House passes bill to allow Metropolitan Airports Commission to set employee salaries

The Metropolitan Airports Commission would be able to set salaries for its employees under the provisions of a bill now headed to Gov. Mark Dayton’s desk.

Rep. Tim O'Driscoll

The House passed HF3395/SF3525*, sponsored by Rep. Tim O'Driscoll (R-Sartell) and Sen. John Jasinski (R-Faribault), 124-0 Wednesday. The Senate passed it 64-2 last week.

The bill would exempt the Metropolitan Airports Commission – the public entity that operates Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and six other airports in the Twin Cities metropolitan area – from the state law that sets compensation limits for local government employees. It would allow the commission to determine the salary and other benefits for its employees.

O’Driscoll said the salary cap has made it difficult for the commission to recruit and maintain high-quality employees, adding some have left for other regional airports where they can make more money with less responsibility.

The compensation limit for employees of non-exempt political subdivisions is $171,338, as of Jan. 1, 2018, the nonpartisan House Research Department notes.