Dear Neighbor,
Families are feeling the pinch as the cost of groceries, childcare, housing, insurance, energy bills and other everyday expenses keep rising. Then there are the hidden costs like the delivery fee, a new payroll tax, and unfunded mandates on local governments that end up costing taxpayers more.
We need to get these rising costs under control. Within my committee, I’ve introduced legislation making all tax childcare costs tax deductible. That bill is scheduled for a March 24 committee hearing.
It remains my hope that a tied House means common sense, broadly supported ideas prevail this session. Take Harvey’s Law, for example. This is bipartisan legislation I’ve authored requiring any childcare center in Minnesota that receives state funding to install cameras in all infant and toddler rooms and retain the footage for 28 days.
We had an intensely emotional committee hearing this week; click here for the full hearing video. It is on track for a vote next week where, upon passage, it could be sent to the House floor for a vote by the full body. This bill has bipartisan authors in both the House and Senate. Unfortunately, we have seen bipartisan bills still be held back for late-session negotiating leverage. Dealmaking like this is what everyone hates about politics.
That is what’s happening with an anti-fraud bill to create a truly independent Office of the Inspector General. It was massively bipartisan while passing the Senate 60–7 last session, but House Democrats have blocked it at every turn. They say the bill “needs more work” and just continue slow rolling it.
It is unfortunate when good bills are exploited for political purposes when we should just be passing them on their merits. We have eight weeks left in the legislative session. The sooner we get serious about passing bipartisanbills that actually help Minnesotans, the better.
Sincerely,
Nolan