Blocking bad lawsuit bill, backdoor gas ban are wins for Main Street
The Minnesota Legislature adjourned its regular session on May 22, 2023. Despite a difficult political environment at the Capitol in St. Paul, NFIB scored a key win on tax conformity and defensive wins on big issues for small business.
Federal Tax Conformity. This NFIB-backed bill exempts several forms of pandemic-era federal financial assistance for small businesses from state taxes. The bill was signed into law in early 2023, allowing small business filers to take advantage of the changes this year.
Blocked Bad Lawsuit Bill. NFIB, as part of the Minnesotans for Lawsuit Reform coalition, successfully blocked a bill that would have allowed plaintiffs to seek attorney’s fees and court costs for a wide range of civil litigation, including cases involving allegations of consumer fraud and false advertising. Adding fees and costs to the amount that could be recovered by a plaintiff makes frivolous lawsuits more attractive to trial lawyers and more expensive for small business owners. The original bill also would have included any “material omission” in the list of acts that constitute a fraudulent or deceptive practice, greatly expanding the opportunity for lawsuits in consumer transactions.
Blocked Backdoor Gas Ban. NFIB led a coalition of business and trade groups against an extremely irresponsible proposal to allow the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry to ban gas hookups and appliances from new and existing residential and commercial buildings. This was an underhanded attempt to take Minnesota in the same direction as New York and cities in California. Banning natural gas, propane, and heating oil from residential and commercial buildings would cause energy prices to skyrocket for many small businesses and their families.
Blocked Expensive Healthcare Mandate. NFIB worked to stop the most expensive healthcare mandate proposed in 2023: a prohibition on “white bagging,” which is the practice of providing specialty drugs, like infusions and other expensive clinician-administered drugs in the lowest cost setting. Instead, large hospitals would have gotten a blank check to charge as much as they want for a fast-growing, very costly category of treatment. NFIB is pleased to have preserved this critical healthcare cost containment tool for small employers that offer health coverage.
No Advanced Scheduling Mandate. In recent years, lawmakers in other states controlled by ultra-progressive politicians have pushed “advanced scheduling laws” that require businesses to provide work schedules weeks in advance and make it difficult to change the schedule. Some versions require employers to pay an employee extra if the schedule changes within the advanced scheduling window, and employees can unilaterally reject the change if they want. NFIB watches closely for this type of mandates and, fortunately, no advanced scheduling mandate was proposed or advanced this year.
