Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Here is an update from the Capitol
In this Issue:
- Back to School Could Mean Tax Savings!
- Republican Health Care Reforms
- Omnibus Bills Continued
- Peppin’s MinnTriv
Back to School Could Mean Tax Savings!
Minnesota has two tax relief programs for families with children in K-12 including both a subtraction and credit. Both programs can help families with school-age children lower their taxes or provide a larger refund.
Qualifying purchases include many school supply items you may be buying this month, so don’t forget to keep your receipts! There are limits to the subtraction and credit including income levels and number of children in your family. To learn more, go to the Minnesota Department of Revenue’s website or feel free to contact my office with questions.
Republican Health Care Reforms
Late last month, the Minnesota Department of Commerce released preliminary rates for the 2018 individual insurance market, revealing a number of Republican-led reforms could end the four-year trend of harmful double-digit premium increases since the implementation of Obamacare and MNsure. That’s great news considering premiums have gone up by an average of double-digits every year since 2014, including nearly 60 percent for 2017.
The biggest key reform was the Minnesota Premium Security Plan we passed this year which, if approved by the federal government, could mean premium decreases for tens of thousands of Minnesotans. In contrast, without our reforms the Minnesota Department of Commerce shared that rates could rise 25 percent or more next year.
We have sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price urging approval of a waiver to move forward with our state’s reinsurance plan.
House Republicans are committed to turning around our MNsure mess and addressing both cost and access to health insurance for families, individuals, seniors, farmers and small business owners. I will share more on this when final rates for the 2018 individual market are released later this fall.
Omnibus Bills Continued
In the last few updates, I have been sharing details about the major budget bills that passed earlier this year. This week I will talk about state government finance and health and human services.
State Government
When crafting a bill to fund state government this session, our focus was on prioritizing veteran and military services, as well as bringing more efficiency, transparency and accountability to state agencies.
First, a number of veterans programs were enhanced. We expanded the GI bill to include apprenticeships and on-the-job training, along with other professional and educational benefits. We also funded programs to help veterans with homeownership and allocated $8.4 million to the Minnesota National Guard for recruitment incentives.
Other highlights of the bill include capping severance payments to highly-compensated state employees and prohibiting severance payments that are not authorized by a collective bargaining unit. We also invested in election equipment upgrades, funded cyber security improvements and funded the Safe at Home Program to protect victims of violence, abuse and sexual assault.
Health and Human Services
The Health and Human Services bill worked first and foremost to protect Minnesota’s most vulnerable including children, the elderly and the disabled. House Republicans also worked to rein in rising costs in this area of government, reducing projected spending by $463 million and implementing commonsense eligibility checks to prevent waste, fraud and abuse in our public programs.
Key highlights in the bill include reducing fees to help relieve financial burdens on families with sick and disabled children, implementing reforms and funding grants to improve Minnesota’s mental health services, advancing initiatives to combat sex trafficking, and tackling our states’ opioid abuse epidemic.
Peppin’s MinnTriv
Thank you to everyone who participated in the last Peppin’s MinnTriv Question. The question was: Peanuts creator Charles Schulz lived above his father’s barber shop which is now the location of what St. Paul establishment? The answer is O’Gara’s Bar and Grill in Saint Paul.
Congratulations to James Rouillard for having the first correct response.
Here is this week’s question: This commonly used item was invented by St. Paul grocer Walter Deubener in the early part of the twentieth century.
Respond to this question and you could be featured in the next e-mail update!
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In order to best represent our communities, I need to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to contact my office at any time. My direct line is 651-296-7806. My email address is rep.joyce.peppin@house.mn and my mailing address is Room 459 State Office Building, 100 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, St. Paul, MN 55155.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Sincerely,
Joyce
**Encourage your neighbors and friends to sign up for my email updates at www.house.mn/34A