Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
2017 House Omnibus Elections Bill Passes out of Committee:
On Thursday, March 16, the House Government Operations and Elections Policy Committee, the committee I chair, passed the 2017 House Omnibus Elections Bill out of committee. An omnibus bill is legislation that contains several items of a related matter that is combined into one bill.
One of the key features in the bill is moving primary elections to August from June in Minnesota. The hope is that such a move will increase voter turnout, as many folks traditionally are away in August on vacation.
Do you think moving Minnesota’s primary election from August to June will help increase voter turnout?
Click here to answer.
The bill also has several technical changes to election processes and cleans up outdated state statutes, as well as provides for some technological enhancements in the election process.
Second Deadline Week in St. Paul:
This week marks the second deadline week for bill passage in the Minnesota House and Senate. All policy related legislation will need to pass the House and Senate committees by midnight on March 17 in order for such legislation to continue being considered this session.
House Budget Targets:
The Minnesota House is scheduled to announce its budget targets next week. A budget target is used to determine how much funding each state budget area will be given for the next two years. Areas that are sure to be of interest are roads and bridges, education, and tax relief. The Minnesota Senate will likewise be releasing their budget target in the future as well. These targets will likely differ, which is often the case.
The House and the Senate will be spending the next few weeks putting together their respective finance bills and passing them though the various committees to meet the March 31 finance deadline.
The 2017 deadlines have been moved up from previous years with the hope of avoiding so much last minute work at the end of session.
Health Insurance Reinsurance Plan Passes the House:
This week the Minnesota House pass HF 5, a stop-gap reinsurance plan, on a bipartisan vote of 78-53. Reinsurance basically stated is “insurance for insurance” and acts as an additional layer of insurance protection with the goal of keeping insurance affordable.
As we all know, several Minnesotans who buy insurance on their own have experienced large premium increases in 2017, some as much as 67%. It is widely believed that if some form of reinsurance program is not put in place soon, these same folks will not be able to afford or even have health insurance coverage in 2018. The reason: health insurers will file to leave the non-group health insurance market leaving no options for these folks.
Given the passage of HF 5, the House hopes to work with the Senate to find a way to stabilize health insurance premiums as we await the outcome of the Affordable Care Act’s future from Congress.
Constituent Visits:
I had the chance to meet with a number of folks who traveled to St. Paul from our district this week. I had a very special surprise this week when I got to meet with Rachael Miller. I’ve known Rachael and her family for a number of years. Rachael and I visited about how important keeping up with funding to help provide services to those with disabilities.
Fun Fact of the Week:
On this day in 1762, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in New York City by Irish soldiers serving in the British Army to honor the Catholic feast of St. Patrick.
If you know of anyone who would like to receive future email updates, forward this email to them and have them sign up here. Also, if you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding any issue related to state government, please feel free to contact me at either 651-296-7808 or rep.tim.odriscoll@house.mn.
Sincerely,
