MACSSA
2016 legislative session summary
All legislative sessions are unique, but this year’s session was particularly chaotic. From the first
days of session in March when Democrats and Republicans sparred over committee structure,
meeting space, and unemployment benefits for laid-off Iron Range workers, Capitol observers
predicted that this would be a tense and unpredictable year.
While sessions in the second year of the biennium are always shorter, the 2016 session was one
of the shortest on record (76 days) – and the March 8 start date was the latest in Minnesota
history. That condensed timeframe meant that legislators had only three weeks from the first day
of session to introduce bills and get hearings before the first policy deadline.
Traditionally, even-year sessions are bonding years. However, the legislature’s inability to
complete a transportation package or tax bill in 2015 raised questions about whether they would
be able accomplish these items plus a supplemental spending bill in 2016, even given a projected
state budget surplus.
Governor Dayton released his supplemental budget proposal during the second week of session,
which set the stage for some of the larger debates that carried through to the final days. His
proposal recommended spending $698 million of the budget surplus on a variety of initiatives,
including $100 million for broadband access in rural Minnesota, $100 million to decrease racial
disparities, and $77 million for numerous K-12 education programs.
By mid-April, the House and Senate had also introduced their supplemental spending proposals
and the battle lines had been drawn over how to spend the surplus. Governor Dayton and the
Senate had both proposed significant additional spending, whereas House Republicans proposed
using the $900 million surplus almost entirely on bonding and tax relief. Halfway through the
session, no agreements were in sight on the four major items that came to define this session:
transportation, taxes, bonding, and supplemental spending.
As April drew to a close, the House and Senate assembled their versions of supplemental
spending bills, and after long floor sessions (eight hours in the Senate; thirteen in the House),
both bodies passed their supplemental spending proposals. The transportation conference
committee also met for the first time since the 2015 legislative session in late April.
In the first week of May, the Senate released its $1.5 billion bonding proposal. The proposal was
larger than the Governor’s $1.4 billion package, and more than double the House’s initial $600
million offer. In the same week, the Senate moved the bill through committee and brought it up
for a vote on the floor – where it was one vote short of the three-fifths majority needed to pass
bonding bills.
The first transportation compromise offers also came that week – and while they showed real
movement toward compromise, the differences remained substantial. The Democrats’ proposal
still relied on a gas tax increase (albeit a phased-in per-gallon proposal instead of an excise tax)
and Republicans continued to resist any funding for transit. Throughout the final weeks of
session, these items – along with the debate over whether or not to use general fund dollars to
fund roads and bridges – collectively became the weakness that would ultimately ruin hopes of a
comprehensive transportation compromise.
Much of the remainder of May was marked by closed-door negotiations amongst Governor
Dayton, Senate Majority Leader Bakk, and Speaker Daudt and enormous uncertainty (and
speculation) about the end results. On May 18 – with four days remaining for the legislature to
pass bills – House Republicans released the details of an $800 million bonding proposal. The bill
was heard in committee and brought to the floor for a vote on Thursday, May 19. The final vote
was 69-64, far short of the 81 votes a bonding bill would need to pass that body. Despite both the
House and Senate failing to pass bonding bills in their respective bodies, a conference committee
was appointed to try and consider details of a compromise.
On Sunday, May 22 – the final day for legislators to pass bills – the supplemental budget
conference committee finally completed its work. The committee met until 2:30 a.m. and
reconvened at 8:00 a.m. to finish considering amendments and adopt all of the articles in the bill.
Later that day, both the House and Senate voted on and passed the supplemental spending bill
and final tax bill (a $250 million compromise package) on to the Governor’s desk.
At about 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 22, a spreadsheet was distributed to members on the House
floor outlining what was believed to be an agreement on a new bonding proposal. Despite much
confusion about what was included in the bill, the House passed it with 91 votes at 11:45 p.m.
The bill was physically run across the street to the Senate floor, where it was quickly amended to
include a controversial transit amendment. In order for the bill to be sent to the Governor, the
House would have had to re-pass the bill as amended by the Senate. However, the House
adjourned sine die (for an indefinite amount of time) at 11:55 p.m. and, despite a last-minute
attempt to revive it, the bill was effectively dead.
While the four major bills made their way through the legislative process, a number of other
high-profile issues were also addressed. Following are some of those items with updates on what
was and was not accomplished.

Real ID: Not passed. Minnesota has been denied an extension by the federal government
twice and will need to have Real ID-compliant drivers’ licenses by 2018. This issue
stalled because of disagreements over whether or not the state should license
undocumented immigrants.

Paid family leave: Not passed. This bill, which would require employers to offer 12
weeks of paid leave, was passed by the Senate, but did not move in the Republicancontrolled House.

Presidential primary: Passed and signed into law. Beginning in 2020, Minnesota will
join the majority of other states that now use a primary instead of a caucus system in
Presidential election years. However, the state political parties will still convene caucuses
around the same time to conduct party business. Minnesota will conduct an open primary,
which means that registered voters can vote in any party’s primary and are not bound by
a party registration. However, it will be public information whether voters cast a
Republican or a Democratic ballot.
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Drug sentencing reform: Passed and signed into law. New guidelines – the first changes
in nearly three decades – will reduce sentences for fifth-degree possession of certain
drugs, but increase penalties for dealers and “kingpins.” This is a significant change, as it
required agreement between lawmakers, law enforcement, and county attorneys and
prosecutors.
As is customary, retiring members from the House and Senate gave speeches to close out the
final hours of the 2016 legislative session. Despite the tense end to the session and uncertainty at
the time about whether Governor Dayton would sign the tax and supplemental spending bills,
retiring legislators expressed their deep appreciation for the hard-working staff, their admiration
of their fellow legislators, and their gratitude to their constituents. While retiring legislators look
forward to a summer of leisure and the others look forward to a season of intense campaigning,
they all were on the edge of their seats as Governor Dayton weighed his decision on signing the
two final bills.
Following the legislature’s adjournment, the Governor did sign the supplemental spending bill
and signaled his intention to veto the tax bill. He initially indicated that he would veto the tax bill
unless legislative leaders agreed to the parameters for a special session to address a laundry list
of items that were part of the Governor’s supplemental spending proposal and bonding requests.
For their part, House Republicans held numerous press conferences calling on the Governor to
sign the bill to rescue provisions that he had supported in the past, including a student loan tax
credit, support for the town of Madelia following a devastating fire, and support for veterans.
Ultimately, the Governor did not sign the tax bill effectively exercising a “pocket veto” of the
bill.
As of this report, legislative leaders and Governor Dayton have had discussions regarding the
possibility of a special session but no decisions have been made.
MACSSA priorities
MACSSA’s three priority issues – funding for childcare for Northstar foster families, delay of
PDM implementation, and policy changes surrounding ARMTC – had a difficult road at the
legislature this year. During a session that was not focused on funding issues and was really too
short to dive into serious policy questions, it was difficult to get those three issues pushed
through committees. These issues definitely track with the hot topics that legislators are
following but there simply was not the appetite by many legislators to tackle them in the way
MACSSA contemplated at the outset of the legislative session. Additionally, MACSSA spent a
fair amount of political capital responding to legislative/administrative proposals and playing
defense on county cost shares. At the end of this document, we discuss strategies to best position
MACSSA for these discussions in the year ahead.
Health and human services
While this wasn’t a budget year, much of the legislative activity this session in the health and
human services (HHS) area did revolve around the supplemental budget. There were a number of
policy bills that were moving through the legislative process and a comprehensive list of the
successful ones is below.
From a budget perspective, all eyes were on Governor Dayton’s supplemental budget. When that
was released during the second week of session, it really set the stage for the rest of the HHS
committee activity. To quickly recap Governor Dayton’s approach, he proposed to spend just
under $700 million (of the state’s projected $900 million surplus) of the surplus with $149
million in HHS spending.
While there were a number of concerns with the initiatives contained in Governor Dayton’s
supplemental spending proposal (mainly increased county cost shifts for the MN Sex Offender
Program and State Operated Services), there were also items that MACSSA could support
including increased reimbursement rates for family home visiting, policy changes to allow for
Minnesota to participate in federal demonstration project for certified community behavioral
health clinics (CCBHCs), proposal to direct DHS to pursue a federal waiver to expand
MinnesotaCare to 275% of poverty, and increasing reimbursement rates for child care assistance
program (CCAP).
The House HHS supplemental budget proposal had a target of $0 in terms of new spending. New
or expanded programs were funded primarily through savings projected from the proposed
elimination of MNsure and movement to the federal exchange. The House supplemental budget
bill did propose a few items that MACSSA supported, including the interactive video technology
(ITV) use in case management services and a county cost share reduction related to Institutions
of Medical Diseases (IMDs). There were, however, several items of concern within this budget
proposal as well, including the elimination of MNsure and an expanded version of periodic data
matching (PDM).
For its part the Senate’s HHS supplemental budget proposed to spend $43.3 million and really
used the Governor’s proposal as a base upon which to build its bill. As such, the bill included the
proposed county cost shifts related to MSOP and CBHHs. However, the bill also contained a
number of items that MACSSA supported: ITV, a seven percent increase in child care provider
rates, increased reimbursement for family home visiting, increased funding for Homeless Youth
Act and Safe Harbor programs and services, and county cost share reductions related to IMDs.
So…what passed?
Supplemental budget bill (HF2749 – MN Session Law Chapter 189)
Within the larger supplemental budget bill, the HHS article was primarily funded out of
the Health Care Access Fund (HCAF). For 2017, a total of $76.77 million will be spent
on new/expanded programming from the HCAF; in the 2018-19 biennium that transfer
increases to $153.59 million. There is also an additional one-time $2 million transfer
from the Consolidated Chemical Dependency Treatment Fund (CCDTF) within DHS to
the general fund, mainly to cover the agreed-to county rate reduction for IMDs.
Children and families (Article 15)
 Expansion of Safe Harbor to include youth under 24 years of age. $66,000
increase in base funding moving forward for housing and services and
$820,000 in funding increases for investigation grants through the Department
of Public Safety.
 Increase in the foster care basic monthly rate.
o Ages 0-5 - $85/month increase
o Ages 6-12 - $100/month increase
o Ages 13+ - $120/month increase
 Policy changes surrounding calculation of parenting time and expenses and
the creation of a permanent task force to address child support issues.
Chemical and mental health (Article 16)
 Establishment of state certification process for certified community
behavioral health clinics (CCBHCs) to set up Minnesota as one of the
potential federal demonstration sites.
 Reduction in county cost share from 22.95 percent to 20.2 percent for fiscal
year 2017 for Institutions for Mental Disease (IMDs) services to serve as a
bridge until Minnesota is able to get a federal waiver to reclassify these
facilities. There was specific language added to note that the designation of a
facility as an IMD may not be used as a factor in placements.
 Redistribution of funding from adult mental health crisis housing to be
focused on expanded eligibility.
 $33,000 increase to the base funding for school-linked mental health for
current grantees to expand eligibility.
 Funding for peer specialists for continuum of care for substance use disorders
in Rochester, Moorhead and the Twin Cities ($34,000 per year increased
funding).
Direct care and treatment (Article 17)
A most-disappointing outcome of the supplemental budget discussions was the reliance
on increased county cost shares to fund expansion of CCBHHs, increased costs at MN
Security Hospital and forensic nursing home, and the new state-run competency
restoration program. Note that the proposed cost shifts related to MSOP were not
included in the final budget deal.
 CCBHHs: 100% county cost share for those no longer meeting medical
criteria.
 MN Security Hospital: counties will now pay 10% of daily cost at Saint Peter.
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Forensic Nursing Home: counties will now pay 10% of daily cost, 50% of
daily cost for transition services.
State-run Competency Restoration: counties will now pay…
o 20% per day while deemed medically necessary;
o 50% when no longer requires program services; and
o 100% once charges against client have been resolved/dropped.
While counties were vocal in their opposition of these increased costs, the administration
and Senate were steadfast in their support of this approach. With a focus on the health
and safety of both the staff and patients at these facilities, legislators and the
administration strongly supported new investments in these facilities and programs. With
inadequate state resources to fully fund expanded services, shifting the cost to counties
seemed to be a way for the state to accomplish its policy goals without addressing the
true system cost. With those concerns in mind, the supplemental budget bill does contain
language that directs DHS to report to the legislature on a quarterly basis regarding
AMRTC, MSH, and CBHH in terms of number of licensed beds, budgeted capacity,
occupancy rates, patient and staff injuries, etc.
Additionally, the supplemental bill modified the definition of county of financial
responsibility to be that as defined under chapter 256G, which is based on the
individual’s residence not where treatment was assessed or where individual was released
upon program completion. This definition was modified for direct care and treatment
services and MSOP.
Health care (Article 19)
Despite the intense scrutiny of MNsure throughout the legislative session, the health care
article of the final bill ultimately contained just a few provisions of MACSSA interest.
 Allowance for 12-month rolling eligibility periods for medical assistance and
MinnesotaCare beginning July 1, 2017.
 MNsure, MDH, DHS and MN.IT required to report to the legislature quarterly on
any transfer of dollars between agencies that is over $100,000.
 Language to address spousal anti-impoverishment for couples with one
institutionalized spouse and the treatment of their assets.
 Retroactive (to 2014) corrections to estate lien provisions affecting individuals 55
or older receiving medical assistance for nursing facility services, home and
community-based services, or related hospital and prescription drug benefits.
Health department (Article 20)
The only policy changes related to MACSSA’s interest in this article were around the
state’s radon testing and mitigation policies. The bill directs that address-specific
information maintained by MDH regarding radon testing/mitigation activities will not be
public data. It also pushes out some implementation dates to 2018 and reduces licensing
fees.
Economic development (Article 7)
During the discussion regarding child care (see additional context in “Policy bills”
section), the child care industry was framed as an economic development opportunity for
greater Minnesota. As such, one part of the introduced child care legislation included
some economic development ideas for the industry. The supplemental budget funded
$100,000 for 2017 for the development of an easy-to-understand manual for those
looking to start a child care business. The manual will be created through the Department
of Employment and Economic Development, in consultation with “relevant state and
local agencies and affected stakeholders.”
Additionally, the supplemental budget bill included $500,000 in 2017 for grants to local
communities in greater Minnesota to increase the supply of quality child care providers.
The grants must be matched dollar-for-dollar and must be used to implement solutions to
reduce the child care shortage. Reports on the use of this funding are scheduled to be
released in September 2017 and January 2018.
Public safety (Article 4)
Several items of MACSSA interest were included in the public safety article of this bill:
 $150,000 in grant funding for the Children’s Law Center to provide legal
representation to children in need of protection or services and children in out-ofhome placement.
 $820,000 for state and local grants to support new/existing multijurisdictional
entities to investigate sex trafficking crimes and to provide training and case
consultation assistance for law enforcement agencies.
 Expansion of definition of prostitution and sex trafficking to include persons
under the age of 13 (or reasonably believed to be under 13).
Policy bills

Extension of legislative task force on child protection - SF2428/HF2683 (MN Session
Law Chapter 153)
The discussions regarding child protection during the 2016 legislative session
took a different tone than last year. The co-chairs of the task force, Senator Kathy
Sheran and Representative Ron Kresha, really wanted to look at the foster care
system and see if there were some policy changes and/or funding options that
could be successful during a short session. The funding elements related to this
work were part of the supplemental budget bill, but this policy bill traveled on its
own. The bill includes specific direction to the task force to prioritize
recommendations related to the definition of substantial child endangerment and
the process by which a child is removed from the home to reduce stress on
children and families. The bill also directs DHS and nonpartisan legislative
counsel to draft a recodification of the Maltreatment of Minors Act to create
internal consistency to help facilitate interpretation and application of the law (for
consideration in the 2017 legislative session).
During committee discussions, the ongoing issue of 24/7 child protection services
and screening was brought up several times. MACSSA worked with its county
partners to talk with legislators about how counties are working to understand
legislative and administrative expectations and looking for proactive solutions,
both of which will undoubtedly be a focus of the ongoing task force.
This bill was passed by both bodies, differences between the House and Senate
language were addressed in a brief conference committee, and the conference
committee report was signed into law by the Governor.

Department of Health (MDH) policy bill – SF2475/HF3142 (MN Session Law Chapter
179)
The bill makes policy changes to a number of health-related issues. The bill was
relatively non-controversial until the Senate added some language regarding the
use of electronic monitoring devices in nursing homes or other care settings for
the protection of vulnerable adults. Ultimately, the House and Senate
compromised and agreed to create a work group to develop recommendations to
the legislature for future consideration. The bill was passed as a conference
committee report and signed into law by the Governor.
 Requires a health carrier to update its website at least monthly regarding
changes to provider network.
 Allows MDH to use data from the all-payer claims database through 2019
to study health care costs and quality.
 Modifies procedures related to level IV trauma hospital designation
 Modifies membership of the Trauma Advisory Council.
 Directs MDH to seek federal funds for a state and local public health
readiness strategy regarding Zika-related public health threats.
 Several changes to home care and assisted living licensing.
 Creates licensure requirements for body art technicians.
 Authorization of a medical faculty license for practicing medical
professionals.
 Adds inflammatory bowel disease to list of medical conditions for which
medical cannabis may be used; several other changes to distribution and
reporting of facilities.
 New certification requirements for hearing instrument dispensers
 Modifies special event and postings related to food carts and seasonal
temporary food stands.
 Establishes a residential care and services electronic monitoring work
group to develop recommendations for legislative consideration of
authorizing use of voluntary electronic monitoring to protect vulnerable
adults.

Granny pods – HF2497/SF2555 (MN Session Law Chapter 111)
In the same vein as the “tiny house” movement, this legislation was brought
forward to provide definitions and requirements for temporary family health care
dwellings that might be used by families that are caretaking for an elderly or
disabled family member. The bill provides parameters under which these mobile
residential dwellings may exist while a physically or mentally impaired individual
is being care for by a relative, guardian, or health care agent. It also includes how
counties, cities, and townships may treat this dwellings.
This bill was amended several times throughout the committee process in order to
accommodate various local government objections and concerns brought forward
by home builder groups. Ultimately the bill passed the legislature, was signed into
law by Governor Dayton, and will be effective as of September 1, 2016.

Disability waivered services – SF2857/HF3486 (MN Session Law Chapter 143)
This bill expands and specifies information concerning disability waivers that
DHS is required to make publicly available (list below) and repeals some
redundant legislative reporting that DHS currently does.
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Most recent forecasted expenditures for disability waivers.
Monthly updates on the financial information for lead agencies, including
resources allocated but not authorized or not used.
Wait-list information that must be available on DHS website.
Annual report that summarizes wait-list information, list of lead agencies
that were required to submit a corrective action plan (for
over/underspending), and a list of counties that received or lost resources
as a result of DHS reallocation of resources.
The bill received little legislative opposition and was signed into law by Governor
Dayton.

Child foster care provider training – SF2896/HF3305 (MN Session Law Chapter 101)
This legislation requires one hour of training on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
for all foster family license holders and caregivers within the first 12 months of
licensure. After that first 12 months, training on these disorders may count toward
the 12 hours of required in-services training each year.
The bill had no legislative opposition and Governor Dayton signed the bill into
law in early May.

Screening requirements for co-occurring mental health and chemical dependency
disorders – SF2498/HF2901 (MN Session Law Chapter 106)
This bill makes a technical change to clarify that staff who perform chemical
dependency assessments must screen for co-occurring mental health disorders and
vice versa. It also notes that the screener must document the actions that will be
taken if the client does screen positive for a co-occurring disorder.
The bill had no legislative opposition and was signed by the Governor in early
May.

Sharing of registration data related to predatory offenders – SF3187/HF3370 (MN
Session Law Chapter 136)
The bill allows law enforcement to share registration data on a predatory offender
with child protection workers for purposes of conducting a family assessment. It
also requires the offender sign all notices related to the registration statute. The
bill received no opposition as it moved through the committee process and was
signed into law.

DHS policy bill – SF2414/HF3199 (MN Session Law Chapter 163)
This bill has a number of provisions, several of which are not of interest to
MACSSA. However, of interest to MACSSA:
 Establishes requirements and standards for Assertive Community
Treatment and Intensive Residential Treatment Services (ACT and IRTS)
teams and imposes a state certification requirement for providers.
 Instructs DHS to develop a substance use disorder treatment system
reform plan. This section of the bill is duplicative of SF2378/HF2722
(described below).
 Policy change to allow DHS to redefine the parameters for grant variances
for adult foster care and community residential facilities from five
persons/beds to “up to five” persons/beds.
 Limits on the disclosure of information regarding child fatality and near
fatality review team from team members.
 Direction to DHS, Department of Education, and MN Housing Finance
Agency, Department of Employment and Economic Development, and
MN.IT to work with stakeholders (including lead agencies) to develop a
plan to align with the Olmstead Plan regarding community integration of
individuals with disabilities, housing, etc. Recommendations are due to
legislature by January 1, 2017.
 Direction to DHS to design comprehensive housing services to promote an
individual’s stable housing. Update due February 1, 2017.
 Creation of the Minnesota Eligibility System Executive Steering
Committee to provide recommendations to the MNsure board, the
commissioner of DHS, and MN.IT regarding the governance,
administration, and business operations of the eligibility system. The
steering committee includes:
o Two DHS appointees
o Two MNsure Board appointees
o Three members jointly appointed by AMC, MICA and MACSSA
(one metro, one outside the seven-county metro area)
o Two MN.IT appointees (nonvoting members)
o Co-chairs of the committee will be one DHS appointee and one
MN.IT appointee

Continuum of treatment for individuals with substance use disorders –
SF2378/HF2722 (MN Session Law Chapter 170)
This bill directs DHS to begin designing reforms to the state’s substance use
disorder treatment system. The bill requires that DHS provide a report to the
legislature by February 1, 2017, on the progress of this reform proposal, any
legislative recommendations available at that point, and any proposed state
appropriations. The bill also directs DHS to seek appropriate federal authority
necessary for implementation.
The bill faced no legislative opposition and was signed into law by Governor
Dayton. Recall that MACSSA was solicited to serve on some of the working
groups, which began meeting on June 8.
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Legislative Task Force on Child Care Affordability – SF3208/HF3436 (MN Session
Law Chapter 174)
After several late fall and winter meetings of a Select Subcommittee on Child
Care, several pieces of legislation were introduced to address concerns raised
during those meetings. Bills that looked at broader regulatory reform and
background check concerns were heard in the House but didn’t gain much traction
during the committee process. Some provisions from one bill (SF3417/HF3433)
were lifted and placed into the supplemental budget bill (a child care training
manual and funding for start-up grants).
This bill that creates a legislative task force on child successfully moved through
the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Dayton. The task force (all
legislator members) has a fairly broad suggested purview and may look at child
care costs, assess the child care provider shortage, review current training
requirements, consider creation of a state board of child care, review the process
surrounding correction orders, etc.
What didn’t happen
There were a number of other policy and funding issues that we tracked on behalf of MACSSA
that didn’t end up being part of the final legislative package:
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A provision in the Governor’s and Senate’s budget proposals would have changed the
child protection performance withhold formula to allow counties additional time to
meet certain requirements. This was not included in the final supplemental budget bill.
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Despite being included in the House and Senate supplemental budget proposals, the bill
to allow the use of interactive video (ITV) for certain targeted case management
services did not become law. After negotiations with the bill authors and DHS, the
proposal was narrowed to allow limited targeted case management in facilities that are
professionally staff 24/7. DHS raised concerns that the state’s pursuit of a federal waiver
for this purpose would draw increased scrutiny from CMS on the state’s lack of progress
on full targeted case management reforms. MICA, MACSSA, and AMC agreed to
continue to work with the bill authors and administration.
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The bill to increase wages for individuals working in ICF-DD, DT&H and home and
community-based services (“the 5% campaign”) was ultimately not successful. As we
have noted in past updates, the bill was heard in the House and Senate. In its budget
proposal, the House funded a 5% one-time increase through the creation of a dedicated
special revenue fund which would be funded through increased periodic data matching
conducted through a private vendor. MACSSA raised questions and concerns about how
this private vendor would interact with county PDM scheduled to take effect in July, but
there were no answers to these questions. The Senate did not include the 5% as part of its
supplemental budget proposal and it was not included in the final budget deal.
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A number of bills recommended by the Health Care Financing Task Force did not
become law. These bills ranged from full continuous eligibility for public program
recipients (which would have also eliminated PDM), expanding MA and MinnesotaCare
eligibility to non-citizens, and expansion of MinnesotaCare to individuals making up to
275 percent of federal poverty guidelines, to an independent evaluation of the technology
used for the state’s health care delivery system, including MNsure. These bills received
some attention in the Senate but none in the House. Ultimately the proposals were too
costly or controversial to make it into either body’s bill.
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As mentioned above, a House proposal to eliminate MNsure and move Minnesota to the
federal exchange was not successful this year. With all of the discussions on ways to
reform MNsure, the House did include language in their state government appropriations
bill that would have directed the state auditor to examine the costs incurred by
Minnesota counties related to eligibility determinations and enrollment activities for
medical assistance and MinnesotaCare enrollees as a result of the technology system
administered by MNsure. That provision was included in the House version of its
supplemental budget bill but did not make it into the final bill.
Looking ahead
With all 201 legislative seats up for election, the only constant heading into next legislative
session will be control of the Governor’s office. There is a lot of uncertainty about who will
control the House and Senate next year, particularly in light of what is already shaping up to be
an unprecedented presidential race.
We know that there will be continued examination of the relationship between the state and
counties. A proactive defense is the single best strategy to address harmful policy proposals
before they end up becoming pieces of legislation or, worse yet, statute. In an effort to begin this
defense, MACSSA will be conducting regular check-in meetings with legislative leaders to
continue to educate them on county concerns and discuss policy solutions well in advance of the
2017 legislative session.
There are a number of initiatives that we already know that the administration and/or certain
legislators are working on that will be hot topics in the 2017 legislative session:
 Substance use disorder treatment reform – work is already underway at DHS and work
with stakeholders.
 5% campaign – as mentioned above, we can expect this to be back.
 Child protection – a continuation of the task force will undoubtedly mean work on a 24/7
response framework.
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o Foster care – it is likely there will be increased attention to policies and/or funding
priorities that can increase the number of individuals willing to provide foster
care.
o Childcare – this is part of the child protection/foster care discussion and is an
expensive item to fund but of increasing legislative interest and awareness.
Waivered services – there will be more information publicly available regarding wait
lists, and we expect there could be legislation brought forward. Additionally the Office of
the Legislative Auditor will be issuing a report regarding this topic, which we expect to
be released yet in 2016.
Mental health services delivery – expect that there will be interest across agencies on
topics related to this.
Minnesota Sex Offender Program – while a politically challenging issue, ways to reform
MSOP must eventually be addressed and we will want to positively position counties in
this discussion.
Direct care and treatment – with increased concerns regarding worker safety and churn
through facilities, we have the opportunity to continue working with DHS and interested
legislators.