Dear Neighbor,
Greetings from St. Paul, where only two full weeks remain before the 2023 legislative session is set to adjourn. Here’s a look at this week’s notes:
Fishing opener
Minnesota’s fishing opener is May 13, a time many of us look forward to for many reasons. We will have a great time and might not even notice the governor is breaking from tradition by not attending his very own Governor’s Fishing Opener event this year. He is scheduled to be out of state as those festivities take place in the Mankato area, but that’s another story.
On a somewhat related note, an omnibus budget bill House Democrats recently approved raises fees for fishing, boat registrations and visiting state parks. Those increases have not received formal approval or enactment, so it currently is not an issue today, but higher prices could be in store pending results of this session.
Budget bills
The House majority’s budget bills, which combine to increase state spending by 40 percent and raise taxes by $9.5 billion despite a $17.5 billion surplus, remain in the hands of conference committees that are working to reconcile differences between House and Senate proposals.
I continue monitoring the public safety package, where gun-control provisions (universal gun registry and red flag confiscation orders) are part of the discussion. I strongly oppose these measures and hope they are stripped by the conference committee.
Aside from my general appreciation for the Second Amendment, I have significant concerns over the red flag measure and how it could play out in real life. A red flag law could result in firearms being confiscated from a person but does not address the underlying issues and leaves people in what could be a dangerous domestic situation. Leaving mental-health pamphlets on the kitchen table as you confiscate their guns is not a serious solution.
As we await developments on that issue and other budget packages, here are some other notes from this week:
Worker leave bill
House Democrats approved legislation Tuesday which will hurt employee wages and damage businesses by establishing a mandatory paid leave program funded by a new tax on employers and workers at a time the state has a $17.5 billion surplus.
The program House Democrats propose takes a one-size-fits-all approach that lacks flexibility our businesses need, particularly in Greater Minnesota. Their plan fails to recognize how many employers in rural parts of our state only have one or two employees – and are more than happy to work with them to make accommodations. A heavy-handed state mandate is the last thing our job creators and workers need these days.
The program (H.F. 2) would cost billions of dollars to get up and running and require as many as 400 new full-time government employees to develop and administrate. The program applies to virtually every industry in the state – private employers, nonprofits, cities, counties, and school districts – despite objections. It would be funded with a $2.9 billion tax on employers and employees and expands employers’ leave obligations to part-time and temporary employees.
All this, when the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce reports 80 percent of its members already provide paid family leave.
Unlike the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which only applies to employers with 50 or more employees, this program would apply to all employers including those with only one employee. Employees can stack leave together, allowing for up to 24 weeks of paid time off per year.
On the other hand, Republicans have developed a plan which takes a different approach, providing a small-business tax credit to incentivize employers to join the plan. The key difference is the minority’s plan provides paid family and medical leave benefits for employees without job-crushing mandates and new taxes.
The House Republican proposal provides a small business tax credit to incentivize employers to join the plan. Minnesotans may opt into the program for $5 per week if an employer does not join by using the parameters of the state’s paid leave policy, leveraging the power of the state’s 10s of thousands of employees. Employees who are satisfied with current benefits offered by their employers can keep them without being forced onto a government-run program.
We need to adopt a model where employers can voluntarily participate in a partnership with the state instead of the state acting as an overlord. The House Republican plan makes this happen without new taxes and mandates.
Furthermore, the House Republican option is backed by an insurance company, so taxpayers will not be expected to cover the costs of program shortfalls or losses. Benefits would be available to Minnesotans this Jan. 1 – a full 18 months earlier than the House Democrat proposal.
The House Republican plan was offered as an amendment to the Democrat bill on Tuesday. House Democrats voted down that offering before approving their own bill, sending it to the Senate for action.
Stay tuned for more soon and, as always, your input is appreciated.
Sincerely,
Matt