Greetings!
It’s been another busy week at the Capitol, and I would like to give you an update on important things happening in St. Paul. Some key issues we are talking about this week are MNsure, the governor’s supplemental budget, school trust lands and constituents at the Capitol.
MNsure Continues to Fall Below Expectations
On Wednesday, the MNsure Board met to discuss updated enrollment numbers and future funding concerns.
The deadline under the Affordable Care Act is March 31st, and all Minnesotans must be insured by that date or face IRS penalties. The MNsure Board reports that only 33,680 enrollments are “in process” for commercial plans (individual and small business) as of March 8th. This is 80 percent below the original lowest expectations for MNsure sign-ups.
Improving enrollment numbers is the only way MNsure can remain fiscally solvent in the future without returning to the state for more money or altering the way they operate. The health insurance premium tax revenue on plans is MNsure's main funding source through 2015 and beyond.
The Governor’s Supplemental Budget
Following the good news that Minnesota is facing a surplus of $1.2 billion for the next biennium, Governor Dayton released his supplemental budget earlier this week.
In his budget, the governor wants to place $455 million more in state reserves and spend an additional $162 million. The real highlight of this budget, however, is the inclusion of $616 million in tax adjustments—eliminating several controversial tax proposals that he signed into law last year.
With the House voting to repeal three business-to-business taxes last week, and now with the governor’s new budget proposal, I think we are moving Minnesota in the right direction. Repealing many of the harmful tax policies from last session is a good first step to better our state’s tax policy and give more stability to taxpayers and job creators.
School Trust Lands
I am honored to serve our state as the chair of the School Trust Lands Commission. This week, the committee met to discuss 2013 school trust land revenues and expenditures. Minnesota now has over $1 billion in the Permanent School Fund which is great news for schools across the state.
School trust lands are held in trust for the school children of Minnesota for the purpose of supporting public education. Today, about 2.5 million acres of school trust lands and an additional 1 million acres of mineral rights exist in the state and are managed by the DNR. Interest and dividends from the Permanent School Fund are split between all Minnesota school districts.
Constituents at the Capitol
Many constituent groups are coming to St. Paul to represent their local businesses and interests. It’s wonderful to meet with people from all over the district and hear their stories. I hope many more of you will have a chance to make it down here this year, and if not, please don’t hesitate to call or email with any questions, concerns or ideas you may have.
This week, I met with a number of groups.
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Teachers and students from the St. Cloud Learning Center came to discuss alternative school options.
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Stearns Electric Association was here for their day on the hill.
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Brenda Braulick, the food services director for Sartell-St. Stephen school district, was here to discuss school lunch programs.
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Board members from Benton Communications came to St. Paul to discuss telecomm issues.
Thank you for letting me be your voice at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Tim
Fun Factoid: According to the DNR, school trust lands began when Minnesota became a state in 1858. Sections 16 and 36 of every township were granted to Minnesota from the federal government to support schools. Two additional grants were given by the federal government in 1860 and 1866.