Some big bills pass, others get signed

"Features"

05/24/2005

Jean Hopfensperger, Star Tribune
May 24, 2005

Minnesota’s child-support overhaul won final passage at the Capitol on Monday, and legislation to give money to “alternatives to abortion” was signed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Likewise, a health care bill that was a top priority for small businesses—giving small businesses the flexibility to opt out of certain mandated employee coverage—passed both houses.

The bills are among the more significant health and human service policy legislation approved Monday, affecting hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans.

The child-support bill would change a decades-old formula for determining child support, now collected by the state for more than 265,000 children. For the first time, the formula would weigh both parents’ incomes when determining support payments and would tighten cracks in the current system.

The health insurance changes are part of a controversial effort to let insurance companies offer less-costly policies to employers, policies that don’t cover all the health problems now mandated. Minnesota businesses with fewer than 51 employees would be eligible to buy the lower-cost, reduced-benefit plans.

The so-called Positive Alternatives Act will give state funding to crisis pregnancy centers that oppose abortion and encourage women to give birth. That bill was signed Monday by Pawlenty.

“Minnesota now will be a place where women with an unexpected pregnancy won’t feel that abortion is their only option,” said Scott Fischbach, executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life. The law was the top legislative priority for the group, which is opposed to abortions.

But Tim Stanley, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota, argued that if the governor was sincere about preventing abortion, he would offer more funding for family planning grants without political agendas.

“We’ll be watching these changes closely,” Stanley said.

The child-support bill was the culmination of about seven years of research and legislation. Minnesota is one of 13 states that still awards payments based solely on the noncustodial parent’s income, typically the father’s, legislators said.

The bill makes the formula more fair to both parents and tightens other provisions of the child-support formula, said the chief Senate author, Sen. Tom Neuville, R-Northfield.

“It would base support levels on gross income, not net income, which has allowed parents to hide money in 401(k) plans and other shelters, he said. And it would reduce payments by noncustodial parents who have additional children after the divorce or separation.

“The system ... will be easier to understand, easier to use and easier to modify for different situations,” said Neuville.

The insurance bill , meanwhile, would give relief to small businesses that are struggling with rising health care costs. Minnesota has 62 mandated coverages for workers, more than any other state, said Steve Hickey, state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses. The bill would give employers flexibility in choosing coverage, he said.

However, critics charge that the legislation would erode legal safeguards and would require workers to shoulder even more of their medical bills. A similar bill passed in 1999 was short-circuited after Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch issued an opinion that excluding maternity benefits violated the state’s Human Rights Act because it denied women equal access to health insurance benefits.

Advocates for the measure do not believe the current bill violates the Human Rights Act.