Greetings from the Capitol-
We’ve started to tackle the large budget bills that will determine spending for the next two years and how to pay for it. Here are some of the highlights:
Civil Air Patrol
Thank you to Col. Tom Theis for presenting me with a Certificate of Membership in the State Legislative Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. CAP is a Congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force. They are a volunteer organization that performs three congressionally assigned key missions: emergency services, which includes search and rescue (by air and ground) and disaster relief operations; aerospace education for youth and the general public; and cadet programs for teenage youth.
Public Safety
The House passed the Public Safety Omnibus bill on Friday and provides needed support for the state Department of Corrections, Department of Human Rights, 6 of the 11 divisions in the Department of Public Safety, the Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training, and the Board of Private Detectives and Protective Agent Services. I voted for the bill as it left the House floor and hope it will return to us as a good bill after the Senate takes action on it.
Jobs, Commerce and Housing Bill
On Monday, the House passed the first omnibus budget bill of the year - the Jobs, Commerce and Housing Omnibus bill – which will spend $436 million in an effort to promote economic development in Minnesota. The amount is at least $100 million more than the same budget spent two years ago. I did not support this bill, as there is a lot of new spending that places additional fees on small business owners and hardworking taxpayers in our state.
Some provisions of the bill include:
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A 46% increase in the state’s rental car tax to pay for Explore Minnesota tourism advertising
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$1,000,000 more in funding for the Office of Broadband Development, which little of these funds will used in greater Minnesota
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$360,000 for the Dept. of Economic Development (DEED) to hire marketing consultants and rebrand state programs
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An increase in the Insurance Agent Appointment fees
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An increase in Weights & Measures fees (gas stations, grocery stores)
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An increase in penalties for Cosmetologists
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New fee increases on Barbers
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An increase in the Plumbing Inspection fees
Nurse Staffing Issue Adds Cost to Hospitals
The House passed a bill on Wednesday that requires hospitals to collect and report data on patient safety but did not mandate new nurse staff ratios on hospitals which were originally included in the bill. Under the bill, chief nursing officers at hospitals would be required to develop core staffing plans and submit them to the Minnesota Hospital Association, which will publicly display the plans and study the issue further.
Unfortunately, the fiscal note in the bill does not account for the added costs hospitals will have to absorb in order to comply with this reporting. The bill only funds the cost of setting up a “working group” to study the data collected. I have concerns that hospitals will need to pass on this added cost to patients in the form of higher care costs.
Taking Care of Veterans in State Government Finance Bill
On Saturday, the House will take up the Omnibus State Government Finance & Veterans Affairs bill, outlining how core functions of our government will be funded and also which provisions for veterans will be changed.
I’m proud to have supported several veteran provisions that eventually got placed in this bill, including:
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Funding for Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MAC-V) to help needs of homeless vets
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Paid military leave for state and municipal employees
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Bid preference for veteran-owned small businesses when local governments award contracts for work projects
More Finance Bills Ahead
We will tackle the House Legacy Omnibus bill tomorrow along with the State Government bill, along with several major finance bills next week (including the very large Health & Human Services and K-12 Education bills). We expect to debate the Omnibus Tax bill in the middle of next week.
Sincerely,
Tim