Legislative Update for the Week of February 20, 2023

February Budget Forecast to be Released on Monday

Minnesota Management and Budget is scheduled to release to release its updated budget forecast next week. This forecast will be the basis for spending for the rest of the 2023 session. The November forecast projected a record budget surplus of $17.6 billion. Higher than projected monthly tax receipts are expected to drive that surplus even higher. Whatever the final number is, the release of the forecast will allow finance committees to begin serious work on preparing budget bills.

FML Continues Forward

The family and medical leave bill continued it journey to the Senate floor this week when it was heard and approved in the Human Services Committee. This was the 7th committee hearing on SF2 (Mann, DFL-Edina). An amendment (scs0002a53 (senate.mn) was added to the bill by Senator Jordan Rasmusson (R-Fergus Falls) that requires an actuarial study to be completed before the program would go into effect. At each committee hearing concerns have been raised about the bill by employers, insurance industry representatives and others. In this week’s hearing, Senators heard from group homes and others in the human servics sector that the requirements of the bill would place increased financial burdens on their organizations. The bill was approved on a divided voice vote and referred to the Committee on Jobs and Economic Development.

House Passes Sick Leave Bill

The House on Tuesday passed a bill HF19 (Olson, DFL, Duluth) mandating employers in Minnesota to provide paid sick leave to their employees. The bill now moves to the Senate, where its companion bill is pending in the Finance Committee. More than one in three Minnesota workers have no paid time off when they are sick or are caring for a sick family member. Almost all Minnesota workers would become eligible for what is termed ”earned sick & safe time” upon logging 80 hours on the job. Paid sick time would be accrued at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked; up to 48 hours could be accrued per year. Any unused hours would be available to be rolled over to a new calendar year, with a maximum of 80 hours to be banked at any given time. These hours would be paid at the same rate as normal hours worked. Employers that fail to meet the new standards could be fined up to $10,000 per violation.

Bill Introductions

Brand; Frederick; Kiel; Schomacker; Nelson, N.; Anderson, P. H., and Pursell introduced:

H. F. 2162: A bill for an act relating to insurance; appropriating money for the marketing and reduction of stop loss costs of an agricultural cooperative association health plan.

The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Commerce Finance and Policy.

Senators Klein and Seeberger introduced:

S.F. No. 2004: A bill for an act relating to insurance; regulating certain claims practices; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 72A.201, subdivision 6.

Referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.

Senators Seeberger, Abeler, and Morrison introduced:

S.F. No. 1948: A bill for an act relating to insurance; requiring health plans to provide coverage for biomarker testing; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 256B.0625, by adding a subdivision; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 62Q.