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.
Use
the
links
below
to
follow
me
for
more
updates
throughout
the
session!
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