The 2018 state legislative session did not yield child-focused investments or policy, but some consequences were avoided. Allies’ child care priorities garnered broad bipartisan support throughout the legislative session and were included in the supplemental budget bill that both the House and Senate passed. The budget bill, however, also included problematic provisions, including one that could have had the unintended consequence of removing eligible individuals from public programs, and Governor Dayton vetoed the bill.
As many of the child care provisions were also federal requirements upon which a portion of funding for the Child Care Assistance Program is contingent, failure to implement them could result in penalties.
Similarly, the omnibus tax bill would have reduced taxes for some low- and mid-income families and would have simplified filing at the state level in response to newly passed federal changes that affect how Minnesotans file taxes, but these benefits would have been accompanied by large corporate tax cuts, permanently reducing the state’s revenues and in turn its ability to invest in other important areas of the budget. Governor Dayton vetoed the tax bill.
Thanks to the robust effort of the This is Medicaid coalition, access to public health care programs will not be tied to stringent work requirements. While targeted to adults, the requirement would have harmed children. The proposal could have impeded parents’ access to health care, and child health and well-being is linked to that of their parents’. In addition, research shows that when parents lose health insurance, children are more likely to as well.
Children’sDefense Fund Minnesota
