Friends,
We've all survived the cold and should be seeing some much more hospitable weather this weekend. Get out and enjoy it! Here's a quick update from St. Paul, have a great weekend!
Standing for Life
I joined my fellow House and Senate Republicans at a joint press conference this week to express our opposition to a bill New York recently passed allowing abortion up to the moment of birth with virtually no restrictions. Virginia is considering following suit.
As a strong defender of the unborn, I cannot believe what is happening in these states. We will fight to make sure these barbaric practices are not brought to Minnesota.
Paid Leave
A bill has been introduced under titled, “Paid Family and Medical Leave." The reality is this bill would raise taxes on every working Minnesotan and their employer to pay for an expensive added layer of bureaucracy that only a small percentage of Minnesotans would use.
This bill would increase payroll taxes on every employer and employee in the state of Minnesota. Minnesota workers would see their payroll taxes increased, even if they already have great benefits. Minnesota businesses would see their payroll taxes increased, even if they are already providing great benefits to their employees. Minnesota would be the only state in the country other than Washington D.C. that taxes both employers and employees to pay for the bureaucracy and infrastructure to administer this new program.
This massive new system's bureaucracy has MNsure/MNLARS 3.0 written all over it-we still don't know what it will cost to build, and given the struggles MN.IT has experienced building a functioning driver's license system, we're not confident that they can deliver a functioning system. In addition to the startup costs, the ongoing cost to run the system is also unclear.
Instead of this approach, we should be incentivizing business to provide benefits to their employees, rather than creating another MNsure/MNLARS mess. A tight employment market has had companies offering better benefits, many of these companies would be disincentivized from offering the better benefits they currently do and instead do the bare minimum the state requires. This idea is simply not ready for prime time and will hurt the very people it is trying to help.
Bill to Defund Sanctuary Cities Introduced
Earlier this month, I introduced HF 117, a bill to remove state funding from sanctuary cities in Minnesota. The bill will strip cities who operate as sanctuaries for illegal immigrants of Local Government Aid. Local Government Aid (LGA) is a general purpose aid that can be used for any lawful expenditure. It is intended to be used for property tax relief. For all Minnesota cities, the state budgeted $534,398,012 for 2018 and $534,398,012 for 2019 for LGA.
We have laws for a reason and all units of government, from the Federal Government down to the smallest cities, should follow the law. It is appalling and quite unbelievable to have some of the largest cities flagrantly violating the laws of the United States. If people want immigration laws changed, there is a process for that. We cannot have entire cities openly defying laws.
The state is spending significant sums to assist local cities. We need to make sure the taxpayer dollars are being used for lawful purposes and to help the citizens and people in Minnesota legally.
Stay in Touch
Please continue to stay in touch to share your thoughts or concerns. My phone number is 651-296-4265 or you can email me at rep.matt.grossell@house.mn.
Have a great weekend and God Bless!
Matt