Dear Neighbor,
Most of the House's focus this week has been on finance bills but, before we get to that, I would like to pass along more regarding efforts to combat the outbreak of avian influenza that has struck our state.
On Wednesday night, the House provided final passage of legislation that includes $900,000 in emergency funding requested by the state's Board of Animal Health and the Department of Agriculture. Language also is in the bill allowing us to access available federal funding.
This is just the first phase in relief aid and we continue working to determine what more needs to be done. As I have said a number of times, this issue is a moving target since the number of farms affected throughout our state continues to rise. More news may be available after the omnibus ag. bill comes to the floor in the near future. Here is a brief video of me providing more details about the avian influenza issue.
As for those budget bills, two of the most important ones we have passed on the House floor this week pertain to taxes and Health and Human Services.
TAXES
The House tax bill includes $2 billion in tax relief over the next biennium. Middle-class families, college students, aging adults and veterans, farmers and job creators and innovators are among those who would benefit.
The most important part of the package is a new Minnesota personal or dependent tax exemption that could save a middle-class family of four more than $500 over the next two years. Click here for a quick clip of me talking about another good provision in the bill that would make it easier to pass family farms along from one generation to the next.
The House tax bill also expands education deductions, while allowing families saving for higher education costs to deduct their contributions.
HHS
The House's HHS bill implements a statewide reimbursement system that will result in a funding increase for nursing homes, particularly in Greater Minnesota, totaling more than $138 million. In addition, the bill includes $90 million for a one-time, 5-percent cost-of-living adjustment for home and community-based care workers.
Reimbursement disparities have left parts of the state like ours at a huge disadvantage in providing long-term care for the elderly and others who rely on it. This bill would help to reduce the gap between what our area facilities receive in state aid compared with others.
According to non-partisan House Research, nursing home facilities in District 12B will receive substantial increases in 2016 under the House Republican proposal, including:
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Glenwood Village Care Center, Glenwood: $553,351 (17.5 percent increase)
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Belgrade Nursing Home, Belgrade: $374,595 (15.9 percent increase)
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Mother of Mercy Campus of Care, Albany: $918,587 (22 percent increase)
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Centracare Health System, Sauk Centre: $1.4 million (42 percent increase)
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Centracare Health System, Melrose: $819,458 (18.6 percent increase)
Most all of the finance bills have passed the House floor and are now with conference committees. Those panels will work out differences between House and Senate proposals so we can consider them for final passage and send them to the governor for his action.
Stay tuned as we make our way through the final stages of the 2015 session. I will keep you posted as things develop, including any additional news regarding avian influenza.
Sincerely,
Paul