At this point in the legislative session, the work of the Minnesota House shifts to working as a “committee of the whole” on the House floor. Deadlines for policy bills have passed and for the most part only fiscal bills are still heard in committees. One of the busier committees right now is Ways and Means where fiscal bills have to be referred; another busy committee is the Rules Committee where bills need to be passed out from in order to be placed on the Calendar of the Day for the House to be able to act on those bills. The House sessions become longer and more animated as bills are debated, possibly amended and more than likely passed and sent on.

Before this legislative session began Speaker of the House Kurt Zellers set a deadline of April 30 to have all action taken and for the legislature to adjourn. While we are still in session for potentially another month, there will be quite a bit of activity yet to consider before the body. Some of the high-profile bills have been heard and are in conference committee working out the differences with Senate bills. Below is an update.

Health and Human Services

On Thursday, the Health and Human Services bill was debated and passed on the House Floor. For the most part this bill was OK but it did have a few noticeable problems. Last year’s final budget agreement included a 20 percent wage cut to Personal Care Assistants (PCAs) who provide care to a relative. After issuing a temporary order to block the cuts last fall, a judge ruled last week that the cuts could be imposed. The cut would force nearly 7,000 Minnesotans who are family caregivers into the choice of leaving their job, or earning less than $10 an hour. It is a low wage and unfortunately it puts many PCAs’ incomes below the poverty line. In many cases, this cut could actually cost the state money. Many caregivers could be forced to find additional employment and the state would have to pay for a non-relative to provide care. With this cut, some family caregivers would qualify for food stamps or heating assistance.

Omnibus Tax bill

The Republican Omnibus Tax bill passed the House last week. This bill makes deep cuts to the Renters’ Credit program, a property tax refund program that helps hundreds of thousands of low and moderate-income renters, while providing millions in new tax breaks for businesses. While some of the tax provisions may be in order this is definitely not the appropriate funding mechanism, with the outcome being a continual growth of a large structural budget imbalance well into the future.

Under the Tax bill, 74,000 households will lose their entire property tax refund, which is the equivalent of 1 in 4 participants. Those still getting the credit would lose $213 on average, which is significant for seniors living on fixed incomes, college students paying tuition, and working families.

Voter ID Amendment

A bill requiring Minnesota voters to show current or valid photo identification in order to vote passed the House floor after a nine-hour debate. The matter is positioned to move to the November ballot as a Constitutional amendment. For many people this seems like a simple request, the arguments in support indicate that a photo is needed for so many things from cashing a check to renting a dvd, that there should be no opposition to showing a photo id to vote. The polls even indicate the majority of Minnesotans support this change. However, the devil is in the details and the carrying out of the requirement.

Certainly a major concern with this particular legislation is it amends the Minnesota Constitution. This bill isn’t a law that would go into statute and be able to be updated as times change (and voting perhaps becomes more electronic for instance. Another fundamental concern is that voting is a right not a privilege. Just a few years ago when the county sought to get permission to change one of the county offices from elected to appointed, a number of constituents voiced their concerns about having their vote taken from them.

Please feel free to contact me regarding these issues or any other concerns you have for our community or our state at 651-296-4193 or by email at rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn.