Legislative Committees Continue Policy Work
This week the Minnesota Legislature began to move into a new phase of the 2017 legislative session as committees wrap up overview hearings and begin working their way through significant policy initiatives. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton will deliver his 2017 State of the State Address to a joint session of the Minnesota Legislature on Monday, January 23, 2017 at 7 p.m. The following day, Dayton will release his budget recommendations for the FY 18-19 biennial budget; a review of those recommendations will dominate the agendas of House and Senate finance committees in the weeks that follow.
House Passes Health Insurance Reform; Bill Headed to Conference Committee
As expected, the House of Representatives passed its health insurance relief package Thursday evening on a 73-54 vote. House File 1, like its Senate counterpart, contains approximately $315 million to reduce the health insurance premiums for people buying insurance through the individual market. Unlike the Senate bill, the House’s proposal does not include the $150 million reinsurance program.
During an impassioned floor debate, Democrats failed in their attempt to replace the Republican plan with Dayton’s rebate proposal. However, House Republicans were successful in adopting amendments to the bill, which would provide for an agricultural cooperative health plan and allow health insurance companies to opt out of a variety of coverage mandates required by the federal Affordable Care Act or state law.
The Senate passed its version of the health insurance rebate legislation last week on a 35-31 vote. A conference committee will be formed early next week to begin the process of resolving the differences between the House and Senate and negotiating with Gov. Dayton. Speaker of the House Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) has stated he hopes to send a final bill to Dayton by next Thursday.
Sunday Liquor Sales Passes Committee and Heads to Floor
On Jan. 17 the House Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee passed legislation that would repeal the state’s longtime ban on Sunday liquor sales. Current law prohibits liquor stores from being open on Sunday, but the “compromise” bill which was passed on Tuesday would allow stores to be open between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sundays. Individual municipalities would still have the ability to regulate store hours and wholesale distributors would not be allowed to deliver (nor stores allowed to accept delivery) on Sundays. The bill passed 15-4 and will next be debated by the full House of Representatives.
The topic of Sunday sales has been a high-profile issue for years, but many people believe this might be the year the law changes. Speaker Daudt has stated on numerous occasions that the House of Representatives will pass legislation repealing the ban early in the 2017 legislative session.
Senate Capital Investment Committee Discusses Governor’s Bonding Bill, Releases its Own Proposal
This week the Senate Capital Investment Committee reviewed the $1.5 billion bonding proposal proposed by Gov. Dayton earlier this month. According to the Dayton Administration, the proposal would create approximately 23,000 jobs and provide for significant upgrades to the state’s public infrastructure. The package would fund a number of road, bridge, and water quality projects as well as improvements to numerous state college and university campuses.
During the hearing Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans stated that 35 percent of the projects are slated for Greater Minnesota; 30 percent for the Metro area and 35 percent for projects statewide. Some Republican Senators objected to a lack of funding for highway projects that they consider high priorities (most notably Highway 12 in western Hennepin County).
On Thursday Sen. Dave Senjem (R-Rochester), the Chair of the Senate Capital Investment Committee, released a bonding proposal of his own. The bill includes approximately $1.6 billion in total expenditures including $750,000 in general obligation bonds and $335 million in general fund expenditures. The bill is scheduled to be heard in committee next week.
Committees Review a Variety of Other Legislative Proposals
A number of other committees began considering individual legislative initiatives this week. Most notably, the House Tax Committee discussed a proposal from Rep. Jim Nash (R-Waconia) that would create a vendor allowance to help retailers recoup costs associated with collecting and paying state and local sales taxes. Meanwhile, the House Job Growth & Energy Affordability Policy & Finance Committee took up a variety of energy policy proposals this week. These proposals include bills that would repeal the Made In Minnesota solar incentive program, allow Xcel Energy to replace one of its coal-fired power plants with a natural gas plant, and exempt electrical cooperatives from regulation by the Public Utilities Commission.
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