Old debate reignites

A bill to exempt houses in disaster relief areas from a mortgage tax unleashed a debate about funding a study about cancer on the Iron Range.

Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Wabasha) sponsors HF3338, which was laid over April 16 by the House Taxes Committee for possible omnibus bill inclusion. A companion bill, SF3552, sponsored by Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes (DFL-Winona) is part of the Senate omnibus tax bill, SF2869, sponsored by Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook), and passed April 3.

The mortgage registry tax averaged to $53 per home in the Winona area after floods hit southeastern Minnesota last summer. Most of that money came from disaster relief funds, Drazkowski said.

“The way the bill lays now, it’s forward-looking for the next disaster,” he said. “It’s an attempt to avoid this type of conflict in the next disaster in Minnesota.”

Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) questioned why Drazkowski would support state funds for tax exemption in a specific area, but not for a study on mesothelioma.

On April 10, the House passed HF3569, sponsored by Rukavina, that would fund a study on mesothelioma, a strain of fatal cancer that has killed nearly 60 people on the Iron Range. The $4.9 million to fund the study would come from a state Workers’ Compensation Special Compensation Fund. However, some members argued that the fund should come from a Taconite Area Environmental Protection Fund. Rukavina said that fund is, in part, collected in lieu of property taxes from mining companies. “Our constituents are supposed to pay out of our local property taxes?” he said.

Rep. Randy Demmer (R-Hayfield) said the taconite fund is directed in statute to be used for suspected medical problems. “Nobody disagrees with the fact that we have to do this study,” he said.

“I believe it was three weeks after the flood, this state came together to help southeastern Minnesota,” Rukavina said. “My constituents have been waiting for relief for two years. Two years later and I still can’t get $4.9 million for a problem that some people have known has existed for 30 years.”

The argument turned tense when Demmer tried to steer the conversation back to Drazkowski’s bill. “I’m not going to go with this tit for tat anymore. The ‘woe is me’ that we’re hearing about is unfortunate. We need to get back to Rep. Drazkowski …”

Rukavina interrupted Demmer, saying that 58 people had died. “The ‘woe is me’ attitude is absolutely astounding, to me, that you would say that publicly.”