Agenda - Council - 02/08/2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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According to 2012 data from the Pew Research Center, Minnesota has one of the highest childcare costs in the country with an average cost of $12,000 to $15,000 for infant care per year. Response: The League of Minnesota Cities supports legislation that would allow employees to roll unused funds over to the next plan year, or into a tax - qualified retirement plan, or a 457 plan. The League of Minnesota Cities also supports an increase in the annual maximum allowed for dependent care accounts, with a cost of living inflationary increase each year after the initial adjustment. FED-3. IRS Regulations on Death Benefits Issue: Current IRS regulations do not allow any type of death benefit to be included in a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) or tax-free, account -based group health plans. If a participant of the HRA or account -based group health plan dies, they cannot leave the remaining funds to a designated beneficiary unless the beneficiary is a spouse or dependent child. If the employee does not have a spouse or dependent child, the funds are typically redistributed among plan participants. A death benefit provision is an attractive feature for many employee groups. In 2008, Section 105 of the Internal Revenue Code was amended, with a further amendment in 2015, to include limited exceptions to this general rule but not all city plans meet the requirements of these limited exceptions. Response: Congress should amend Section 105 of the Internal Revenue Code to allow all HRAs and account -based health plans for both active employees and retirees to include a provision that allows the employee to designate 127 beneficiaries other than spouses and dependents. Such beneficiaries should be able to, at a minimum, receive reimbursement for their medical expenses from the inherited account. FED-4. Federal Public Safety Collective Bargaining Bill Issue: Congress is considering a bill that would require all states to establish collective bargaining procedures for all public safety employees. The bill directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to determine, state by state, whether it meets the bill's requirements with regard to collective bargaining rights for public safety employees. While it appears Minnesota is likely to pass the tests set out by the bill, federal public sector lobbyists have expressed serious concern that the bill is very much open to interpretation. In addition, the bill directs the FLRA to "consider and give weight, to the maximum extent practicable, to the opinion of affected employee organizations." Response: The League of Minnesota Cities opposes the federal collective bargaining bill for public sector employees. Public sector collective bargaining should be left to the determination of each state. FED-5. Federal Health Care Reform Issue: Certain provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as the federal health care reform law or Affordable Care Act (ACA)) are problematic for cities. These issues range from administratively difficult to very costly. Tracking employee hours, particularly hours of seasonal and temporary employees and council members, is