A weekly message from your Senator:

Dear Friends,

The 2017 legislative session has now officially convened as of Tuesday, January 3rd. Twenty-one new Senate members have been sworn in and we are now gearing up for committee work. I am grateful to have been re-elected to represent our district, which covers the communities of Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Edina and Minnetonka for a second term. I have been appointed to serve on two very important committees: Taxes and Transportation. I am eager to begin the work to provide the best return on investment for taxpayers and a comprehensive transportation package that looks into our future mobility needs as individuals and meets the demands of our growing business sector in order to keep our economy thriving.

As you may know the two bodies of the state legislature, House and Senate are controlled by Republican majorities and we have a  Democratic Governor. This will be no easy task, but I am always an optimist that we will put Minnesotans first when tackling any issue at hand. I am committed to continuing my work on policy issues such as health care transparency and affordability as well as early childhood education throughout my term and any other issues that you as a constituent bring before me. I look forward to the next two years. Let’s get to work!

Sincerely,

Senator Melisa Franzen

 

Governor Dayton Releases Health Insurance Rebate Plan

This week Governor Dayton released his first budget priority for the 2017 Legislative Session that would reduce health insurance premiums by 25 percent for 125,000 Minnesotans who buy their insurance through the individual market. The proposal would provide immediate relief to families across the state who are facing significant premium increases.

The Governor’s plan would reduce the average premium increase facing Minnesotans in the individual market from 55% to 16%, and some families could save as much as $594 per month on their premiums. The premium rebate proposal is targeted to help families who are not eligible for federal advanced premium tax credits and whose income is above $47,520 for an individual and $97,200 for a family of four. 

The Governor urged the Legislature to act quickly to reimburse the high costs some Minnesotans are already paying. If approved, Minnesotans could see relief by March 1 with subsidies being retroactive to January 1, 2017. Providing some type of health insurance premium relief immediately to help Minnesotans who do not qualify for federal subsidies is largely supported by both Democrats and Republicans. 

 

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