The Growth of Government

We’ve debated many tax  bills (sales taxes for clothing, haircuts, and many everyday items) and spending bills at the Capitol this year. The net result of those bills will, unfortunately, be an increased cost of living for Minnesotans and their employers. 

In addition to the typical tax and spending bills however, the Senate is also proposing to make Minnesotans’ lives more expensive by expanding the reach of government. This week, for instance, the Senate passed a bill that includes mandates which will cause utility costs to be more expensive and may make energy supplies less reliable.  We’ve also passed bills to create a bureaucratic Health Insurance Exchange that will increase healthcare costs.  

We’ve also seen an unwanted, unnecessary plan to unionize childcare providers. This bill will make childcare more expensive and less accessible for families and taxpayers. The proposal, pushed by Sen. Sandy Pappas (D-St. Paul), unionizes independent businesses who oppose it by a staggering 86 percent.  All childcare  providers  should  be  able  to  provide  quality,  affordable  services  to  parents  without  excessive government interference or paying fees to a union organization. 

Instead of issues that divide us, we should be focused on ways to create a healthier economy and increasing economic freedom – and not just creating a bigger, more burdensome government. 

Overtaxing, overspending, and overreaching is not in the best interest of hardworking taxpayers.  Increasing taxes on all Minnesotans and increasing our state government spending and bureaucracy by the proposed 8-10% won’t create a healthier economy and it won’t create good jobs. We need to spend better, and go line-by-line through our state’s budget to cut the waste. Hardworking taxpayers deserve it.

Childcare Unionization 

Earlier this session the Senate DFL majority produced a tax bill so ugly that they needed two attempts to convince a sufficient number of DFL members to vote for it. On Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee repeated the act when it passed SF 778, a bill that could result in the unionization of childcare providers and home healthcare workers. 

Earlier in the week the bill failed to pass out of committee by a vote of 11-11, with bipartisan opposition. However, following intervention from Democrat and labor union bosses, Senator Terri Bonoff (DFL - Minnetonka/Plymouth) switched her vote, and the bill passed on a vote of 12-10. Several Senate committees passed this AFSCME-supported bill "without recommendation" after rejecting several Republican amendments to protect these private business owners and the families they serve. These amendments included allowing families to observe contract negotiations, exempting nonmembers from paying union dues, and notifying providers that their personal information would be given to unions. 

Under the bill, even daycare providers who choose not to join the union would still be forced to pay union fees, be subject to the terms and conditions negotiated by the union, and be effectively deemed employees of the state. In response to AFSCME's testimony that this bill is about "raising subsidy rates," Republicans expressed concern that this bill would result in increased costs for families and taxpayers alike.

Last Call at the Government Bar 

The next eight days will bring the end  of  Minnesota’s  regular  legislative session. The constitutional deadline for adjournment is the first Monday after the third Saturday in May,  which  this  year  falls on Monday, May 20. 

Now that the Senate and House have passed their various budget bills, the final week will be filled with a flurry of conference committees to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions. A compromise conference committee report is then sent back to each body for final passage, and then sent to the governor for his signature.

Minimum Wage passes the full Senate

The Minnesota Senate passed a bill to increase the minimum wage paid by large employers from $6.15 to $7.25,  which  matches  current  federal law. The proposal then increases the minimum wage even more to $7.50 on August 1, 2014 and $7.75 on August 1, 2015.  

The Minnesota House has approved a $9.50 wage, an amount that is in line with Governor Dayton’s wishes.

House and Senate bills would automatically increase the minimum wage for inflation after 2015.