Dear Neighbor,
The bill the House passed last week to provide Minnesotans with $21.7 million in immediate tax relief by bringing the state’s tax code into compliance with federal provisions was enacted today. Minnesotans now will be able to see the benefits this tax season.
A couple of other priority bills continue advancing in the committee process: health insurance premium relief and Real ID.
The 2017 Health Care Emergency Aid and Access bill is on track to soon reach the House floor for a full vote of the body after Democrats delayed passage last week. While the governor’s proposal provides immediate relief, House Republicans offer a plan that not only provides short-term aid, but includes reform to improve the long-term outlook.
The House Republican position is that both relief and reform are necessary. As important as it is to lessen the burden now, it also is crucial to make sure we don’t end up in this same unfortunate situation next year.
Another bill that is getting closer to full House vote is a solution to our state’s non-compliance with Real ID. The federal government is implementing new ID standards impacting, among other things, the requirements for boarding commercial, domestic flights. The current form of our standard state ID does not meet the new standards.
Much of the discussion has centered on how to best gain compliance without sacrificing citizens’ private data. The House’s approach is to create a two-track proposal that would allow the people the option of abstaining from Real ID participation. A bill with that feature passed the House with strong bipartisan support last year, but stalled in a House-Senate conference committee. The current proposal is very much the same and would bring us into compliance before the deadline arrives in January of 2018.
I will pass along more details on these and other bills, including ones I am authoring, throughout the session.
Sincerely,
Jim