The Chamber's top 5 priorities this session

Feb 10, 2020

Help us advocate for Minnesota businesses!

The Minnesota Chamber works year-round to help our members create economic opportunity to improve the lives of all Minnesotans. Our advocacy on behalf of employers, their employees and communities helps keep and expand business and jobs in Minnesota. We look forward to working with Governor Walz and the Legislature to enact policies to help Minnesota grow.

2020 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

| TAX COMPETITIVENESS | WORKPLACE MANAGEMENT | HEALTH CARE |
| ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY | WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT |

 

Taxes

TAX COMPETITIVENESS

Ensuring that Minnesota’s tax climate supports long-term success. This includes reducing business taxes by adopting full federal conformity with Section 179 business expensing rules. 

  • Section 179 business expensing rules full federal conformity
  • Administrative fixes, partnership audit rules

Workplace

WORKPLACE MANAGEMENT

Preserving the flexibility of private employers to design benefits for their workplace and industry. This includes opposing one-size-fits-all mandates, prohibiting local government labor mandates and enacting technical changes to the wage theft law.

  • Preserve private-sector flexibility to determine wage, benefit, scheduling, and employee classification
  • Support explicit statewide preemption of local labor ordinances 
  • Ensure regulatory changes proposed through the Minnesota DLI consider impacts on employers
  • Preserve legal standard in hostile work environment claims while promoting prevention policies and workplace training programs
  • EMERGING ISSUE: Promote workplace safety and employer protections concerning potential legalization of recreational marijuana use

Health Care

HEALTH CARE

Enhancing employers’ ability to provide employee access to quality, affordable care. This includes requiring a cost-benefit analysis before adding health insurance mandates to state law.

  • Strengthen the role of cost/benefit analyses in mandate debates
  • Align Minnesota Health Records Act with Federal HIPAA law
  • Establish an Independent Health Policy Commission 
  • Oppose cost-increasing health care mandates, taxes and regulations

Environment

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Protecting Minnesota’s environment and supporting cleaner energy while preserving economic growth and a healthy business environment.

  • We support and encourage voluntary measures that promote cleaner energy and sustainable practices 
  • Energy legislation and regulation should protect competitive viability of Minnesota businesses
  • New laws or regulations must be cost-effective, technology-neutral and technologically feasible, flexible, and prioritize market-based strategies

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Accelerating private-sector efforts to help employers attract and retain the skilled workers they need to compete. Supporting public policies that ensure student readiness.

  • Align K-12 and post-secondary education
  • Promote school choice, program innovation, and future-ready options for students
  • Ensure strong academic standards and accountability
  • Ensure effective teachers and effective leaders
  • Reduce remediation and utilize prior learning 
  • Increase access to targeted Early Learning Scholarships
  • Strengthen Minnesota State Grant Program 
  • Promote and accelerate private-sector efforts - like the Chamber’s Business Education Network (BEN) - to connect students, employers, and education systems.

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