State Senator Julie Rosen (R-Vernon Center) marked the beginning of the 2019 legislative session on Tuesday by announcing key early session priorities. Sen. Rosen said the legislature’s first five bills will focus on issues that affect hardworking Minnesota families, like child care affordability and access, stronger support for those who are battling mental health issues, aligning Minnesota’s tax code to federal adjustments, and cleaning up waste, fraud, and abuse within state government.

“I can’t count the number of times I heard someone this summer say, ‘Julie, I am happy with what you did the last two years, but I am still feeling stressed,’” said Sen. Rosen. “Whether it’s child care, health care, or taxes, folks are still feeling pressured by rising costs. We listened to their concerns, and these early priorities show we are taking them seriously. I can’t wait to get to work.”

The first five priorities unveiled by Senate Republicans are as follows:

• Supporting mental health – Senate Republicans promise a stronger legislative response to the growing problem families are facing regarding mental health, especially in our schools and on the farm.
• Making child care more accessible and affordable – During statewide listening sessions over the summer, Senate Republicans heard from parents struggling to find and afford child care. New legislation will address the regulatory overreach that causes these problems and encourage new child care providers to start up.
• Lowering health care costs – Senate Republicans will build upon their recent success in lowering health insurance premiums by offering new proposals that allow patients more freedom to choose their doctor, shop around for the best value for their health care dollar, and make health care billing more transparent.
• Making government more effective and accountable, and eliminating fraud – Senate Republicans will introduce several proposals to hold government more accountable and stop wasting money in the areas of child care fraud, MNLARS and other statewide IT failures.
• Making our tax code simpler and fairer – In addition to making tax filing easier by conforming to the new federal tax law, the Senate Republicans’ proposal will simplify the tax code and reduce taxes for Minnesota families.

Sen. Rosen will once again serve as chair of the Senate’s highest ranking committee, the Finance Committee, where she will play an integral role in budget negotiations with Gov. Walz and House Democrats. In addition, she will serve on the Energy Committee, the Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee, and the Human Services Reform Finance and Policy Committee.

Sen. Rosen can be reached by phone at 651-296-5713, by email at Sen.Julie.Rosen@senate.mn; or at her office in room 2113 of the Minnesota Senate Building, 95 University Ave, St Paul.