Dear Lakeville Neighbors,
Happy Presidents Day. Last week was a busy one with two of my bills receiving a committee hearing as they hopefully continue on their journey to become law. I expect that this week will also be interesting as the Walz administration unveils their budget proposal tomorrow. We expect a number of new taxes and fee increases to pay for all the new spending and regulations, so hold on to your wallets! House and Senate Republicans will work to protect Minnesota families, futures and freedoms.
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Late last month, a bill was heard in the House Labor Committee that would establish a new state insurance program for Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) that is funded with new employer and employee payroll taxes—meaning less money in Minnesotans paychecks. Surprise, it is not free! The program would be administered through an expanded bureaucracy at the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
While I’m supportive of finding ways to help Minnesotans have more access to time for family needs and sick leave, the DFL’s plan in its current form is unworkable and an overreach of government’s role.
The bill would raise taxes on every working Minnesotan and every employer in the state. What’s more, the plan would establish a massive government-run bureaucracy that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to design and run.
This new bureaucracy has MNLARS and MNsure mismanagement written all over it. We don’t know what it will cost to build and given recent struggles with MNLARS and MNsure, we have no guarantee how MN.IT is going to get this to work.
If this proposal is really about providing paid sick and family leave time to Minnesota workers, let’s work to incentivize employers to provide desired benefits—not take even more money out of the paychecks of hardworking Minnesotans to spend on a bureaucracy that is not guaranteed to work. Also, I believe that there are private market solutions for those that may need these benefits.
Appointments
I have been appointed or asked to serve on two groups during the coming year that work to improve the lives of Minnesotans and our economy.
The first was an invitation to serve as a member of the Advisory Board for the Transportation Policy and Economic Competitive Program (TPEC) at the University of Minnesota.
As a member of the Advisory Board, I will provide direction to program activities, learn about ongoing transportation research, and give input to overall goals and strategies for the TPEC. The TPEC is an initiative of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota that performs research, outreach, and education around transportation and its connection to economic competitiveness.
In addition to the new role with the TPEC I was also appointed to serve on the Minnesota Trade Policy Advisory Council. The Minnesota Trade Policy Advisory Council advises and assists the governor and legislature on issues related to United States trade agreements and assesses the potential impact of federal trade agreements on the state's economy. The term to serve on the Council is for the entirety of the 2019-2020 biennium.
While most Minnesotans may not think about how our state interacts with the global economy, the reality is that international trade agreements have a profound effect on Minnesota’s economy. I am eager to be a voice for free trade on this council and look forward to strengthening our state’s relationship with the global economy.
Bill Hearings
I had two bills receive hearings this week in committee. The first bill, House File 656, was heard before the House Jobs Committee on Tuesday. This bill provides funding for job training through the International Institute of Minnesota.
This organization provides educational and job training programming to new Americans to help them achieve economic independence, and has a fantastic 100-year history of success, with workforce development and advancement in nursing assistant training and hospitality career pathways.
The second bill that was heard in committee this week was House File 174. This legislation would reduce each income tax bracket by 0.125 percent.
For too long, Minnesota’s budget has been growing exponentially. My hope is that by reducing income tax rates, we can start to starve the “beast”—that “beast” being our out of control state spending.
Both of these bills are about making Minnesota a better place to work, live, and raise a family. They are focused on strengthening the economy of the state as a whole by reducing taxes and ensuring that recent legal immigrants learn English and have the job skills to succeed and contribute to the state economy.
Politics as Usual
As session has progressed, I have noticed more and more bills being introduced by legislators that are clearly pandering to a certain base. Many of these bills are merely symbolic in nature and are designed to simply be turned into a press release. As for myself, I am working to strengthen our state’s economic future and lower the burdens of government.
Pork Barrel politics is what people hate and perpetuates waste, fraud, and abuse. We need to use our resources better and smarter and remember the wise words of President Gerald Ford, “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have.” I wish that more folks around the capitol would focus on the core issues that are important to the state as a whole—things like our economy, education, and transportation.
I will have more updates for you next week. In the meantime, have a wonderful week and drive safe!
Jon Koznick
Assistant Minority Leader
State Representative, Lakeville, 58A