by Bethany Blankey Joint conference committees continue to hash out differences with the hope of reaching the May 20 deadline and closing a $2 billion gap between conflicting budget priorities. Still up for discussion in the Minnesota legislature are proposed fees on drug distributors and manufacturers to pay for opioid addiction, treatment and prevention, which opponents argue doesn’t address the real issue and would only suppress an industry providing medication to people who need them. Instead of targeting businesses, stricter criminal justice measures should be implemented, they argue. Another is allocating federal money toward securing the voting system, a 20-cent gas tax hike on top of additional spending on transportation projects, extending a 2 percent tax on medical providers, known as the “sick tax,” which is set to expire, in addition to increased spending on healthcare programs at a time when extensive fraud was uncovered by the state auditor’s office. The jobs and energy conference committee is grappling with a statewide family leave program paid for through a new tax on employees and employers, and a Senate spending bill that would block cities from passing and enforcing their own employment ordinances. The bill would likely reverse the Minneapolis ordinance…
Read the full storyDespite Budget Surpluses, Tax Increases Still Debated in Minnesota as May 20 Deadline Looms
