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Friends,
This week in the Capitol has been busy! It?s first deadline week which means that any bill that can advance this session must be heard in the policy committees by Friday. I have authored several bills to cut taxes and repeal laws I feel are bad public policies but none of them will likely be heard by the DFL committee chairs, so this is a week of long days of committee hearings on bills the majorities want to advance at the last minute.
Yesterday the Governor unveiled his budget for this session. The Governor?s budget proposes to spend money on emergency ambulance services, water quality and child care and leave the rest of the spending decisions to the legislature.? He makes clear the concern that any additional spending should be ?one time? spending since ongoing programs would likely force the state into a deficit situation in 2025.? For instance, in the Education Committee we?re hearing several bills that would allocate even more one-time money to programs supported by the majority, but ?ongoing? proposals seem to have died a quick death since the budget forecast several weeks ago.? This is good news if you care about fiscal responsibility.
The Tax Committee is hearing very minor ?fixes? so I don?t expect any new significant tax policy to be heard or pass this year.
Another issue that is likely on your radar is the Uber/Lyft situation. Without legislative action, the DFL will cause Lyft and Uber to cease operations in the metro area entirely, meaning that individuals who rely on these ridesharing services to access necessary services, such as our seniors or people who are disabled, will be left stranded. The reason this is happening is because the Minneapolis City Council passed an ordinance (and then overrode Mayor Frey?s veto) mandating an impossible level of driver compensation if they drive through the city of Minneapolis. As a reminder, Uber and Lyft drivers are independent contractors, not employees.?
To be honest, I am torn on how to handle this as it seems to be a game of ?chicken? between Uber/Lift and the progressive Minneapolis City Council.? I believe Uber will leave the twin cities if the Minneapolis ordinance stands but I also believe the Minneapolis City Council will back down when that happens.? The Minneapolis progressives seem to have purposely thrown this issue to the Legislature as they couldn?t say ?no? to their activists.? So the philosophical debate is: Does the state preempt this city ordinance, or do we put this back in the lap of the Minneapolis City Council to repeal their own problem they created.? I guess it depends on who you think will blink first.
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