By Rep. Paul Anderson
Committee action in the Minnesota House is winding down as the final deadline for spending bills to be passed out of committee is this Friday, April 19. Action then shifts to more and longer floor sessions, with the schedule for this week having us in session every day, including Saturday, April 20. It’s expected that all major spending bills will be heard during the week and passed.
The Senate released its tax bill last week, and it contained some mild surprises. They made changes to the sales tax, although not going quite as far as Gov. Mark Dayton did in his first proposal. Under the Senate plan, the sales tax rate would drop to 6 percent but would be expanded to include all clothing and some services, such as auto and farm machinery repairs. Also in the Senate plan is a proposal to exempt cities and counties from paying the sales tax, something I have supported and, in fact, carried a bill in the House to that effect. The exemption, much the same as townships currently receive, would cost the state around $140 million in lost revenue, so it’s a big item. Various plans in both chambers also provide increased local government aid to cities and counties, and I’d be surprised if they get both the tax break and increased LGA in the final plan that’s passed and sent to the Governor.
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One of the other bills waiting to be heard pertains to allowing day care providers to become unionized. It’s been combined with another group, those who are personal care attendants, into one bill seeking unionization for both. This legislation just doesn’t make sense to me as opposition to a union in this part of the state is overwhelming. I have not visited with a single provider who is in favor of such a move. Talked with one over the weekend who said she would probably leave the field if this vote is successful. She cited the union issue, along with increased regulations from the state and county, as reasons for her possible “retirement.”
A news release last week from a group called Watchdog.org Minnesota Bureau gave details of a survey sent out last month by the Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association. The survey was sent to 8,700 providers, of which 1,788 responded. One of the questions asked was “Do you support the formation of a union of licensed family child care providers?” The response was 86 percent NO, 6 percent YES, and 8 percent UNCERTAIN.
Among the reasons given for the overwhelming negative margin was that a union would affect both the cost of day care and the availability of service to families receiving the state subsidy known as Child Care Assistance Program. Approximately four of five who responded said they “might not or would not” continue providing service to those families. And by an equally large margin, the group said they were against unlicensed providers participating in the possible vote on unionization.
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Our winter-like weather just won’t leave us! The landscape became white again from a storm last week, and then a freezing mix of rain, ice pellets and snow made travel difficult over the weekend. Gravel roads are a mess as they haven’t been able to dry out and firm up. It looks as though field work won’t get going now until sometime in May. Talked with a friend over the weekend about when the ice would be coming off Lake Minnewaska, and he replied, “I think it’s still MAKING ice!”
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