Greetings from the Floor,
The House passed four bills this week. Details are as follows:
HF15: repealing the voluntary relationship defense in rape cases
HF58: designating part of Highway 95 as Joseph Gomm Memorial Highway
HF148: allowing community emergency medical technicians to serve as members of basic life support ambulance services
HF14: allowing the Secretary of State to use federal grant dollars awarded to Minnesota for election security against cyber attacks
I introduced one bill this week. HF1340 would bring private health insurance coverage parity for mental health and substance use disorders. The bill sets definitions for mental health conditions and substance use disorders, establishes specific services that must be covered in parity to other healthcare coverage, and mandates reporting by health insurance providers on how they are complying with the law. I support this bill because early mental health service and treatment is more effective to keep people healthy and save money in the long run.
Governor Walz released his budget this week, and although I haven’t dug into it too deeply yet, he put a lot of focus on early childhood and K-12 education. He also proposed dollars to establish a Minnesota Care health plan buy in. This would allow people to buy into the existing Minnesota Care plan through MNSure, and qualify for federal tax credits as with any other health plan through MNSure. The governor also addresses agricultural property tax credits for buffers, Local Government Aid and County Program Aid, the working family tax credit, paid family and medical leave, additional state income tax exemptions for Social Security income, and broadband development. The governor’s budget leaves $789 million on the bottom line; however, this is on the November budget forecast. I anticipate the February budget forecast will come out next week, and give us a more accurate, updated view of the state budget.
The part of the governor’s budget that has drawn the most attention is the 20 cent per gallon increase on the gas tax. I expect this to be a starting point for conversation around long-term, comprehensive transportation funding the state needs over the next decade. I think the final bill for transportation funding will include some gas tax increase, some General Fund dollars, and some possible bonding money. For more details about Governor Walz’s budget, please go to: https://mn.gov/governor/budget/.
Thank You for the Opportunity to Serve,
Ben