House Passes Bipartisan Tax Bill; Health Insurance Premium Relief Temporarily Blocked

ST. PAUL, Minn., Jan. 5 -- The Minnesota State House Republican Caucus issued the following news release:

The Minnesota House wasted no time getting to work on key session priorities, including health care and tax relief. House File 2, which will result in $21.7 million in tax relief for 220,000 Minnesota tax filers by conforming Minnesota's tax code to the federal tax code, passed Thursday on a vote of 130-0.

"I'm proud to vote for over $20 million in tax relief for 220,000 hardworking Minnesotans," said Rep. Sandy Layman, R-Cohasset. "One of my top priorities as a legislator was to provide this type of relief. Teachers, homeowners, and students will see a benefit from this needed legislation."

Without quick approval of the federal tax conformity bill (HF2 (https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF0002&ssn=0&y=2017)), Minnesotans who file their taxes early could face higher tax bills, a situation all lawmakers wanted to avoid. The Department of Revenue indicated that in order to avoid tax filing complications, the proposal needs to be signed into law before January 11. The Senate is expected to pass tax conformity in time to meet the January 11th deadline.

Republicans also moved to declare an urgency and pass The 2017 Health Care Emergency Aid and Access bill, HF1 (https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF0001&ssn=0&y=2017), which would have provided premium relief, extended access to doctors for continuity of care, and begun to reform the individual market. Democrats blocked the measure, despite agreeing days earlier to suspend the rules in order to expedite premium relief for Minnesotans.

"I voted to bring this bill to the floor, but the measure was blocked; temporarily stalling premium relief and overdue reforms," said Layman. "I regularly hear how this issue is affecting families in my area, and want to take swift action to give relief to those in need. Although we didn't pass the bill today, I expect we could hear it on the House floor as early as next week."

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