District 27A Rep. Peggy Bennett wants to address skyrocketing health care costs, enact tax relief, pass a bonding bill and fund roads and bridges during the 2017 legislative session.

Minnesotans faced premium increases of 40 to 70 percent starting Sunday, Bennett said.

“We really need to address that immediately,” she said.

Bennett, who won re-election to her second term in November, cited one local family of five who is facing significant health care cost increases as proof of the problem.

“There’s a large percentage of people who are in dire straits,” she said.

Bennett supports a more targeted approach that is based on income to Gov. Mark Dayton’s plan to provide a 25 percent monthly cost break to help people who are facing large premium increases on the individual market. The cost break should apply for anyone who does not qualify for federal subsidies, regardless of income, Bennett said.

“I think it makes more sense to target that relief financially so that the people who can least afford these increases can get the most help,” she said.

Bennett wants to work with health care stakeholders on a long-term solution.

“Just as important, any relief plan should also address access to clinics and medical specialists,” she said. “Many of these same people who are getting hit hard financially are also in the predicament of losing their long-time doctors and clinics because they’ve been forced off of their current insurance and into a different plan that doesn’t cover their doctors and clinics.”

Bennett said though health care is a complex issue, legislators need to address cost and access while they work on long-term solutions.

Small businesses are losing employees who cannot afford to pay for their own health insurance because of increased costs, she said.

She said though some parts of the Affordable Care Act are working, the foundation is unstable.

Tax relief

Bennett said she supports provisions of a tax bill vetoed last year by Dayton, such as property tax relief for farmers and other groups. She supports phasing out the Social Security income tax and statewide business property tax.

Roads and bridges

Bennett does not support a proposal by Dayton to increase the gas tax to fund road and bridge repairs.

“I support the dedication of current taxes on automobile tires and parts toward roads and bridges,” she said. “In years of surplus like this, I do not think we should be creating additional taxes on people, and I also feel it’s important for us by the border to be competitive with Iowa.”

Other priorities

Bennett said she wants a bonding bill to pass this year for local projects, such as a $7.4 million request from Riverland Community College to renovate outdated space to relocate truck driving and collision programs from Austin to Albert Lea and to integrate the programs into shared spaces with auto service and diesel programs.

Bennett said she has heard that if the project is not funded this year, its estimated cost is expected to increase in 2018.

A bonding bill did not pass in 2016.

“I’m still sad that we weren’t able to get that passed,” she said.

Bennett, who was named vice-chairwoman of the Education Finance Committee in December, will also serve on Agriculture Policy, Capital Investment and Education Innovation Policy committees this year.

Sibley Elementary School fourth-grader Nicholas Belshan, a former first-grade student in Bennett’s class, is joining Bennett on the floor at the Capitol today.

“My former first-graders are like my kids,” she said.