April 29, 2016

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2016 Legislative Session | Week 8   
Legislature Passes Supplemental Budget Bills

This week the House and Senate passed their own versions of supplemental budget bills. The Senate passed a 611 page bill that includes new policy and funding provisions on a range of issues spanning state government.

The House this week also completed its work on three major supplemental budget bills that group together many issues in what is referred to as "omnibus bills". These bills include policy changes and funding level increases or decreases in areas of public safety, job growth, energy, agriculture, higher education, K-12 school funding, as well as health and human services.

The supplemental budget bills will now be transferred between the House and Senate for review of what the other body passed and for further action.

The Minnesota State government is fully funded through June 30, 2017, meaning none of the supplemental budget omnibus bills need to pass this year for the State to continue to operate.
 
Local Update 
St. Paul Paid Sick and Safe Task Force Agrees On Key Components Of Potential Ordinance

The earned sick and safe time task force established by the St. Paul City Council to provide policy recommendations on a proposed ordinance agreed this week on some key components of a possible ordinance. The task force decided:

  • Employees may use paid sick time in increments consistent with current employer/payroll practices, as defined by industry standards or existing employer policy.
  • Defined the meaning of a family member for purposes of taking leave.
  • Established the maximum accrual rate for the benefit at 80 hours per year.
  • No exemption from ordinance provided for small employers.
  • A grace period of 6 month for employers with 23 or less employees to come into compliance.
     
The task force is schedule to meet two more times on May 5 and May 12. 

Insurance Benefit Program   
Paid Family & Medical Leave Tax Rates Established; Still Waiting On Full Program Cost  
 
This week the much anticipated tax rates on employers and employees was released during a Senate Tax Committee hearing on S.F. 2558, the paid family and medical leave bill.

Under the latest version of the bill the employer tax rate that would be matched by the employee would equal .09% of employee wages up to $118,500. Taxes would be adjusted annually based on the level of revenue needed to pay benefits and to administer the program, and taxes would be collected through a structure similar to that of the state unemployment insurance program.

The Senate Tax Committee will hear this bill again soon in order to digest the full cost of the program once factoring in the proposed tax rates.

The latest version of the bill would:
  1. Provide pregnancy benefits, bonding benefits, and family benefits for up to12 weeks of paid time off in total.
  2. Exempt employers with 20 or fewer employees from the requirement to pay the related tax.
  3. Funds the program through a mechanism of a 50/50 payroll tax paid by employer and employee.
  4. New tax rate on employers and employees of 0.09%.
MnRA is actively engaged and monitoring this legislation. 
Pharmacy Legislation
90 Days at Retail Pharmacy Set For Floor Vote In Senate on Tuesday  
   
After passing committee deadlines, SF 2548, authored by Senator Julie Rosen, has been called up and placed on the calendar for a floor vote next Tuesday in the Senate. If a majority of Senators votes in favor of the bill it will pass out of the Senate and then be sent to the House floor for action. If the House passes the bill it will be sent to the Governor.  

The bill would allow a pharmacist to change the quantity on a prescription of maintenance medication up to a 90-day supply without contacting the prescriber as long as there are refills to cover the fill and an initial 30-day supply has been obtained.
 
The dispensing modification is only possible when the medication is not a controlled substance, the prescriber has not specifically prohibited such a change, and the pharmacist exercises her/his professional judgement.

90 days at retail is a top priority for MnRA in the 2016 legislative session.   
 
Local Updates
Minneapolis Sick/Safe Staff Report Due May 5; Brooklyn Park/Shoreview Discuss Tobacco Next Week 
   
Staff in Minneapolis are completing work on drafting language on a sick and safe leave ordinance based on the recommendations of the City's Workplace Regulations Partnership Group. That staff report is due to the City Council this Thursday, May 5.

The cities of Brooklyn Park and Shoreview are hosting tobacco ordinance meetings this Tuesday. At 3:00 p.m. Shoreview hosts an informational meeting on cigar pricing changes and at 6:00 p.m. Brooklyn Park will discuss cigar quantity packaging and pricing. Contact MnRA for specifics on each of these meetings.   
 
Week 8
Bill Introductions

There were no bills introduced this week with direct impacts on retailers.
   
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Minnesota Retailers Associaiton
400 Robert Street North, suite 1540
St. Paul, MN 55101
Tel. (651) 227-6631 - mnretail.org - [email protected]