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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Steve Sandell (DFL)

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Legislative Update - May 2, 2019

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Neighbors,

We wrapped up the House Floor debate with votes on our major budget bills this week - we covered health care, environment, transportation, and taxes. On nearly every line of each budget we had a comprehensive discussion between the House Democrats and Republicans. We didn't always agree, but I'm hopeful that we can have some bipartisan agreement when the House and Senate get together to separate out the differences between our respective budgets.

I also sat down with my granddaughter and the Woodbury Magazine to talk politics and pageants - I think the key takeaway is, as Olivia says, "believe in yourself, don’t think about winning or losing, just try to do your best. And Target should be free on Fridays." You can read the rest of it by clicking here.

 

Here's a quick recap from the week.

Health Care
We voted on our health and human services budget this week. Health care has been in the news a lot lately for its high cost. The House DFL budget would help make sure that all Minnesotans can access the high-quality, affordable health care they deserve.

It makes prescription drugs more affordable, ensures care remains available for low-income Minnesotans, and ends a 20% subsidy to insurance companies, which would instead go directly to Minnesotans purchasing insurance through the individual market. Among other things, it preserves the funding source for the Health Care Access Fund, which enables innovation in care and provides access to care for more than one million low-income Minnesotans. I won't go on and on about healthcare - but if you're interested you can look at the whole budget here, or learn about differences between the two chambers' bills from Fox9 here.

Transportation
We also approved a transportation budget that makes responsible investments to fix our state's roads, bridges, and transit. The American Society of Civil Engineers rated Minnesota’s roads as “D+” on their most recent infrastructure report card. Bridges received a “C” and transit was awarded a “C-.”

The transportation budget prioritizes better access to transit for Minnesotans who need to get to work, school, and to live their lives. The Republican plan shifts $400 million from the "general fund" (the fund that's used to pay for schools, health care, and senior care) to pay for our roads and bridges. By increasing revenue by one nickle per gallon a year on gas for four years, the DFL plan would use those constitutionally-dedicated funds to support a reliable, modern, and sustainable transportation system.

Environment
Our environment budget funds innovative research that would aid conservation efforts and protect the environment and wildlife for future generations. We address emerald ash borer, chronic wasting disease, an aquatic invasive species to protect the health and well being of our communities and the environment.

Another provision would enhance soil health statewide and plant nearly a million trees each year. The budget also strengthens protections for Minnesota's fish and wildlife. It increases support for pollinators by establishing a program to help homeowners who want to convert their lawns to pollinator-friendly habitat. As a member of the water committee and the environment and natural resources committee, I'm proud of the work that went into making sure this budget keeps our air, water, and land clean.

Taxes

Minnesotans deserve a tax system that's fair and provides the resources our state needs to succeed. The House DFL tax bill gets us there by leveling the playing field for working families, farmers, senior citizens, and small businesses by holding corporations accountable for using tax loopholes and offshore tax havens to get out of paying their share, while pocketing record profits. WCCO has coverage of House Democrats’ tax bill here.

Thanks for reading! Please reach out if there are ways I can better serve you and our community. 

 
Sincerely,

Steve Sandell