Dear Neighbor,
The 2023 legislative session is winding down, with a little more than two weeks left before we are scheduled to adjourn. The next two-year budget remains under construction and here is a look at that situtation, along with some other notes of interest:
Budget bills
House Democrats approved a complete series of several omnibus finance bills over recent weeks. In total, Democrats propose increasing state spending by 40 percent and raise taxes by $9.5 billion despite the state’s $17.5 billion surplus. This is an irresponsible plan the Democrats have assembled. Concern is growing among Minnesotans for what this sharp spending increase would mean not only in the upcoming biennium, but for generations to follow.
These bills are in the process of being reviewed by conference committees to resolve differences between what the House and Senate approved. There’s a chance the House bills could improve and look significantly better by the time they come back for votes on final approval – except Democrats also control the Senate and there’s a Democrat in the governor’s office.
This sets the stage for the Democrat trifecta to treat its razor-thin margin of power as a mandate, which does not bode well for Minnesotans.
Worker leave bill
House Democrats approved legislation Tuesday which will hurt employee wages and damage businesses by establishing a mandatory paid leave program funded by a new tax on employers and workers at a time the state has a $17.5 billion surplus.
Here's the thing: The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce reports 80 percent of its members already provide paid family leave.
This is an example of more costly, burdensome government overreach that goes to show how out of touch metro-centric Democrats are with Greater Minnesota. This program simply is not going to work in our part of the state, with the dynamics we have. It’s so easy for legislators from the metro area to forget this and come up with statewide mandates that treat our small towns the same as the Twin Cities.
We need flexibility and a voluntary system to help people meet their needs and that is what House Republicans are proposing.
The House Democrat bill (H.F. 2) would cost billions of dollars to get this new program up and running and require as many as 400 new full-time government employees to develop and administrate. The program applies to virtually every industry in the state – private employers, nonprofits, cities, counties, and school districts – despite objections. It would be funded with a $2.9 billion tax on employers and employees and expands employers’ leave obligations to part-time and temporary employees.
Unlike the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which only applies to employers with 50 or more employees, this program would apply to all employers, including those with only one employee. Employees can stack leave together, allowing for up to 24 weeks of paid time off per year.
On the other hand, Republicans have developed a plan which takes a different approach, providing a small-business tax credit to incentivize employers to join the plan. The key difference is the minority’s plan provides paid family and medical leave benefits for employees without mandates and new taxes.
The House Republican proposal provides a small business tax credit to incentivize employers to join the plan. Minnesotans may opt into the program for $5 per week if an employer does not join by using the parameters of the state’s paid leave policy, leveraging the power of the state’s 10s of thousands of employees.
If you like your current employer-based benefits, you should be able to keep them and not be forced into a government-run program. And, if you think there’s room for improvement, the Republican plan provides an option. The difference is we provide flexibility for people to do what’s best for them instead of government telling them what they must do.
The House Republican option is backed by an insurance company, so taxpayers will not be expected to cover the costs of program shortfalls or losses. Benefits would be available to Minnesotans this Jan. 1 – a full 18 months earlier than the House Democrat proposal.
The House Republican plan was offered as an amendment to the Democrat bill on Tuesday. House Democrats voted down that offering before approving their own bill, sending it to the Senate for action.
Watch for more as we make our way to the finish line in the 2023 session and, as always, my in-box is open.
Sincerely,
Ben