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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Kelby Woodard (R)

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Legislative Update

Friday, March 21, 2014

Dear Neighbors,

The first committee deadline is today, and my Democrat colleagues continue to introduce a plethora of bills to increase taxes and red tape for Minnesota families and businesses. Here is a quick rundown of some of the latest developments at the Capitol.

Taxes

Taxes are the hot topic in St. Paul with April 15th fast approaching for Minnesota’s taxpayers. The House passed a bill to repeal last session’s new business-to-business taxes and provide federal tax conformity. The Senate however, continues to drag their feet on returning money to the taxpayer and simplifying returns.

Following a rare public shaming of his fellow Democrats by Governor Dayton earlier this week, the Senate passed their own tax bill in committee that included additional refunds to hardworking Minnesota taxpayers and a repeal of the three harmful B2B taxes passed last year. The Governor’s press conference and my response were reported on KSTP and can be found here.

As a reminder, our state currently enjoys a $1.2 billion surplus which my Republican colleagues and I believe should be returned to taxpayers through this tax bill.

Republicans warned that last year’s historic $2.1 billion tax increase—which Democrats passed on a purely partisan basis and signed into law—would have a detrimental effect on Minnesota businesses and families. While the House and Senate tax bills rectify some of their mistakes, we’ve now learned that Democrats in Minnesota are proposing to spend another $510 million on new government programs.

After increasing government spending by $6,000 for every family of four in the last session, it is past time to provide Minnesotans with true tax relief.

MNsure

With another deadline fast approaching for government mandated health insurance, there are still an abundance of problems with MNsure. The IRS can charge a penalty to anyone without insurance by the March 31st deadline, and this is a serious concern as thousands of Minnesotans continue to struggle to get insured through the ineffective and bureaucratic mess that is MNsure.

The MNsure Board met last week to discuss their latest enrollment numbers and how they plan to fund themselves going forward. With numbers far below even their lowest expectations, I am concerned that premiums will rise and that MNsure will return to the legislature next year asking for more money on top of the $150 million taxpayers have already spent to build the exchange.

Taxes on private plans are how MNsure planned to fund themselves after 2015. With the newest numbers showing only 33,680 enrollments are “in process” for commercial plans (individual and small business) as of March 8th, there is no way they can fiscally sustain themselves going forward. This is more than 80 percent below their original lowest expectations when MNsure was created.

Legislation with Local Impact

Two bills I authored with Senator Dahle on behalf of constituents have been introduced in the House.

The first bill, HF 2753, increases the operating payment rate for nursing homes in Le Sueur County. This bill will rectify mistakes in disparities between urban and rural payments and provide some much needed relief for our local nursing homes.

The second bill, HF 2434, allows a few homes in Helena Township to connect to the city of New Prague sewer system. There is no cost to the state and the township and city have both approved the arrangement.

Both HF 2753 and HF 2434 have bipartisan support, and I am hopeful they will move through quickly this session and be signed into law.

Constituents at the Capitol

Many constituents have been coming down to the Capitol over the past week. It is always wonderful to talk with folks from our area and hear about what is important to them and their families.

Volunteer Firefighters spend the day at the Capitol.

Members of the Le Sueur and Scott County Farm Bureau

High School Page Nicole Miller from LeSueur

Belle Plaine Mayor Mike Pingalore

As always, it is an honor to represent you in Saint Paul, and I look forward to hearing about the issues that are important to you.

Warm Regards, 

Kelby