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Legislative Update
Transportation Funding
Last week, we reported that the House, Senate, and Governor's office traded transportation funding proposals. These negotiations, at least in public, have stalled due to disagreement over the metro sales tax for transit and the amount of bonding vs. ongoing revenue in the package. It is assumed the negotiations are on pause while agreements are made on overall budget targets, the tax bill, and the capital investment bill. Many thanks to members who have called legislative leaders to urge the passage of a comprehensive bill. If you have not yet done so, you can find your representatives and contact informatio
here
.
Capital Investment Bill
The bonding bill containing important measures for water and transportation infrastructure has been at a standstill. A few weeks ago, the Senate failed to pass their $1.5 billion bill by one vote. Yesterday, the House also failed to pass their $800M proposal. The lack of adequate support for the bills stems largely from political disagreements over the size of the bill. The capital investment conference committee has met sporadically today as negotiations continue behind closed doors.
There are fewer than 72 hours left for the House and the Senate to reach a global agreement on bonding, taxes and the supplemental budget.
Retainage Bill
The compromise retainage bill was signed into law by the Governor on Thursday. The language of the compromise can be found
here
. The law caps the maximum amount of retainage that can be withheld in a construction contract at no more than 5%. It will go into effect August 1, 2016.
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Changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act: Millions of Salaried Employees Must be Paid Hourly - Is Your Business Ready?
The US Department of Labor has issued its long-awaited regulations increasing the "salary basis test" under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). Under this regulation, an employee must now be paid at least $913 per week ($47,476 annually) to remain exempt from overtime, nearly doubling the current minimum of $455 per week. In addition, the salary basis test will be indexed for increases every three years beginning in January 2020. The final rule also provides that employers may use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments to satisfy up to 10 percent of the salary requirement. The FLSA applies to any employee that engages in "interstate commerce" which includes everything from processing credit card transactions to making cross-state phone calls, meaning that the FLSA covers nearly all American workers.
These changes mean that many employees who were formally salaried must now track their hours and be eligible for overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week. Employers should begin examining their workforce and determining what employees, if any, may need to be either paid hourly or be paid a higher salary to avoid overtime costs. While the rule does not take effect until December 1, 2016, given the major impact this rule will have on the bottom line for many employers, the time is now to begin the process of preparing for the new overtime requirements.
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Drinking Water Infrastructure: Strategies for Closing the Gap
Minnesota faces an estimated $7.4 billion in drinking water infrastructure costs over the next 20 years - with system needs outpacing available funding for repairs and upgrades.
On
June 21, the Environmental Initiative will host a conversation about how we might find and fund innovative solutions to our drinking water infrastructure challenges. Speakers include:
- Bryan Bear - City Administrator, City of Hugo
- Jeff Freeman - Executive Director, Minnesota Public Facilities Authority
- Pete Moulton - Director of Public Works, City of Saint Peter
- Tom Whaley - Executive Vice President, Saint Paul Saints
Details and registration information are available here. |
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