Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I was proud to again take part in this year’s March for Life at the State Capitol. This is always such an amazing event to be a part of year after year. As your Lakeville state representative, I will continue to stand up for and protect the unborn and the vulnerable. Thank you to those that were able to attend!
As our work at the capitol has started to ramp up, I joined my House Republican colleagues in urging Governor Walz and House Democrats to not pursue their plan to reinstate Minnesota’s provider tax or “sick” tax. The sick tax is a two percent tax on most patient services in Minnesota, including things like baby deliveries and routine doctor and dentist visits.
The sick tax is set to expire next year thanks to a bipartisan bill signed into law in 2011. If Democratic leaders reinstate the tax, it will result in a more than $600 million increase on health care costs for Minnesotans next year alone.
I am hopeful that we can let this tax sunset as required by state law. We don’t need to make health care costs more expensive than they already are. Ultimately, we have a lot of work to do to lower health care costs here in Minnesota. Increasing the costs of medical visits would move our state in the wrong direction. We can’t make health care more affordable by adding $600 million to the cost. I hope we can start focusing on better solutions that will actually lower costs again this session.
Another concerning development in the first day of session has been a proposed change to the House committee structure by the Democrat Majority.
The short of it is this; the House Democrats are making most committees a “division” of the Ways and Means Committee. This will give an immense amount of power to the committee chairman, allowing him to refer bills to different divisions simply by memo. The concern is that this structure will make it difficult for the public and members to follow a bill’s path through the legislative process. It also leaves the door open for the majority to move bills through the process with little to no warning, giving the public less than 24 hours notice before a bill hearing takes place.
Simply put, it calls into question matters of transparency here at the House. We can and need to do better.
Finally, I hope to see you all at the Lakeville South vs. Lakeville North basketball game tonight! I will be volunteering with the Knights of Columbus and we will be operating our free throw contest at halftime. If you have any kids that will be with you at the game, please have them come down on the court and participate in our free throw contest.
In the meantime, I encourage you to contact me if you have any legislative questions, concerns, or ideas. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-6926 or via email at rep.jon.koznick@house.mn.
Stay warm and have a wonderful weekend!
Jon Koznick
State Representative, Lakeville, 58A