign the unemployment legislation once he receives it.
On another note, work to repeal the law prohibiting Minnesota from complying with new federal REAL ID standards continues. The goal is to advance legislation that allows citizens to board commercial domestic flights without concern, while also protecting citizens' private data. We have time on this issue since the new federal ID requirements for boarding domestic flights will not go into effect for another few years. However, it is important to get this issue resolved so that we can issue new drivers licenses in an orderly fashion, and so that people who need to visit federal facilities such as military bases can do so.
On a personal note, some of you may have seen news coverage about my daughter, Laura, age 21. This past weekend she set a world record as the youngest woman to ever complete a full double triathlon, which requires swimming 4.8 miles, bicycling 224 miles, and then running two consecutive marathons (52.4 miles). She finished in 34 hours, 20 minutes and 38 seconds at the Florida Double ANVIL triathlon in Orlando, Fla. Obviously I am very proud of her.
Sincerely,
Jim