Dear Neighbor,
Monday was Veterans Day on the Hill in St. Paul, a great opportunity to talk about what we have done to help veterans in recent years and also discuss what more can and should be done.
Let’s start with what we have accomplished. The Legislature has had strong success of late in helping those who have served. This includes exempting all military retirement pay from state income tax and increasing funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs and state veterans homes. I am proud that last year, my first in the House, I successfully authored three veterans-related provisions that became law. Those include:
- Expanding how grant funds from the Support Our Troops account can be used to benefit a Minnesota National Guard member.
- Appropriating $700,000 for grants to support Veterans Journey Home.
- Providing $200,000 over the next biennium to support and expand the ongoing work of the Veterans’ Voices program.
A number of bills to further assist veterans are up for consideration this year, including one to build a hospital for veterans in Bemidji. This project has been many years in planning and I have been relentless while advocating for it in the House in the hope we finally get it over the finish line.
Another proposal I am working on to benefit veterans is ready for a vote of the full House. It would crack down on predatory lenders who tap into veterans’ pension benefits. Look for more on this as it comes up for a vote.
In other news, the House unveiled a bill this week to help cut costs on health insurance premiums by reducing the MNsure tax from 3.5 percent to 2 percent. It would save Minnesotans an estimated $30 million. Other provisions in the bill would expand options in the exchange and seek a waiver allowing those receiving tax credits to purchase insurance outside the MNsure exchange. Anything we can do to lessen the burden for people getting hammered by sky-high premiums would be a blessing.
Minnesota’s new vehicle licensing and registration system continues to make headlines – and cause headaches. This week we learned a chief officer at MN.IT had been fired over this mess. I recently met with some deputy registrars from our area who shared some of their experiences with MNLARS. They say the failed launch of this program has meant significantly more work for them and less revenue being collected. The House is moving on legislation to help fix this problem and, at the same time, we’re doing everything in our power to make sure taxpayer dollars are being used wisely … and with results.
On a final note, a bill I have authored would provide $10 million in supplemental funding for schools in the Minnesota State system. This would be a direct influx of funding for campuses such as BSU. Look for more details on this bill in an upcoming email.
Sincerely,
Matt