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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Kelly Fenton (R)

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Legislative Update

Friday, August 18, 2017

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Here is an update with the latest news from the Capitol.

South Washington County Schools Data Breach

This week, it was discovered that thousands of students’ personal information was sent in a mass e-mail by South Washington County Schools. Information included students’ names, grades, ID numbers, contact information, bus routes and schools of attendance.

This is extremely dismaying. Data privacy is critical in this day and age, and we must especially protect children.

Following a hack of private data earlier this year of school employees in South Washington County by a student, it’s clear that the district needs to take necessary steps to improve data security to protect students, families and employees.

This latest data breach is disappointing to say the least, and I will work with the school district in any way I can to ensure they are taking the right steps forward so something like this never happens again. If you have concerns or questions, please feel free to contact my office.

Misconduct at Department of Commerce Costs Taxpayers $1 Million

Last week, a U.S. District Court once again ruled against the Department of Commerce and ordered it to pay nearly $1 million in attorney fees and costs to Safelite, Inc. This follows an earlier court ruling that the Department of Commerce violated the First Amendment rights of Safelite to the detriment of consumers. Moreover, the court found the department initiated a baseless investigation based on financially-motivated complaints from competitors, shared confidential information of an investigation, and engineered a strategy to harm Safelite by targeting companies with whom they do business.

On Commissioner Rothman’s watch, the Department of Commerce abused their power, bullied businesses and acted against the interest of Minnesota consumers. Now, taxpayers are on the hook for nearly $1 million because unelected bureaucrats believed they were above the law.

While I am pleased the courts ruled against the Department of Commerce’s egregious actions, it is frustrating that hardworking Minnesota taxpayers will bear the burden of the department’s misconduct and unethical behavior.

I believe Governor Dayton should hold his commissioner accountable for this misconduct by his department and either let him go or ask for his resignation.

You can read more in a recent story I did with KSTP here.

Republican Health Care Reforms

A few weeks ago, preliminary rates for the 2018 individual insurance market were released, revealing a number of Republican-led reforms could end the four-year trend of double-digit premium increases under MNsure and the Affordable Care Act. That’s a big turnaround considering 2017 premiums went up by an average of approximately 60 percent.

The most significant reform we passed this session is the Minnesota Premium Security Plan which, if approved by the federal government, could mean premium decreases for tens of thousands of Minnesotans. On the other hand, without those reforms rates could rise 25 percent or more next year according to the MN Department of Commerce.

While we don’t know what will happen with health care at the federal level, here in Minnesota we are working hard to make improvements and return our state to a national leader in health care.

I will share more when final rates for the 2018 individual market are released later this fall.

Woodbury Days is Coming Soon!

Woodbury Days is coming August 25-27 at Ojibway Park. Come celebrate our great city, chat with local business owners, visit neighbors, support some great local causes and enjoy the many fun events throughout the weekend!

You can learn about all the great family-friendly events, volunteer opportunities and more at www.woodburydays.com.

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As always, if you have ideas about what you would like to see happen at the Capitol or need assistance on a matter of state government, I welcome you to contact me. Please don’t hesitate to call (651-296-1147), email (rep.kelly.fenton@house.mn) or stop by my office.

Sincerely,

Kelly

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