At the start of the month, I was appointed to serve on the Cannabis Conference Committee. A conference committee is a committee made up of members from both the Senate and the House of Representatives appointed to reconcile the differences between two versions of a bill that has been passed by both bodies. Each conference committee usually has either three or five members from both the House and the Senate.

I am the only Republican Senator who was chosen to serve on the Cannabis Conference Committee, even though I voted against the bill on the Senate floor.  I plan on voting against the bill after going through conference committee, but I am working with the law enforcement community and others to offer common sense changes to this bill to mitigate public safety and public health impacts. For example, I am working with the Minnesota Department of Health to create proper studies to track the impact of recreational cannabis on the health and safety of Minnesotans.

On Tuesday, May 2, Senate Democrats passed a tax bill that raises taxes by $1.2 billion through a new mandatory worldwide reporting tax, which has not been implemented in any other state. This means that any business with a presence in Minnesota will be forced to report all income, even that from outside Minnesota in a way that no other state in the country or the world requires. This risky move will affect businesses based inside and outside of the state and will likely force them to reconsider how much they are willing to invest to do business in Minnesota. 

I have advocated for the full repeal of state income tax on Social Security all session.  Unfortunately, a Democrat-offered amendment to repeal the tax on Social Security included a tax increase that was so extreme, even Democrats did not have the votes to pass it.  Obviously, the surplus was not enough to provide tax relief and support their spending habits.

During the floor debate, Senate Republicans attempted to offer a number of amendments, which were either struck down or ruled out of order. Among them:

• Create a permanent and automatic refund program to ensure taxpayers are first in line when there is a government surplus
• Require a supermajority vote to raise income taxes
• Eliminate the expiration of the  child care tax credit in 2030
• Restrict the use of public safety aid to only licensed peace officers
• Prohibit funds from going to cities or counties that took actions to “Defund the Police” through reduced funding for peace officers over the last four years

We did successfully amend the bill to expand the list of eligible baby products for a tax exemption, however this is not enough.  Minnesotans deserve to see their tax dollars returned to them rather than having the government increase its spending at a rapid rate. 

The Senate recently approved three bills I introduced to protect Minnesota consumers. If signed into law, these bills would lower gas prices; help local community-owned banks; and lower dairy product prices and support Minnesota dairy farmers.

Included in the Senate majority’s Commerce policy bill, which passed out of the Senate on Thursday, April 27, is my legislation to repeal the state’s minimum markup on gasoline. Under current Minnesota law, petroleum marketers are required to charge an eight-cent markup per gallon of gas, which is known as the ‘minimum markup.’ And if a petroleum marketer sells gas below the minimum markup, they could be subject to civil and criminal penalties.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s anti-trust police, reviewed minimum markup laws on gas sales and determined that these laws inhibit competitive pricing strategies that benefit consumers.

Additionally, the Senate’s Commerce policy bill includes my legislation to support state-chartered banks. The first part of this bill amends current statute to allow state-chartered banks to operate on a part-time basis, allowing branches to be closed for up to 48 consecutive hours. Under current law, bank locations are required to be open every weekday unless there is an exception due to a holiday or an emergency. I introduced this language to help local rural banks that are facing staffing issues and could be forced to close. Bank services will still be available 24/7 due to the wide availability of online banking and in-person ATM services.

The second part of this legislation repeals an outdated, expensive board of directors’ audit for state-chartered banks, which can easily cost $8,000 to $10,000 dollars per year. The requirements of this audit are already addressed in the Department of Commerce and FDIC exams, done on an 18-month basis. Most states do not have a directors’ audit requirement.

Finally, I authored legislation to repeal Minnesota's price-setting law for dairy products which is part of the Senate’s Agriculture policy bill, which passed out of the Senate on Wednesday, April 26.

Under current Minnesota law, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture can take action against retailers and processors for selling milk below a set price. By setting an artificial floor on retail dairy prices, the demand for dairy products is suppressed, which hurts the amount of dairy sold and adversely affects income for Minnesota dairy farmers.

With Gratitude,

Senator Jordan Rasmusson

District 9