Governor Mark Dayton has renewed his push for a penny-a-pill tax on pharmaceutical companies, after President Trump declared a public health emergency to address the nation’s opioid crisis. Republican Representative Dave Baker from Willmar supports Dayton’s initiative, saying drug manufacturers have “profited greatly” from the opioid epidemic and current prescribing practices. Baker says, “I don’t look at this as a tax bill. I look at this as a stewardship fee, if you will, to clean up the mess that has been created by this synthetic heroin that we’re using for medicine.”
The bill didn’t get a hearing last session in the Republican-controlled Minnesota House. Baker says, “I believe a lot of folks in my caucus are very supportive…. I’m talking to people all the time with my colleagues, so I’m gonna make it a priority for me to get my caucus to really get behind this.”
More in this interview with Baker: