Dear Friends,
On Wednesday, Governor Dayton gave his final State of the State address. While the Governor and I disagree on a lot of things, politically, I admire his service to our state. He’s had a long political career and I wish him nothing but the best in his political retirement.
I look forward to working with the Governor this session and hope we can focus on the things that we do agree on and get work done for Minnesotans.
Part of that work continued this week as the House Commerce Committee approved legislation that reduces the MNsure tax from 3.5% to 2%. This is another important step in reducing costs for Minnesotans on the individual insurance market. It is estimated that this would save Minnesotans $30 million on health care costs.
Additionally, legislation is moving through the House that will bring reforms to the MNLARS system. On Monday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill that provides the $10 million in emergency funding requested by the Governor.
The bill requires executive branch agencies to backfill the $10 million that is being allocated and would require MN.IT and the Department of Public Safety to meet performance measures to ensure that progress is being made on the project.
This is a sensible compromise as no “new” money would be coming out of the general fund for the emergency funding.
Simply put, Minnesotans deserve a system that works and I believe this legislation gets us on the right track.
That’s all for this week’s update. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me to share any thoughts or concerns you may have about state government or the job I'm doing as your representative. It would be great to talk with you. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-8237 or via email at rep.brian.daniels@house.mn.
Have a great weekend,
Brian