 Co-chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Paul Torkelson and Rep. Zack Stephenson, confer before the start of a busy hearing Tuesday. (Photo by Andrew VonBank)
House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) is looking for some unity, and she believes the Legislature and Gov. Tim Walz can find it.
Speaking after Tuesday’s House floor session, Demuth said she believes it’s important for the governor to “pull everyone together,” and that she sees Wednesday evening’s State of the State address as a fine opportunity to do so.
“We’re looking forward to what he has to say,” Demuth said.
That said, negotiations continue between co-chairs of some House committees on their final omnibus bills. Demuth identified a pair of sticking points.
“On the health bill, we’re kind of stuck on the insurance for those who are here illegally,” she said. “For MinnesotaCare, families that qualify get their health insurance from the state. Typically, 90% of that dollar amount is paid by the feds and the state pays 10%. In this case, health care is provided at no cost to people who are here illegally. But that’s 100% on the backs of the state’s taxpayers, because there is no federal match.
“It was projected that there would be 5,000 people taking advantage of that, but we now know that there are 17,000. We’ve got to pull that back. … But what we’ve heard from Democrats is that that’s a non-starter for them. … I’m not exactly sure where the governor stands on it.” Read more
WATCH ▶️ Tuesday's House Republican media availability
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