Greetings,
This past Monday, we celebrated the life of a courageous man and the leading voice in the Civil Rights Movement: Martin Luther King Jr. There is now doubt that his words still resonate today.
Another busy week at the Capitol brought more good news for Minnesotans.
Passage of House File 1:
On Thursday, the House passed House File 1: the 2017 Health Care Emergency Aid and Access bill on a bipartisan vote of 73-54. I look forward to this bill going to conference committee with the Senate next week and I am hopeful for the Governor’s signature.
We (the state legislature) are now one step closer to getting people the onetime premium relief they need as we begin to enact a series of long-term reforms to the health insurance market. Additionally, we must work in tandem with Washington D.C. as they now also begin to reform health insurance and health care.
To review, some highlights of House File 1 include:
- 25% premium reduction for those Minnesotans who earn between $35,640 & $95,040 and families of four who earn between $72,900 & $194,400
- Allows for patients with serious illnesses or those receiving end-of-life care to continue seeing their doctor
- Increases affordable options through timely reforms that stand independent of impending federal action
Real ID:
House File 3, the REAL ID compliance bill, was heard this week in the Transportation Finance Committee and it will be heard again on Monday in Ways and Means. Ways and Means is the last committee stop before reaching the house floor for a vote of the whole body.
Fun Fact of the Week:
The 2017-2018 Minnesota House of Representative by the numbers:
- 57 DFL'ers, 76 GOP'ers & 1 open seat (3 more GOP'ers than the last biennium)
- 85 men & 48 women (4 more women legislators than the last biennium)
- 23 first-term legislators & 6 legislators that have served 15+ terms
- 5 farmers, 11 attorneys & 13 educators
If you know of anyone who would like to receive future email updates, forward this email to them and have them sign up here. Also, if you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding any issue related to state government, please feel free to contact me at either 651-296-7808 or rep.tim.odriscoll@house.mn.
Sincerely,
