Bylaws are an important part of any organization, but sometimes having them available for our members isn't easy. If you haven't read the NAIFA-Minnesota Chapter Bylaws recently, here is your chance. As always, please reach out to info@naifa-mn.org with any questions or concerns.

Paid Family and Medical Leave Bill Passes House

NAIFA-Minnesota is proud to recognize Terry Anderson in the Member Spotlight on NAIFA's Advisor Today blog. Click the button below to read the full post.

Aflac District Coordinator Terry Anderson's interest in the insurance industry started with a snowmobile accident that reinforced for him a fundamental truth about insurance—when people get hurt or sick, they still need money to pay the bills. Two years later, Anderson was talking with a customer in his store who was an Aflac agent. She told him that, when someone gets hurt or sick, Aflac pays the claim quickly and Anderson asked himself, “Why didn’t I know about this after my accident?” From that conversation, he decided to start his career in insurance.

House Health Approves MnCARE Public Option/Single Payor Study Bills

The House Health Finance and Policy Committee on Tuesday heard two bills that have big implications for the private health insurance marketplace:

HF96 (Long, DFL-Minneapolis) establishes the MinnesotaCare public option for persons with incomes over the MinnesotaCare income limit of 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines (FPG). Implementation of the public option would be effective January 1, 2026, but only if the Commissioner of Human Services certifies to the Legislature it will not result in the loss of federal basic health program funding. The bill also makes other changes to MinnesotaCare, including requiring a study of a small employer public option and providing eligibility for undocumented noncitizens.  The bill was supported by advocacy and labor organizations and opposed by the Agents Coalition, the Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota Hospital Association.  The Agents Coalition represents multiple insurance associations, including NAIFA. Testifying for the Coalition, Shawnee Christensen said that the bill would result in low payments to providers, allow the state plan to compete with the private market with no reserve requirements or having to meet current licensing and regulatory requirements placed on private insurers.  The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus health finance bill. This means it will be included in the larger health finance bill that funds much of DHS,  a bill all but guaranteed to pass.

February Budget Forecast to be Released on Monday

In the past few months, I along with Corey Anderson and other NAIFA Minnesota members have been meeting with a group of industry professionals and nonprofits that have combined to create the Financial Literacy Coalition of Minnesota (FLCM).  This group is aiming to advance financial literacy for Minnesota youth by requiring a high school course in personal finance to graduate. Over the course of this legislative session, a bill will be in the state legislature to ensure this requirement is implemented. We are proud to be partnering with the FLCM and the Minnesota Council on Economic Education (MCEE) to help accomplish this goal. 

Big Picture Issues

Walz Releases Budget

Walz Set to Release Budget
Governor Tim Walz will release his budget proposal on Tuesday, a plan expected to call for record spending as well as major policy initiatives. The State’s record $17.6 billion budget surplus will allow the Governor to make significant spending increases. Walz began rolling out pieces of the budget this week. On Tuesday Walz proposed spending $5.2 billion on schools, including more money for special education, mental health and free breakfast and lunch for all students. He also wants to expand Minnesota’s child and dependent care tax credit to help about 100,000 families with day care costs. Families earning less than $200,000 could get up to $4,000 for one child, $8,000 for two children and $10,500 if they have three kids. Walz also wants to create a new Department of Children, Youth and Families from portions of the Education, Human Services and Corrections Departments. His office said he is also thinking of dividing the Department of Human Services into three separate agencies. On Thursday Walz announced plans to spend $4.1 billion on economic development, job training, family medical leave and tax breaks for small businesses. His health care budget ideas are expected to be released on Monday        

Big Picture Issues                 

Quote of the Week: "I would expect this would be the fastest start anyone can remember for bills moving through the Minnesota legislature. …It will be a very busy January!” House Speaker Melissa Hortman commenting on the start of the 2023 session.

Valued Clients, while many of you watched the election returns in real time, below are the facts of the outcome, what it means for the 2023 legislature and why things happened as they did, at least in my humble opinion.

Here in Minnesota, a multi-million dollar cash advantage combined with a more sophisticated data and get-out-the-vote system and a strong pro-choice message created a blue wave that gave the DFL control of the Governor’s office, the Senate and the House for the first time since 2014.  This means the DFL can set and pass an agenda without having to compromise with Republicans.  The fights in St. Paul will now be between a progressive Senate and House and a liberal Governor to their Right. 

The state Commerce Department says health insurance premiums on average statewide would have been 15 to 20% higher without the program between 2018 and 2022.

Registration is officially OPEN for the FIRST EVER Financial Festival, Finaroo! 

NAIFA President-Elect, Bryon Holz, is ready to rock-n-roll at Finaroo. Will YOU be there?

Join FSP-Twin Cities and NAIFA-Minnesota Thursday, June 2nd for this month's Collaborative Learning Event! This program features Guy Berg, Vice President, Payments, Standards, & Outreach Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. 

Deal Reached to Resolve Budget Stalemate

17 Days to Go With Low Expectations

Legislature Takes a Break                                      

The Legislature will be in recess this week for the Passover/Easter holidays, returning on Monday, April 18th. The Legislature has been in session for 10 weeks, but has little to show for the hundreds of hours of committee hearings and floor sessions that have taken place. Only one major bill, reinsurance, has been signed into law.   At the top of the list of issues to resolve is what to do with the projected $9.2 billion budget surplus.   Senate Republicans want permanent tax cuts passed while DFLers want the surplus invested in education, health care, housing, and other areas that DFLers say have been underfunded for years. The failure of the two sides to agree last year on how to give away $250 million to front-line workers does not offer hope to Capitol observers that resolving the budget differences will be any easier this year. The two parties have moved away from the middle toward the fringes, where making a deal with the opposition by compromising is viewed as a bad thing. This could set up five weeks of partisanship and no deals before the Legislature adjourns on May 23.                          

Reinsurance Extension Becomes Law!

NAIFA-MN State Government Affairs Chair Corey Anderson testifying next to Senator Julia Coleman, author of NAIFA-supported legislation, before the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

Quote of the Week
“It was a pile of bull crap on top of a pile of bull crap!” An angry House Speaker Melissa Hortman responding to Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller’s proposal on front-line worker payments.

Quote of the Week: “The insurance model just doesn’t work for health care!” Rep. Tina Liebling, Chair, Health Finance, and Policy Committee  

Quote of the Week: “If the author of the bill will yield for another question, maybe this one will be a little more painful!" Legislator grilling a freshman on his bill on the House floor.

Quote of the Week: “Do I need to unmute myself?” Senator speaking into a microphone at a Senate hearing while also watching on a laptop.

Redistricting Unveiled

Big Picture Issues

Economy Continues to Boom                        

Minnesota’s economy continues to roar ahead after the 2020-2021 COVID slowdown.     Minnesota’s unemployment rate fell to 3.1% in January, well below the 3.8% national average. Minnesota Management and Budget announced on Thursday that tax collections in January were 25% greater than projected. Corporate tax revenues were $642 million more than forecast . Since July 1, the start of the State’s fiscal year, tax revenues are $1.5 billion higher than projected. The State already has a projected $7.7 billion surplus based on the November budget forecast. A new budget forecast will be released in the next month that will guide spending and tax decision-making for the remainder of the session.

Quote of the Week:

"The crisis has reached crisis levels!" Department of Human Services testifying on workforce shortages in the health care sector. 

2020 marked the half-way point of the Baby-Boomer generation’s retirement process. The early Boomers began pulling out of the workforce in 2010, and the later ones will continue to begin their retirements for the next 10 to 15 years. The generation before the Boomers, known alternately as Traditionalists, Matures, and “The Greatest,” are at the end of their lives on this planet.

As you can read in the story linked below, legislative leadership has agreed to extend reinsurance for another year -- through 2022.

Welcome new members who joined NAIFA-Minnesota so far this year!

Belonging to your professional association sets you apart from the competition by ascribing to a Code of Ethics, voluntarily investing & participating in a performance-driven networking group, and serving your industry through advocacy and community service.

Join NAIFA-Minnesota and FSP Thursday, June 3rd for this Collaborative Learning Event! This month features Kevin Carter with The Future of Emerging Markets & The Growing Digital Revolution.

June 3, 2021 | 11:40 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. | VIRTUAL - Zoom

Following the meeting the Zoom window will remain open for 30 minutes (1:00 - 1:30 p.m.) for members and sponsors to move to Breakout Rooms and remain online to chat about the meeting content and network with other attendees.

NAIFA-Minnesota, YOU'RE INVITED! Join NAIFA-Tennessee for D.I.scovery presented by DI Geek, Corey Anderson.

The lack of an agreement by Governor Walz, House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka on overall spending targets means the session ended with a whimper on Monday without passage of the budget bills needed to keep state government operating on July 1. Conference committees met last week, but with no budget targets they could only adopt non-controversial policy provisions. There have been only 3 sessions out of the last 11 budget sessions during which the Legislature completed its work on time.

As we all emerge from the pandemic storm shelters and thank our lucky stars that we are in an industry where we benefit, the more people we are able to help. I hope this finds you healthy NAIFA-Minnesota! Like everything out there, NAIFA-Minnesota is roaring back and excited to start meeting face-to-face over the next few months. We’ve got a number of fun and educational events for everyone!

The 2021 session is scheduled to adjourn in 10 days, but legislative leaders and the Governor have no agreement on overall spending and individual finance bill spending targets.  

The 2021 legislative session is scheduled to adjourn on Monday, May 17th and decisions that will affect NAIFA members are about to be made. House and Senate conference committees will begin meeting this week to reconcile differences in how the two bodies dealt with taxes, spending and hundreds of policy issues.

Reinsurance Conference Committee Set to Begin

Legislature Reaches 3rd Committee Deadline

Friday was the 3rd Committee Deadline, the date by which all finance bills must be reported to the House Ways and Means Committee or the Senate Finance Committee. All Finance Committees in the two bodies were busy this week marking up their finance bills, some of which are scheduled to be heard in Ways and Means or Finance next week. 

TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2021
9:00 - 11:00 A.M. VIA ZOOM

Legislature Takes Break for Easter and Passover Holidays

The Minnesota Legislature is on its Easter/Passover break until 8:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 6. When the Legislature reconvenes, it will have just six weeks before the scheduled May 17^th adjournment date. The biggest pending issue when legislators reconvene will be finalizing a two-year biennial budget for the biennium beginning July 1.

It’s 2nd Committee Deadline!

Hundreds of bills that escaped dying last Friday with the 1st Committee Deadline died Friday at midnight with the arrival of the 2nd Committee Deadline. The deadline process winnows down the bills that have been introduced over the past weeks from over 4,500 to hundreds, most of which will be folded into omnibus finance bills.