Paid family leave bill heads to Senate floor, days after passing House

CATHY WURZER: But leading the program-- just a few moments ago at noon, the Minnesota House convened with state senators set to vote today on a statewide family and medical leave bill. The program would be set up with a chunk of the state budget surplus and paid for with an ongoing new tax on employers and employees. A similar bill passed by a slim margin in the House last week.

Under the Senate plan, workers could get up to 20 weeks of combined family and medical leave in one year. DFL State Senator Liz Boldon is a co-author of the bill. She joins us right now to talk about it. Senator, thanks for joining us before the debate.

LIZ BOLDON: Thank you so much for having me.

CATHY WURZER: There's a survey, as you probably have heard, of Minnesota Chamber of Commerce members that 80% already offer some type of paid medical and family leave. So what's the need for a statewide program run by the state?

LIZ BOLDON: Well, as we talk to Minnesotans and people across the state, it really is very clear that everyone deserves this benefit. No Minnesotans should have to choose between taking time to care for a loved one or themselves and a paycheck. And so while it's great that some people have this benefit now, it really is a benefit that everyone deserves to have.

CATHY WURZER: At last glance, this bill has had about eight engrossments in the Senate, which are changes to the bill-- almost as many as the recreational marijuana legalization bill had-- and that speaks to the complexity of the issue. So what are the differences between the bill that passed in the House last week and the bill that will be discussed in the Senate today?

LIZ BOLDON: Yeah, that's a great question. And really, a lot of work has gone into this bill, and I just want to give a shout out to the chief author, Dr. Senator Alice Mann, who has done amazing work and really taken in feedback and input and work with stakeholders over a period of time. And also, I'll just say this is not a new concept. This has been worked on over years.

And so this is a really thoughtful bill that has come a long way with a lot of input. There are some differences that will, of course, get worked out in conference committee. One of those is the number of weeks. Right now, the total number of weeks for the bill in the Senate is 20 weeks. They took an Amendment in the house that brought that total number of weeks possible to 18 weeks.

I believe we have a carve out for seasonal workers that they don't have in the House, so there's some things to be worked out. But at the end of the day when this gets passed, it's going to be a really strong program, and it's going to have a really positive impact for families and Minnesotans across the state.

CATHY WURZER: What do you say to small business owners who are not pleased with this?

LIZ BOLDON: Yes. I've had conversations with business owners in my district who actually are pleased with it. They say this really helps to level the playing field as they are looking to recruit and retain staff. They could go to other bigger companies and corporations who already have this benefit, and they feel like they're at a disadvantage where right now they can't afford to do it, and so they are losing staff because of it.

I also have talked to business owners who say, they're so excited to be able to offer this to their staff. They want to be able to do this but just haven't been able to, so they feel like it's a win. And I will also just say Senator Mann has done amazing work to, again, make changes to the bill so it could support small businesses.

There's provisions for businesses who have less than 30 employees to provide extra supports for them. There are provisions for small businesses if more than 15% of their workforce is out on paid leave at the same time. There are extra supports and provisions for them, so it really has been thoughtful to be able to support businesses.

And we also know that when staff have this benefit, when people have this benefit, it actually cuts down a lot of the amount of sick times and leave time because they know that their family is going to be OK. They're not having to worry about being able to pay their bills. So it really creates benefits all the way around.

CATHY WURZER: It's still going to cost a chunk of change. I think about, what, $668 million from the surplus will be used to frontload the program? Premiums will start to be collected, and benefits will start being paid out in, I think, 2025. By the way, what is the tax rate the Senate is proposing that it'll be split between employers and employees?

LIZ BOLDON: So it's really an insurance premium-- is what we're talking about. And it's for most employees, it's about the cost of a cup of coffee per week. And you're correct. It will start on July 1 of 2025, and it's 0.7%. And that is split evenly between employer and employee, so it's worth it in the long run to be able to have this benefit that benefits everyone.

And again, we have seen [INAUDIBLE] is the only industrialized country in the world that does not have this program, and so we will be joining a number of other states that have taken this on. And what we have seen in states and places where this is offered is it actually cuts down a lot of the amount of leave time that we are seeing.

And I also just say you know this doesn't create the need for leave. People are still going to have babies. People are still getting sick. It just means that they're not having to choose between taking time away to take care of themselves or their loved ones and paying their bills and missing a paycheck.

CATHY WURZER: You mentioned other states. The experience of other states shows an explosion in costs as people take advantage of the benefit. Program costs would go up significantly. Wouldn't the tax rate?

LIZ BOLDON: So the premium is set right now currently at 0.7. It will be evaluated over time to see where it needs to be. Right now, it can go up to a cap of 1.2%. If there's a need for it to go above that, then the legislature would have to take action.

CATHY WURZER: You're good at vote counting. There's one vote margin in the state Senate. Will the DFL caucus hang together on this bill?

LIZ BOLDON: Yes. I fully expect this bill to pass off the floor today, and I cannot wait to vote yes for it.

CATHY WURZER: And by the way, some bills are heavier lift than others, and I'm curious. You are a co-sponsor, and I know you mentioned Senator Mann. How heavy a lift was this bill over the course of the session?

LIZ BOLDON: I mean, I give all credit to Dr. Mann. She has done an amazing job on this bill, and it has been a lot of work because it has been so thoroughly vetted. And she has taken so much input from, again, stakeholders and businesses and advocates and Minnesotans. At the core of this is really-- it's about Minnesotans and making sure that they are able to take time away to take care of themselves and their loved ones. And it's been a huge lift because of the thoroughness of the work that has gone into it, and I'm really grateful for her for doing that.

CATHY WURZER: All right Senator I know that the session is underway right now-- the floor session-- so you have to go back to work. Thanks so much.

LIZ BOLDON: Thank you so much.

CATHY WURZER: We've been talking to DFL State Senator Liz Boldon of Rochester.