Special Session Ends

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July 2, 2021

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The special legislative session ended Wednesday after 2:00 a.m., after we passed the new two-year state budget. I am very happy to report that we finally ended the Governor’s emergency powers and were able to extend the reinsurance program for one additional year, which I hope will buy the time we need to work out a permanent solution to stabilize the individual market. 

Over the past year, House Republicans have worked tirelessly to end Gov. Walz’s powers and his unilateral decision-making for businesses, schools, youth sports, churches and who we could have in our homes. We forced over 20 votes on ending the powers and have been putting pressure on Gov. Walz and Democrats to bring the peacetime emergency to an end and restore the Legislature's constitutional role as a co-equal branch of government. 

There are so many lessons to learn from the past year, but one of the most important tasks that the legislature must now face is reforming the Chapter 12 Emergency Powers statute to rein in the Governor and make sure future governors can't abuse emergency powers. I look forward to working with my colleagues on this issue in the months ahead.

Below you will find a few of this session's highlights. Republicans were able to stop a number of bad policies, while providing PPP/UI relief and funding for our law enforcement. Keep reading to learn more. 

I hope you all have a wonderful 4^th of July, celebrating our freedom with your family and friends! I’m looking forward to a fun weekend with our extended family! Now that the Special Session is ended, my weekly updates will also end again. I’ll try to send out occasional updates but the best way to stay updated is through my Facebook Page (@RepKristinRobbins) or reach me by email (Rep.Kristin.Robbins@house.mn).

Executive Summary

• New "Public Health Disaster" Executive Powers
• Stopping Bad Policies
• Standing Up for Minnesotans
• Reinsurance Update
• 158^th Anniversary of the First Minnesota Infantry at the Battle of Gettysburg
• Helpful Links

New "Public Health Disaster" Executive Powers

Although I am grateful the emergency is over, the very next day Democrats successfully added an amendment to the Tax bill which gave new powers to the Commissioners of Health and DHS to declare “public health disasters,” with no limitations and no oversight by the Legislature. 

This new abdication of power to the Executive Branch is unwise and unnecessary. We fought it on the House floor and offered amendments to narrow the scope to allow it for the limited purpose of receiving federal SNAP money or limit it to a few weeks, but those efforts failed. Adding new powers to the Commissioners in statute, who are unelected and answer to the Governor, is terrible policy and further concentrates power in the Executive Branch. I will continue to try to change this as we work on the broader reforms to Chapter 12.

Stopping Bad Policies

House Democrats and the Governor pushed many policies that would have hurt Minnesota families and businesses. After a year where the government asked Minnesotans to sacrifice so much, I am proud that Republicans were able to stop these items: 

• No new taxes on gas, income, companies or estates. Republicans fought against the billion dollar tax increases that Democrats were seeking. With over a $4 billion surplus, there was never a reason to raise taxes. 
• Eliminated anti-law enforcement policies. No anti-police reform measures were included in the final Public Safety and Judiciary omnibus bill. Controversial policies like automatic expungement of criminal offenses, citizen oversight councils with power to discipline the police, and mandated release of body camera recordings within 48 hours were successfully omitted from the final bill. 
• Eliminated harmful policy on employers. We successfully put a stop to many onerous employer mandates like paid family leave and a ban on asking about salary history.
• Eliminated harmful education policies. The Education omnibus bill did not include any policy changes, like Critical Race Theory. Instead, the bill increases education spending by 4.45% over the biennium, maintains the current allotment for voluntary Pre-K, creates programs to recruit more teachers of color, and provides one-time funding for special education and English-language learner programs.

Unfortunately, we were not able to do add any policies to empower parents to have more choices in their children’s education. I offered an amendment to increase the education tax credit and deduction and allow families to use the credit for tuition (deduction can already be used for that purpose). Here’s a link to my floor speech.

Standing Up for Minnesotans

I was proud to work with my colleagues to accomplish some great things for Minnesotans. Some of the most important things we accomplished are:

• PPP/UI tax relief. Failure was not an option for forgiving Paycheck Protection Program loans and Unemployment benefits. I am so pleased that this was included in the Tax bill. This long-over due relief will now be retroactive for tax year 2020. I am proud that we were able to support small businesses and families to make sure government did not profit off of Minnesotans after a difficult year. 
• Funded law enforcement. Republicans stopped Democrats from defunding the police. Instead, the Public Safety and Judiciary bill did a lot to support law enforcement and victims. It included changes to Minnesota's criminal sexual conduct statutes to ensure justice is served for victims of sexual assault, as well as the Officer Arik Matson bill to increase the penalty for first degree assault for criminal justice officials. 
• Supported the elderly and disabled. The Health and Human Services bill had many good provisions to help our seniors and those with disabilities, including increasing pay for Personal Care Attendants (PCAs) and reforming the disability waiver system.
• Preserved conservation and outdoor recreation. The Legacy bill appropriated nearly $67 million to support our state parks, recreation areas, and trails for both the Metro and Greater Minnesota. It also included civics education grants for high school students. 

Reinsurance Update

While I am pleased to report that reinsurance has been extended for a fifth year, no additional funding was provided to ensure the program will remain operational. I am disappointed the legislature did not go far enough to protect this important program.

Instead, a scaled-down extension of reinsurance was created for 2022 as well as a reduction of coinsurance from 80% to 60% to help reduce cost. The Health and Human Services omnibus bill directs the Department of Commerce to apply for an extension of our federal waiver, which must be done by the end of 2021. This extension could allow us to continue reinsurance for five more years, but without additional funding for the first two years of the extension, the federal government has indicated they will not likely grant the waiver. Thus the one-year “extension” is not sufficient to keep stabilize the individual market and we are still expecting to see rate increases in the coming years.

We must continue to work to protect reinsurance. Minnesotans on the individual market cannot afford higher premiums and we cannot risk destabilizing the insurance market. This issue will not go away, and I will continue fighting to keep your healthcare costs low. 

158^th Anniversary of the First Minnesota Infantry at the Battle of Gettysburg

Today, July 2^nd, marks the 158^th anniversary of the First Minnesota’s courageous stand at Gettysburg. Below is a quick summary – more details can be found here.

“The 1st Minnesota Infantry performed one of the most critical actions of the battle during Longstreet’s Assault of July 2nd. Sickles’ Corps was falling back in disarray. Longstreet’s men were advancing to penetrate the center of the Union line, which had been dangerously thinned to prop up other sectors. General Hancock rode up to the 1st Minnesota, the only organized Union troops at hand, pointed at the advancing Confederates, and ordered them to “Take those colors!” Their sacrificial charge against overwhelming odds halted the Confederate advance. It bought desperately needed time for the center of the Union line to reform. the result was that Lee was forced into one last desperate gamble the next day with Pickett’s Charge.

"The regiment entered the field 420 strong. Company L’s 32 men served as skirmishers and Company C’s 56 men were detached on July 2.

"Colonel William Colvill, an attorney and newspaper owner from Red Wing, led the men into action. He was wounded during the July 2 charge. Captain Nathan Messick took over command only to be killed the next day during the repulse of Pickett’s Charge. Captain Wilson B. Farrell briefly took over until he was also killed. Finally Captain Henry C. Coates took over command. The regiment lost 50 men killed, 173 wounded and 1 missing.” 

From https://gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/union-monuments/minnesota/1st-minnesota/

Helpful Links

New Laws: New laws went into effect July 1 relating to tax-forfeited land sales, pensions, and claims against the state. Learn about these changes here.

Redevelopment Grant and Demolition Loan Programs. The Brownfields and Redevelopment Unit with the Department of Employment and Economic Development is soliciting applications for grant funding for Redevelopment projects. Learn more and apply here.

OLA Evaluation Topics: The Office of the Legislative Auditor wants your help determining what questions the OLA should address in their evaluations. This year, they are evaluating the Commerce Department's oversight of insurance fraud, MDE's role in addressing the achievement gap, Medical Emergency Ambulance Services, Petroleum Remediation Program, and unemployment insurance fraud. You can give the OLA your input on these topics here. 

Photos

The Sgt.-at-Arms took a bipartisan group of us out on the roof during one of the long recesses on Wednesday night. The views are beautiful!

The sculpture of the 4 horses is known as the Quadriga, a symbol of triumph

Patrick Murphy: Chief Clerk of the House and without whom the Institution would not function! He had tirelessly called the roll through hundreds of voice votes through the pandemic sessions. He is a state treasure.

Please Contact Me

Many of you have already been in touch to discuss your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you. Thank you for sharing your ideas! Please continue to contact me to discuss any matters to which I can be of assistance.

The House is adjourned until January 31, 2022.  The best way to reach me is by email: rep.kristin.robbins@house.mn. For occasional updates, you can follow my Facebook Page at @RepKristinRobbins. You can also leave a voicemail on my office number, 651-296-7806, which is checked a couple of times/week. I hope you all have a wonderful summer!

Have a great weekend!

Kristin

225 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.7806