Helping attract new businesses to Minnesota

In an effort to help us compete with other states when attracting new businesses, the Legislature made significant appropriations to the Minnesota Investment Fund and the Redevelopment Fund.  This money is often used as a keystone for leveraging additional investments from non-government sources, and will help put Minnesota in a better position to attract growing businesses to our state.

And that’s a fact.

Source: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?id=4&doctype=Chapter&year=2011&type=1

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?id=7&doctype=Chapter&year=2011&type=1

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?id=12&doctype=Chapter&year=2011&type=1

The Healthy Minnesota Program

FACT: The new Healthy Minnesota Contribution Program enacted by Republicans in 2011 allows low-income adults on MinnesotaCare (who do not have children) to purchase private-sector health-care coverage. This key reform is projected to save nearly $10 million in 2013 and approximately $30 million in the 2014-15 biennium.

The program is a private-sector option for publicly insured MinnesotaCare and Medicaid recipients. It is first-in-the-nation legislation that moves some MinnesotaCare recipients off a government program and into private health care coverage. These basic reforms help move us away from dependency on unsustainable government programs, allowing us to cover more people with higher-quality, more cost-effective care.

And that’s a fact.

Source:

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/sessiondaily.asp?yearid=2011&storyid=2843

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/fiscal/files/hhs11SS.pdf

Public Safety Notifications

Residents near where high risk sex offenders released from civil commitment will be living must now be notified by law enforcement about his or her discharge into their community, closing what some said was a loophole in the notification law.

Previously under state law, local law enforcement was prohibited from holding community notification meetings on sex offenders being provisionally discharged from the Minnesota Sexual Offender Program (MSOP) to a half-way house. In 2012, the Minnesota Legislature approved legislation that authorizes local law enforcement to notify the public when a sex offender from MSOP is released into the community. 

And that’s a fact.

Sources:

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/sessionweekly/art.asp?ls_year=87&issueid_=88&storyid=2883&year_=2012

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=House&f=HF2394&ssn=0&y=2011

Permit Reform for Business Expansion – Round 2

In 2011, House Republicans led the way in enacting significant reforms to environmental review and permitting, allowing for business expansion throughout the state.

The 2012 Legislature built on the reforms of the previous year, passing legislation that:

• Creates a “Minnesota Business First Stop,” which will coordinate implementation and administration of state permits and provide assistance to project proposers in navigating through the permit process.
• Allows businesses to hire a permit application professional to help prepare and review permit applications and draft permits.
• Eliminates duplicative steps in the permit process by allowing businesses to submit information for both environmental review and permitting once.

Sources:

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?id=150&doctype=chapter&year=2012&type=0

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?id=272&doctype=chapter&year=2012&type=0

Minnesota’s nursing home reimbursements updated

Previously, Minnesota’s nursing homes were reimbursed based on outdated classification models. Federal guidelines were recently updated after studies in 2007 and 2008 showed changes to the population and needs of our nursing home residents.  The new system also brings a solution to a problem often complained about by private pay residents, where treatments provided during a hospital stay preceding the nursing home admission will not be reflected in the nursing home care assessment - which often raised costs.  This law will simplify the paperwork nurses have to complete and allow them more time for patient care, and it accurately reimburses for that care.

And that’s a fact.

Source:

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?id=9&doctype=Chapter&year=2011&type=1

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?id=110&doctype=Chapter&year=2011&type=0

FACT: Republicans enact Sunset Commission

Too many times, government programs are put in place and left to continue and grow with little oversight. That is why in 2011 Republicans created a new Sunset Commission to review agencies and boards to assess their results against 12 performance measures. In its first year, the Sunset Commission cleaned up the way the state oversees combative sports. Next year will be a big one as the commission reviews departments and agencies overseeing health and education, which together make up a majority of the state’s budget.

And that’s a fact.

Source:

http://www.minnesotahousegop.com/reformblog/2011/9/16/speaker-zellers-appoints-four-to-sunset-commission.html

http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/174559091.html

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?id=10&doctype=Chapter&year=2011&type=1

Sensible Fiscal Preparation

FACT: Dayton vetoes, later proposes similar idea for federal contingency planning

In 2011, Governor Dayton vetoed a bill presented to him by the GOP legislature that would have required the state budget document include federal contingency planning. At the time, the bill was mocked by DFL lawmakers as being a “doomsday scenario” and even likened to a foundation for an eventual secession from the union.

Less than two months after the DFL shot down Republicans’ appeal for sensible fiscal preparation, federal budget experts began to speculate that states could see 40 percent of their federal funding disappear if the debt ceiling was reached. A week later, Governor Dayton directed his administration to examine the impact on state government if the ceiling is reached, in effect doing the very thing he vetoed. 

And that’s a fact.

Source:

HF545

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=House&f=HF545&ssn=0&y=2011

http://www.minnesotahousegop.com/blog/2011/7/29/debt-crisis-nears-asteroid-impact-alien-invasion-looming.html

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/07/22/debt-ceiling-minnesota-impact/

http://www.minnpost.com/political-agenda/2011/07/minnesota-gauge-impact-possible-federal-default

Getting Spending Under Control

FACT: The former Democrat majority put our state budget careening on an unsustainable path, with auto-pilot increases in place to raise General Fund spending to $39 billion in the 2012-13 biennium. Republicans gained control of the Legislature just in time and brought fiscal responsibility to the Capitol. We denied Gov. Mark Dayton’s push to increase taxes to help pay for $37 billion in spending, and instead snapped spending back into line with revenue by enacting a $34 billion budget for this biennium.

New reforms and necessary spending reductions in Health and Human Services, aids and credits, higher education and transportation put Minnesota on more affordable ground, helping spending to meet revenue.

Per Minnesota Management & Budget's latest forecast (Feb. 2012), General Fund forecast revenues are expected to be $33.8 billion – up $93 million from the November 2011 forecast – while spending is projected to be $33.8 billion.

And that’s a fact.

Source:

http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/doc/fu/11/summary-feb11.pdf

http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/doc/fu/12/summary-feb12.pdf

http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2011/07/timeline-minnesota-budget-negotiations-offers-and-counter-offers

Right-sizing Government

Governor Mark Dayton proved once again that he was on the wrong side of a plan to right-size state government. On May 24, 2011, Dayton vetoed SF1047- the Omnibus State Government Finance Bill  - which had passed the House and Senate a few days earlier.

SF1047 included a number of government reforms that would have resulted in a 34.2-percent reduction from base funding levels. The reductions included general reductions to agencies and a provision requiring MMB to cut an additional $95M.  A 3rd element added $168M in revenue gained not from tax increases, but from improved tax analytics to find unpaid taxes and stronger tax compliance.

In addition, the bill called for freezing state worker salaries until June 30, 2013, and requiring state budget officials to use zero-based budgeting methods.

And that’s a fact.

Sources:

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/swkly/2011-12/sw1911.pdf

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=Senate&f=SF1047&ssn=0&y=2011

Supporting Veterans

The Legislature passed several bills over the biennium that support and give preference to the employment and re-employment of Minnesota veterans, the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country.

For example, both private and public sector employers are allowed to give veterans preference in hiring and promotion decisions (SF1599, SF1689). Veterans can now protect their jobs and their salaries while they’re on leave or if their rights are infringed upon (HF2949, SF1689). Disabled veterans can be given preference in filling a vacant position in state  government (SF2354), and private sector employers can give hiring and promotion preference to veterans and spouses of a deceased or disabled veteran without fear of being sued (SF 1599). Lastly, veterans who own small businesses and bid on transportation construction projects may also receive up to a six percent bid preference on contracts (SF1597).

Sources:

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=House&f=SF2354&ssn=0&y=2011

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=House&f=SF1599&ssn=0&y=2011

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=House&f=SF1597&ssn=0&y=2011

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=House&f=SF1689&ssn=0&y=2011

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=House&f=HF2949&ssn=0&y=2011

Easing return-to-work process for employees at licensed care facilities.

There’s good news for employees who want to return to work at a nursing home or other licensed facility after being gone for a period of time, as their background study threshold date has been extended.  Previous law required the employee to undergo another background study if they had been away from work for 45 days or longer.  This was problematic for mothers on maternity leave and college students who wanted to pick up a shift at work while on break.  The new law extends the threshold to 90 days.  The Department of Human Services estimates about fifteen hundred studies were performed last year due to the forty-five day period, and that this law will reduce that number to five hundred.

And that’s a fact.

Source:

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=senate&f=SF1675&ssn=0&y=2012

Republicans stop taxpayer-subsidized political donations

Fact:

Minnesota taxpayers used to pay millions every year to subsidize campaign donations made to political candidates. That changed in 2010 when the program was suspended, but it was set to re-start in 2011. House Republicans passed a bill to end the program once and for all, which was unfortunately vetoed by Governor Dayton. In the end, he did agree to put the program on hold for two more years, but if nothing is done it will come back in 2013 and taxpayers will once again be spending money to reimburse political campaigns.

And that’s a fact.

Source:

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=House&f=HF0042&ssn=0&y=2011

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=House&f=HF0020&ssn=1&y=2011

Homeowners to see lower property taxes

FACT: Minnesota property taxes on residential properties are projected to fall by 1.6 percent in 2013. This is the largest reduction Minnesota homeowners have received since 2002.

Meantime, Minnesota's commerical/industrial property taxes account for 31 percent of all property taxes, yet account for only 12.8 percent of property value. Commercial businesses in Minnesota face some of the highest property tax burdens in the country and are projected to increase by 2.7 percent in 2013. Minnesota already has the fifth-highest urban business property taxes (higher than Chicago) and the sixth-highest rural property business taxes (higher than South Dakota). Republican attempts to lower property taxes on businesses were vetoed by Governor Dayton.

And that’s a fact.

Source:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2012/10/propertytax/propertytax.shtml

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/issinfo/csim12A8.pdf
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/issinfo/csim12C1.pdf
http://www.mntax.org/documents/Pay2011PTReportEXECSUMMARY_000.pdf

Reform leads to jobs

Historians may remember the 87^th legislative session for its government reform measures. The new House GOP Majority vowed to give the heave-ho to the status quo, and passed several government reform initiatives, including changes to the permitting process.

HF 1, offered by Representative Dan Fabian (R-Roseau), passed the House and Senate on bi-partisan votes less than two months into the 2011 session. The bill streamlines environmental reviews and permitting to speed up the permitting process. The goal is to bring about a common sense way to create jobs and grow Minnesota’s economy.

Representative Fabian’s bill passed the House and Senate with flying colors and was signed into law in early March by Governor Mark Dayton.

And that’s a fact.

Source:

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=House&f=HF0001&ssn=0&y=2011

VETOED: Middle-class income tax relief

Fact: Gov. Dayton prevented income tax relief on middle-class families

In 2011 Gov. Dayton opposed and vetoed an increase to the standard deduction for married filers, stopping tax relief for over 560,000 Minnesota families.

The Legislature attempted to remove the ‘marriage penalty’ by conforming to federal law in order to prevent this painful tax increase – but the Governor vetoed the attempt and never supported the effort.

And that's a fact.  

Sources:

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=House&f=HF42&ssn=0&y=2011