Greetings from the Floor,
On Thursday, the House passed two bills off the floor. HF211 would add physical therapists to the list of healthcare professionals that can authorize people to receive disability parking privileges. Current law allows for physicians, physician’s assistants, advanced practice registered nurses and chiropractors to authorize people’s disability parking privileges.
HF462 makes changes to bicycle traffic regulations. The goal of the bill is to bring statutes regarding bicycle traffic in line with corresponding regulations for motor vehicles. Specifically, the bill pertains to motor vehicles passing bicyclists, safe distances when a bicyclist is riding close to a right-hand curb, riding bicycles on sidewalks, multiple bicyclists riding together on roads and audible signals when a bicyclist is passing another bicyclist.
I had hearings on two bills this week. HF258 was heard in the Health and Human Services Policy Committee. After consulting with the Department of Human Services, a change was made to the bill that would establish a process for non-profit nursing homes in Moorhead, and Breckenridge, to apply for an increased reimbursement rate to maintain parity with similar facilities in North Dakota. This change would put the administration of the rate calculation and differential analysis on the facility instead of the department. The bill was passed out of committee, and sent to the Ways and Means Committee.
I also had hearings on HF177 in the Capital Investment Division and the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Division. HF177 would appropriate $8.5 million from state general obligation bonds for construction of a new resource recovery facility in Clay County. The Capital Investment Division hearing was informational, and the bill was laid over by the Environment and Natural Resource Division to stay in the division’s possession. This project has been several years in the making, and was started in 2015 when the county received $600,000 from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for planning. A permit for construction was granted in 2018 by the MPCA. This project would combine three facilities in Moorhead into one, and would save the county money as more solid waste could be processed in Clay County rather than having to be sent elsewhere.
I introduced four more bills over the last couple of weeks. HF840 would add non-surgical treatment and routine maintenance for gum disease to the list of reimbursable dental benefits under medical assistance. HF1019 would appropriate $3 million over the next biennium to the 10 Small Business Development Centers around the state to focus on succession planning. Succession planning involves existing business owners who are looking to retire and new entrepreneurs who may be interested in buying existing businesses to keep main street businesses open for the next generation.
HF1104 would appropriate $1 million over the biennium for the Border City Enterprise and Development Zone program with additional policy language that dollars for the program will be added to the base of the state budget. This would mean the five border cities along the border of Minnesota and the Dakotas would automatically receive a combined biennial appropriation of $1 million (with allocations of the $1 million based on each city’s population). This would be a tremendous advancement for economic development in Greater Minnesota, and would help our district do more long-term planning for business growth in Moorhead. HF1122 would allow for a state income tax deduction for unreimbursed employee expenses. This was an allowable deduction at the federal level before the passage of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act in late 2017, and this bill would keep the deduction available to tax payers at the state level.
The Higher Education Finance and Policy Division heard budget requests from the Minnesota State system and University of Minnesota over the last couple of weeks. The Minnesota State system requested $246 million for campus support, system technology upgrades, new grant programs and addressing the workforce gap. The University of Minnesota requested $87 million for campus support and the system’s research work.
Within the next couple of weeks the governor’s budget, February budget forecast and legislative committee budget targets will come out. These three pieces will begin the conversations about setting the state budget for the next two years. I will certainly send out updates about these developments as they happen.
Thank You for the Opportunity to Serve,
Ben