The Minnesota legislature met its constitutional deadline for adjournment of midnight, May 23 and adjourned as required. The final hours of the regular legislative session were anticlimactic, as the major appropriations bills for the State’s next fiscal year beginning July 1 awaited certain veto by Governor Dayton. In this last week of the session, the gap between the governor and the legislature had narrowed, but never completely closed. While the Republicans in the legislature proposed a biennial budget of $33.9 billion, the governor’s budget was stuck at $35.8 billion. A focus of dispute was the governor’s proposal for an income tax increase on high-income Minnesotans, which the legislature has been unwilling to accept.

Negotiations between the governor and the legislature will resume on Friday, May 27. Meanwhile, legislative leaders from both caucuses will be travelling around the state highlighting, depending on their perspectives, either the accomplishments or lack thereof in the 2011 regular session. Governor Dayton has the power to call the legislature back into special session at any time. However, he has indicated he would not do so until there is budget agreement with legislative leaders. The state faces a partial government shutdown if a balanced budget is not passed by July 1.

The 2012 Minnesota legislative session will convene on January 24, 2012. The 2012 session is expected to last approximately 10 weeks.

So what did pass and get signed?

Bills that have been signed by the governor as of May 25, 2011:

Community Paramedics – Chapter 12, Senate File 119 (Senator Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont)/House File 262 (Representative Tara Mack, R-Apple Valley) Read the bill.

This law creates certification for emergency medical technicians-community paramedics (EMT-CP); requires the commissioner of human services to consult with health care professional’s services and determine payment rates that would be covered under the medical assistance program. The list to be developed must consider the potential hospital admittance and emergency room utilization reductions as well as increased access to quality care in rural communities. Once the list is developed by the commissioner, he/she shall submit the list of services, and further legislative action is required prior to coverage under medical assistance. The commissioner will be required to evaluate the effect of medical assistance and MinnesotaCare coverage on the cost and quality of care under these programs and the coordination of these services with the health care and home services.

Federal Tax Conformity, Tax Refunds – Chapter 8, House File 79 (Representative Greg Davids, R-Preston)/Senate File 47 (Senator Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen) Read the bill.

This law includes two important tax measures for employers. The first provision aligns state law with federal law with regard to health coverage, among other items. Under federal law, health coverage provided for an employee’s adult nondependent children younger than age 27 is generally tax-free to the employee for federal purposes. Now those benefits will be tax-free to the employee for state purposes as well. The change was made for the tax year 2010 only. In addition, employers would not be required to reissue W-2s related to this provision.

The second item repeals a 2010 law that delayed capital equipment and corporate income tax refunds as part of the budget compromise. Businesses will now receive these refunds immediately rather than waiting until July 1, 2011.

Elevator Code Changes – Chapter 26, House File 664 (Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar)/Senate File 617 (James Metzen, DFL-South St. Paul) Read the bill.

This law provides an alternative compliance timeline for elevators that have a current law compliance deadline of January 29, 2012 or later. Owners of elevators that were notified of compliance issues must submit a compliance plan for their devices by December 30, 2011. Owners not notified before the effective date of this section must submit a compliance plan by December 30, 2011, or within 60 days of notification, whichever is later. Any plan submitted under this section has to result in code compliance by the later of January 29, 2012, or within three years after submission of the compliance plan.

Care Center of the Future – Chapter 22, Senate File 626 (Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont)/House File 937 (Joe Schomacker, R-Luverne) Read the bill.

This law allows both the commissioners of health and of human services to waive bed layaway timelines when a partial or full nursing facility evacuation occurs due to natural disaster, possible natural disaster or other events threatening the health and safety of the residents. It also creates a new process for the identification of hardship areas (i.e., in need of new nursing facility beds) and the process by which new beds would be introduced to these hardship areas; creates a new section of statute that allows for the consolidation of nursing facilities and assignment of savings to the remaining nursing facility; re-writes and consolidates the criteria used to review moratorium projects and cost-neutral projects; clarifies existing language on the cost-neutral relocation of nursing facilities; specifies actual determination of rate setting formula; and repeals replacement restrictions, including the six-mile limit rule used for moratorium project approval.

Vulnerable Adults – Chapter 28, House File 447 (Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing)/Senate File 195 (Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove) Read the bill.

This law requires individuals convicted of certain crimes against vulnerable adults to be registered as a predatory offender; standardizes the criminal penalty for assault of a vulnerable adult at a gross misdemeanor; and clarifies responsibilities for investigations of maltreatment of a vulnerable adult.

Nonprofit Reporting – Chapter 25, House File 786 (Representative Greg Davids (R-Preston) and Senator Ted Daley (R-Eagan)) signed into law on May 18, 2011, changes the way Minnesota nonprofit organizations report financial data on the annual report to the attorney general's office. The changes were designed to bring Minnesota in compliance with federal form 990 reporting, including changing both the way reporting is done (taking wages directly from the W2 box 5 and reporting benefits and other compensation separately) and what is reported (changing the reporting threshold from $50,000 to $100,000). The effective date of this bill is August 1, 2011, meaning that organizations whose fiscal year starts in February or later will be required to file the updated report in 2011 for their 2010 fiscal year. Read the bill.

Toby Pearson
952.851.2480
tpearson@careproviders.org

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