Capitol Comments by Peggy Bennett

The 2018 legislative session started up again on Tuesday, and I’m already enjoying the committee hearings, meetings with constituents and other stakeholders, and, most of all, visits to St. Paul by residents from our area. As this process begins, I wanted to give a quick look ahead at what we might be working on this year in St. Paul.

At the national level, one of the biggest changes coming from Washington, D.C., was the passage of significant tax relief. Folks are already starting to see the benefits of this bill in their paychecks. The change, though, means Minnesota should consider various conformities with the federal tax code to help Minnesota taxpayers even further — both for ease of tax filing and also to make sure that no one’s taxes are increased. My goal for tax conformity is to make sure Minnesotans are held harmless with the tax changes.

As a member of the Capital Investment Committee, I’m hoping to see some sort of bonding bill. We toured a number of potential projects around the state, including some of our local projects such as the Blazing Star Trail and the Riverland Community College project. We’ll have to wait until the upcoming budget forecast before we start forming bonding proposals, but I look forward to advocating for local and regional projects.

A nagging issue that will certainly be discussed this session is the new failing vehicle licensing system, MNLARS. Registrars and license centers throughout the state and in our area, along with many local citizens who simply just want to renew their tabs or update vehicle titles, have been experiencing huge problems with this new system. It’s extremely frustrating because the state has already spent nearly $100 million (when it was originally billed to cost $48 million) and 10 years to build this, and it still isn’t right. Now, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety is asking for an additional $43 million. That’s unacceptable. We need to figure out how to get this working ASAP without spending millions more, and we need to hold those in charge of MNLARS accountable so they don’t continue to misuse taxpayer dollars.

One of the biggest issues I hear most about is health care. Thanks to a new reinsurance program, we were able to put an end to four straight years of double-digit premium increases. However, that was a temporary fix and there is more work to be done. We’ll look to continue this work this year to increase choice and access while decreasing costs. Personally, I am continuing to work on health care related bills to deal with our local situation of losing important hospital services. I have been in ongoing meetings with experts and stakeholders to refine my bill ideas and get them into workable form. I will share more specifics on these bills soon and will be sure to keep our area updated as they move through the legislative process.

Hearing your views on issues big or small helps me better represent our area. This is especially important as we’re discussing a variety of issues during session. If you’re interested in visiting me at the Capitol, you can schedule an appointment by contacting rep.peggy.bennett@house.mn or 651-296-8216. If you can’t make it to St. Paul, I would still love for you to share your thoughts with me. I greatly value local input!

Peggy Bennett, R-Albert Lea, is the District 27A representative.