The Senate recently approved three bills introduced by Senator Jordan Rasmusson (R-Fergus Falls) to protect Minnesota consumers. If signed into law, Rasmusson’s bills would lower gas prices; help local community-owned banks; and lower dairy product prices and support Minnesota dairy farmers.

Included in the Senate majority’s Commerce policy bill, which passed out of the Senate on Thursday, April 27, is Rasmusson’s legislation to repeal the state’s minimum markup on gasoline. Under current Minnesota law, petroleum marketers are required to charge an eight-cent markup per gallon of gas, which is known as the ‘minimum markup.’ And if a petroleum marketer sells gas below the minimum markup, they could be subject to civil and criminal penalties.

To address some of the petroleum marketers’ concerns with this bill, Rasmusson offered an amendment to preserve a protection for gas station owners on below-cost selling. 

“Minnesota’s minimum markup on gasoline is a hidden gas tax that makes it illegal to sell cheaper gas,” Rasmusson said. “To help lower the cost of gasoline for consumers, my legislation repeals this harmful law.Our state’s consumer laws should be in place to protect, not harm, consumers. This is a commonsense, bipartisan solution that will provide meaningful economic relief to Minnesotans.”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s anti-trust police, reviewedminimum markup laws on gas sales and determined that these laws inhibit competitive pricing strategies that benefit consumers.

Additionally, the Senate’s Commerce policy bill includes Rasmusson’s legislation to support state-chartered banks. The first part of this bill amends current statute to allow state-chartered banks to operate on a part-time basis, allowing branches to be closed for up to 48 consecutive hours. Under current law, bank locations are required to be open every weekday unless there is an exception due to a holiday or an emergency. Rasmusson introduced this language to help local rural banks that are facing staffing issues and could be forced to close. Bank services will still be available 24/7 due to the wide availability of online banking and in-person ATM services.

The second part of this legislation repeals an outdated, expensive board of directors’ audit for state-chartered banks, which can easily cost $8,000 to $10,000 dollars per year. The requirements of this audit are already addressed in the Department of Commerce and FDIC exams, done on an 18-month basis. Most states do not have a directors’ audit requirement.

“The area I represent is fortunate to have a lot of small towns,” Rasmusson said. “Yet these towns still have community banks to help provide important financial services to residents. My legislation is about removing some unnecessary barriers to continuing that service.”

The Senate’s Commerce bill will now move to conference committee, where the House and the Senate will work out their differences in the respective legislation. Rasmusson was recently appointed to serve on this committee, and he is the only first-term Republican senator to serve on a conference committee. 

Finally, Rasmusson’s legislation to repeal Minnesota’s price-setting law for dairy products is part of the Senate’s Agriculture policy bill, which passed out of the Senate on Wednesday, April 26.

Under current Minnesota law, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture can act against retailers and processors for selling milk below a set price. The Minnesota Milk Producers Association and consumer advocate groups all testified in support of Rasmusson’s bill.

“Currently, it is against the law to sell dairy products too cheaply in Minnesota,” Rasmusson said. “My legislation will repeal our state’s harmful price-setting law on these products. This will help Minnesotans afford nutritious dairy products for their families and promote our state’s dairy farmers.”

The Federal Trade Commission and economists have said that minimum price laws like Minnesota’s hurt consumers. This is because these laws set an artificial price floor for dairy products, leading to consumers paying more than they otherwise would for dairy products. By setting an artificial floor on retail dairy prices, the demand for dairy products is suppressed, which hurts the amount of dairy sold and negatively impacts income for Minnesota dairy farmers.

“Our state’s price setting law on dairy is only in effect 11 months out of the year, except for June, which is dairy month. If we repeal this law, every month can be dairy month in Minnesota,” Rasmusson concluded.

The Minnesota Legislature will now further review the Agriculture bill in conference committee.