ST. PAUL – Separate provisions Rep. Jim Knoblach, R-St. Cloud, authored to mitigate child care reimbursement disparities and to resolve an issue threatening funeral homes throughout Greater Minnesota passed the House on Thursday.
They are the latest in a number of bills the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee has authored that have received House approval as omnibus bill provisions in recent days.
Knoblach's child care bill equalizes the child care reimbursement rates for cities such as St. Cloud which stretch into two or more counties. Current disparities in subsidies one facility may receive from the state compared with another in close proximity have created uneven terrain, forcing some child care providers out of business and causing families to lose services.
"This situation occurs in a number of cities in Minnesota, but St. Cloud and the three counties it touches could serve as Exhibit A for why this change is needed," Knoblach said. "There already is a shortage of child care providers in our state and this issue with reimbursement disparities is adding to the challenge."
Knoblach's funeral home provision allows branches that don't have preparation rooms on site, but instead use a prep room at a nearby facility, to continue to stay open. Without a change, such funeral homes will be required to close by June 30, 2017, or add a prep room at a potential cost of $100,000 or more.
"This issue was brought to me by a local constituent," Knoblach said. "People have viewings and funerals in churches, Legion clubs, gymnasiums and other locations that do not have prep rooms. Why does the state need to require every funeral home location to have one, as long as a licensed prep room is used?"
The bills passed as components in a wide-ranging House omnibus bill encompassing health and human services, public safety and state government finance. It is the third omnibus bill the House has passed this week, following a package of K-12 and higher education provisions on Monday and Wednesday's bill with jobs, energy, environment and agriculture measures.
The education package includes a bill Knoblach authored to fund creating morning and afternoon preschool sections consisting of low-income students and English language learners at three St. Cloud elementary schools.
Two proposals of Knoblach's received approval as jobs provisions, providing additional funding for Centers for Independent Living, which helps handicapped people live independently, and also for the State Services for the Blind, which helps older adults becoming blind stay in their homes.
Each of the House's three omnibus bills now is in the hands of the Senate.
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