LWVMN Capitol Letter™ -March 5, 2008

The Capitol Letter™ is a report of the activities of the LWVMN volunteer lobbyists. It is published approximately every two weeks during the Legislative Session.

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Education

LWVMN Position: LWVMN believes all Minnesota children should have equal access to a good public education. State funding for education should be at a level that makes programs of comparable substance and quality available to all. A student's access to a good education should not depend on the wealth of his or her school district.

Kay Kessel, lobbyist, (612) 926-1387

Many bills have already been heard in the House K-12 Finance Division Committee chaired by Rep. Mindy Greiling (DFL-54A-Roseville) and the Senate E-12 Education Budget Division chaired by Sen. LeRoy Stumpf (DFL-1-Plummer).

An example of the variety that comes before these committees is HF2559, authored by Rep. Robin Brown (DFL-27A-Austin). The bill has to do with the wind energy production tax which used to go to local school districts, but which was placed in funds for general education distribution across the state by Gov. Tim Pawlenty last year.

Testifying for the bill was Grand Meadow School District Superintendent Joe Brown, Rep. Brown's husband. The wind energy tax was given to local school districts prior to this biennium. Local farmers were originally promised that if they established wind energy wind mills on their farms, some of the tax would go to local districts. Supt. Brown was dismayed when the funds were withdrawn last year, as they were beneficial to his district of 300 students. Debate was vigorous with Rep. Pat Garofalo (R-36B-Farmington) opposing the bill, arguing that wind energy funds should be included in state education funds for equity. Rep. Greiling agreed and stated that taxes raised by residents in her district are distributed to small districts across the state.

There are many pockets of money that are considered in the bills and this exchange shows why a new and fairer funding approach is needed. This issue will be on the agenda of the School Finance Reform Task Force headed by Rep. Greiling and Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-43-Minnetonka), reported on in the last Capitol Letter™.

Coming up the week of March 3 are a number of important bills. If you are interested in a particular bill, you can check House committee schedules and Senate committee schedules.

SF3151/HF3472, authored by Sen. Patricia Torres Ray (DFL-62-Minneapolis) and Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL-65B-Saint Paul), deals with closing the student achievement gap. SF3250/HF3624, authored by Sen. Sandy Rummel (DFL-53-White Bear Lake) and Rep. Mariani, is a bill to expand the mission of public schools to include a framework to guide education policy, as envisioned by Minnesota's Promise. Both Senate bills are scheduled to be heard on March 3 in the Senate Education Committee, chaired by Sen. Charles Wiger (DFL-55-North Saint Paul).

Given the recent bad news about state finances, the March 5th House K-12 Finance Division Committee hearing on school funding will be important. Chair Greiling will take testimony from parents, school board members and school officials on the failure of the current funding scheme. (Tapes of these hearing are archived and may be watched any time after the hearing on the Minnesota Legislature's website.) The next day, March 6, two bills to increase school funding will be heard: HF3601, authored by Rep. Greiling, and HF2978, authored by Rep. Will Morgan (DFL-40A-Burnsville).

Finally, the Statewide Parent Leadership Summit will be on April 7 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. beginning with registration and a continental breakfast at the Ties Building - Grand Ballroom, 1667 Snelling Avenue, St. Paul. For further information, see Parents United for Public Schools.

Thanks to Parents United for Public Schools for some of this information.

State Government Finance

LWVMN Position: LWVMN supports a balanced and diversified revenue system that is equitable, progressive, and reliable. Support of long-term financial management projections and a budget reserve. (1995)

LWVMN Position: LWVMN believes that the highest priority areas for state spending are the following: (1) K-12 (regular) education; (2) Health Care; (3) Environmental protection....

Laura Fredrick Wang, LWVMN Legislative Coordinator, (651) 224-5445

All eyes at the Capitol were on State Economist Tom Stinson on February 29 as he released the February budget forecast.

A $935 million dollar budget shortfall for the remainder of the 2008-09 biennium was announced by State Economist Stinson on February 29. According to Stinson, widespread economic stagnation has resulted in a drop in revenue of $530 million since the November forecast.

In terms of the entire state budget, the shortfall amounts to 2.7 percent of total general fund spending. The forecast also stated that a recession is projected for the first half of 2008, fueled in part by the housing slump and rising energy prices. While the actual decline in GDP is considered relatively small by many economists, it eliminates approximately one year of economic growth and one year of the state's revenue growth. With many of the services that the state provides already operating on limited funds, many are concerned that the shortfall will make a bad situation worse.

Legislative leaders and the governor were quick to respond to the shortfall. The governor and House Minority Leader Rep. Marty Seifert (R-21A-Marshall) were quick to rule out revenue increases as an answer to the shortfall, with Gov. Tim Pawlenty stating that the problem is not one of decreasing revenue, but of excessive spending. Speaker Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL-60A-Minneapolis) agreed that a reduction in spending will be a part of the solution to the shortfall but also stated that cuts would be made with "a scissors and not an axe."

LWVMN's position calls for a revenue system that is "equitable, progressive and reliable." There is no doubt that some belt-tightening is going to be in order. We do, however, urge legislative leaders and the governor to ensure that investments in necessary services like education and transportation as well as programs that serve the most vulnerable of our neighbors not be starved. The Minnesota Budget Project's Deputy Director Christina Wessel stated that "the most important tool the state has to help Minnesota's slowing economy is to keep funding services so that money stays circulating in the state's economy."

Any solution to address the budget shortfall must also consider the long-term financial health of the state. Looking beyond this budget cycle to 2010-11, a projected structural shortfall of $1.086 billion is expected.

An interesting note from the Session Weekly, January 19, 2007: The General Fund makes up about 60% of the total state budget and is funded by state resources. Education receives about 40% of the revenues from this fund, health and human services use up about 30%, property tax aids and credits use about 10% and higher education uses about 9%. That adds up to about 89% of the General Fund. Areas that receive the remainder include agriculture and environment, economic development, public safety, state government, transportation and paying off our debt service.

Election Law

LWVUS Position: LWVUS believes voting is a fundamental citizen right that must be guaranteed.

LWVUS Position: LWVUS promotes the election of the President and Vice President by direct popular vote and abolish the electoral college. Support uniform national voting qualifications and procedures for presidential election.

LWVMN Position: LWVMN supports improvements in election laws regulating election procedures, voting and school district elections.

Gwen Myers, Action Committee Chair, (952) 545-8696

The Voting Right Coalition (VRC) has been following negotiations between the governor's office and the Office of the Secretary of State (OSS), the latter led by Beth Fraser, director of governmental affairs for the OSS.

After Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed the state government finance bill last May, an effort was made to compromise on policy issues that were not named in the governor's veto message (See Capitol Letter™, June 8, 2007). Rep. Bill Hilty (DFL-08A-Finlayson) and Rep. Laura Brod (R-25A-New Prague) worked hard on this, but were never able to get agreement from the governor's office.

Director Fraser has taken up this challenge and has had some success. Members of the VRC met with Rep. Hilty and with Sen. Dan Larson (DFL-63-Bloomington) to discuss strategy for passing bills on which we have agreement from the governor's office.

The bills we hope to advance, based on negotiations with governor's office, include the following:

SF208/HF768, authored by Sen. Kathy Sheran (DFL-23-Mankato) and Rep. Jeremy Kalin (DFL-17B-Lindstrom) expands agent delivery of ballots, a primary goal of the Disability Law Center.

SF1218/HF1259, authored by Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes (DFL-31-Winona) and Rep. Kalin, will make it easier for the military and citizens overseas to vote by absentee ballot, including allowing electronic transmission of absentee ballots.

SF1297/HF1546, authored by Sen. Larson and Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-44A-Saint Louis Park), allows the OSS to obtain a list of people who have filed with the post office a permanent change-of-address form. If an individual is registered and is moving within Minnesota, the OSS will transmit the registration to the county to which the voter moved. This has passed one Senate committee this session and will be heard on March 7 in the Senate State and Local Government Operations and Oversight Committee.

SF1298/HF1110, authored by Sen. Linda Higgins (DFL-58-Minneapolis) and Rep. Hilty, originally a 23-page bill which passed the Senate last April, has been reduced to two sections, one requiring election registration challengers to prove Minnesota residency and the second requiring challengers to swear that they understand and will obey the law.

SF753/HF965, authored by Sen. Sandy Rummel (DFL-53-White Bear Lake) and Rep. Carol McFarlane (R-53B-White Bear Lake), has been accepted with slight changes. It provides for the appointment of election judges who are not affiliated with a major party, as long as election judges affiliated with different political parties are also appointed. This is a priority of county officials.

We have yet to hear whether or not the rules changes we supported, noted in the last Capitol Letter™, have been approved. These changes include items clarifying the types of identification that may be used for same-day registration, providing clear materials to simplify the vouching process, and establishing a form that provides accountability for challengers.

A number of the bills noted above are expected to be heard in the House during the week of March 3.

Environment - Energy

LWVUS Position: LWVUS believes natural resources should be managed as interrelated parts of life-supporting ecosystems. Resources should be conserved and protected to assure their future availability. Pollution of these resources should be controlled in order to preserve the physical, chemical and biological integrity of the ecosystem and to protect public health.

LWVUS Position - Energy: Among other things, LWVUS supports reduction of energy growth rates; use of a variety of energy sources, with emphasis on conserving energy and using energy-efficient technologies; predominant reliance on renewable resources; action by appropriate levels of government to encourage the use of renewable resources and energy conservation through funding for research and development, financial incentives, rate-setting policies and mandatory standards....

Marilyn Morem, lobbyist, (507) 289-7831

The Green Solutions Act

The Green Solutions Act (HF3195/SF2818) is a legislative initiative that supports one of the priority issues of the Minnesota Environmental Partnership (MEP) for the 2008 legislative session. As part of the Clean Energy Minnesota issue, the Green Solutions Act would establish principles for a cap and trade program for greenhouse gas emissions, establish a climate trust fund and set goals for its use, and require three studies/reports.

The bill calls for a cap and trade program to help reach the greenhouse gas emission reduction goals established by the 2007 Next Generation Energy Act. Simplistically, a cap and trade program means that the government sets a limit on the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted from a specified group of industries (sectors) and each of those industries can purchase an "allowance" (or a permit) to emit a set amount of the greenhouse gases. If an industry doesn't emit its total allowance, the industry can "sell" or "trade" its unused allowance to another industry that may need additional allowances. The price of those allowances is driven by market demand and is not established by the government. The bill also calls for the distribution of the allowances to be done through auction. (Currently, industries must receive permits to emit greenhouse gases, but there is no cost for those allowances.)

The industry sections included in the Green Solutions Act for the cap and trade program are electricity generation, large industrial facilities, transportation fuels, natural gas sold to heat buildings, and landfills. The bill allows the Commissioner of Commerce to add additional sectors to the program if (1) significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions may be made cost-effective by adding that sector, (2) the administration of the program can handle the addition, and (3) the sector's greenhouse gas emissions and reductions can be reliably measured and verified.

In testimony before the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee on February 17, Duke Bascom, owner of a private investment firm specializing in renewable energy and a member of the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group, said of cap and trade, "The government does what government should do which is to establish the standards that are in the best interest of the public and the market is doing what the market should be the best at, which is to find the lowest cost solutions to meet those standards."

The Green Solutions Act encourages the governor to work with other Midwestern governors to develop a regional cap and trade program. It also specifies that the goals of the Climate Trust Fund are to use the funds to assist the state in making the transition to a low greenhouse gas-emitting economy.

The three studies/reports called for in the act are (1) a report from the commissioner of commerce and the commissioner of pollution control on the status of the Midwest Greenhouse Gas Accord by Dec. 1, 2008; (2) an analysis of how decisions on expenditures from the climate trust fund may be made; and (3) an analysis of the economic impact of cap and trade implementation on Minnesota industries.

Some of the reasons for opposition to the bill include (1) federal or regional standards would be more effective, (2) increased costs for implementation would be passed on to consumers, and (3) implementation could hamper the state's ability to negotiate on the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord.

HF3195 had a lengthy hearing in the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Feb. 26, but the committee took no action on the bill. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Kate Knuth (DFL-50B-New Brighton) and 18 co-authors.

SF2818 had a hearing in the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Feb. 27 and was re-referred to the Senate Energy, Utilities, Technology and Communications Committee no recommendation. The Senate bill is sponsored by Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL-66-Saint Paul), and co-authors Sen. Satveer Chaudhary (DFL-50-Fridley), Sen. Steve Murphy (DFL-28-Red Wing) , Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon (DFL-7-Duluth), and Sen. Larry Pogemiller (DFL-59-Minneapolis).

As a member of MEP, LWVMN supports this bill.

Environment/Trails and OHVs

LWVUS Position: LWVUS believes that natural resources should be managed as interrelated parts of life-supporting ecosystems. Resources should be conserved and protected to assure their future availability. Pollution of these resources should be controlled in order to preserve the physical, chemical and biological integrity of the ecosystem and to protect public health.

Gwen Myers, Action Committee Chair, (952) 545-8696

The efforts of our OHV coalition to protect our lakes and streams, wetlands, forests and prairies from renegade off-highway vehicle (OHV) riders is a micro-issue, compared to the efforts of others to fight global warming, but we believe it is vital to protect wild areas, water quality and recreational opportunities for everyone.

LWVMN and its coalition partners have a bill in the drafting stage to increase enforcement options for repeat and egregious violations of OHV laws. Currently, there are a number of individuals who believe that tickets for destroying wetlands, for example, is a cost they are willing to accept. The most common OHV is the All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV), so many of our provisions focus on this machine, though they apply to all OHVs.

The major provisions of our enforcement bill will include the following:

A speed limit of 10 mph for ATVs within 100 feet of a person on foot.
It will be a gross misdemeanor for a person knowingly to disregard signs prohibiting the use of ATVs in a given area, or if a person damages an area in excess of 400 square feet, or if cost of repair is more than $500.
The ATV will be subject to seizure if it is incident to a lawful arrest or if the conservation officer (CO) believes that the vehicle may be removed while awaiting appropriate court documents.
Courts will be required to keep a permanent record of ATV moving violations.
Increase fines up to $1000 for the third and subsequent citations.
Allow property owners to be reimbursed for damage to their property by the legal operation of an ATV within a public road right-of-way – generally damage to driveways.

Rep. Larry Howes (R-04B-Walker) has agreed to author our bill, HF3641, closing DNR land within Mississippi Headwaters State Forest (MHSF) to ATVs. The issue is complex because three counties administer tax-forfeited state land within MHSF and two of them have refused to follow the DNR's lead. Few northern legislators are willing to take on this issue and we thank Rep. Howes for his courage. Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-60-Minneapolis) has is the author of its Senate companion, SF3379.

A bill removing the diversions from the gas tax to recreational vehicle accounts in the DNR has been authored by Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL-66-Saint Paul). SF3087 eliminates all gas tax money for all recreational "vehicles," including snowmobiles and boats. The total amount diverted from our highway funds through these programs amounts to more than $15 million annually – and number that will be significantly increased due to the recently passed gas tax increase. This bill will have a hard time, due to the inclusion of snowmobiles, but its logic makes sense.

Along that line, Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-6-Cook), chair of the Senate Taxes Committee, has included language in this year's tax bill, SF2935, to increase the percentage of the gas tax that is diverted to the ATV accounts. We will oppose this.

Finally, Rep. David Dill (DFL-06A-Crane Lake) has introduced a bill which prohibits state officials from enforcing federal laws on navigable waters in Voyageurs National Park - HF3284. Sen.Bakk and Sen. Tom Saxhaug (DFL-3-Grand Rapids) quickly introduced a senate companion - SF3220.

Agriculture

LWVMN Position: LWVMN supports a system of sustainable agricultural production which provides safe, healthful food and which preserves and protects the state's human and natural agricultural resources and enhances the environment. State policy should support research and technical assistance in farming practices and rural economies that improve the economic viability of family farms, environmental health, and the quality of life of family farmers and their communities.

Allene Moesler, lobbyist, (507) 263-0726

Legislation that would improve access to information about the application of pesticides seems to be gaining ground. Pesticides have the unfortunate ability to migrate through aerial drift, water and soil movement. The toxicity of many pesticides, which makes them effective for killing agricultural pests, also makes them toxic to humans.

Imagine going for a walk and a crop sprayer accidentally douses you. You become ill and need medical care, which requires knowing the type of chemical to which you were exposed. Since there is no requirement that aerial crop sprayers notify the community prior to spraying, tracking down the source of the pesticide will be the first challenge. Although the Department of Agriculture is required to make that information available to physicians and veterinarians, there is currently no system for collecting that data.

Rep. Ken Tschumper (DFL-31B-La Crescent) and Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes (DFL-31-Winona) would like to make that information more readily available and outline the process in HF2459/SF2994. Known as the "Pesticide Right to Know," this legislation will make pesticide use more transparent and will also provide data for research into the impact of pesticides on human health. Opponents cite privacy and the potential for commercial use of the data as problematic, but penalties for improper use of data are included.

It should also be noted that there are currently no regulations covering homeowner uses of pesticides, which are frequently misused under the assumption that they are safe. This problem is often used as a reason for not regulating commercial and private applicators, requiring them to file application information to a central collection point. However, this legislation applies to private applicators as well as to agricultural users. Always, the tension is between the right of people to know about the toxins to which they are exposed and the difficulties imposed by the process of collecting that information for their use.

LWVMN supports the Tschumper/Erickson-Ropes bill.

Transportation

LWVMN's Transportation Position is based on LWVUS Natural Resources and Positions and the LWVMN State Government Spending Position.

LWVUS Position: LWVUS supports comprehensive long-range planning; wise decision making requires consideration of environmental, public health, social and economic impacts of proposed plans...

LWVUS Position: LWVUS believes that energy-efficient and environmentally sound transportation systems should afford better access to housing and jobs. . . .

LWVUS Position - Air Quality: LWVUS supports measures to reduce vehicular pollution, including... development of more energy-efficient transportation systems.

LWVUS Position - Land Use: Support for land-use planning that reflects conservation and wise management of resources.

LWVMN Position - State Government Spending: LWVMN supports maintaining a viable state-wide transportation system, including public transit.

Sally Sawyer, lobbyist, (612) 379-7199

The Transportation Finance Bills, SF2521 authored by Sen. Steve Murphy (DFL-28-Red Wing) and HF2800 authored by Rep. Bernie Lieder (DFL-01B-Crookston), moved rapidly through committees to passage by the Senate and House and on to Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who promptly followed through on his veto promise. On Monday, February 25, the Minnesota House and Senate, after a weekend of intense pressure, overrode the governor's veto. An override is a relatively rare occurrence; 97% of all vetoes in Minnesota history have stood.

The drama was mostly in the House: six Republicans had joined 83 DFL members in the original vote for passage, one vote short of the 90 votes (or 2/3) needed to override the governor's veto. As the House took up HF2800 following the veto, tension and suspense ran high. Would the two DFL members who had voted "no" initially, Rep. John Lesch (DFL-66A-Saint Paul) and Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba (DFL-11B-Long Prairie), vote "yes" for the veto override? They did. Would the six Republicans who voted for HF2800 buck party leadership and their governor to vote for the override? They did. The final House vote was 91 "yes" and 41 "no," one vote more than needed.

The six Republican House members who voted to override did so at great political cost; they were stripped of their leadership positions by Minority Leader Rep. Marty Seifert (R-21A-Marshall) ) following the vote. Several expect to lose party endorsement and perhaps their seats due to their party's opposition. They are: Rep. Jim Abeler (R-48B-Anoka), bill author Rep. Ron Erhardt (R-41A-Edina), Rep. Rod Hamilton (R-22B-Mountain Lake), Rep. Bud Heidgerken (R-13A-Freeport), Rep. Neil Peterson (R-41B-Bloomington), Rep. Kathy Tingelstad (R-49B-Andover).

The Senate override vote was never much in doubt: two Republicans, Sen. Steve Dille (R-18-Dassel) and Sen. Dennis Frederickson (R-21-New Ulm) joined 45 DFLers to override the veto by 47 to 20; 45 were needed to override.

As indicated in the February 22 edition of Capitol Letter™, there was broad-based support for the Transportation Funding Bill: trucking, construction, labor, counties, cities, townships, environmental and civic groups, and perhaps most significantly at the end, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce offered a range of comments and constructive suggestions throughout the committee process and floor debate. Compromises included a reduction of the package by $2 billion to $6.5 billion over the next ten years, removal of indexing from the gas tax and reduction of the proposed sales tax in the metro area from 0.5 percent to 0.25 percent for transit.

Final provisions of the bill include:

Increase in the gas tax by 2 cents April 1, 2008 and by 3 cents by October 1, 2008;
Creation of a $25 tax credit for lowest tax brackets to offset the gas tax increase;
Authorization of $1.8 billion in trunk highway bonds for next ten years, with $1 billion to be issued in the first two years;
Phase-in of gas tax surcharge up to 3.5 cents to repay trunk highway bonds;
Increase in license tab fees on newly registered vehicles;
Authorization for counties in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area to levy a .25 per cent sales tax for transit without referendum, although the seven counties must vote to do so through a joint powers agreement;
Authorization for 80 other counties to levy a sales tax of up to 0.5 percent with referendum and for a specific project.

The provisions of the bill that require a joint powers agreement between the metropolitan counties before the transit dedication can go into effect will be a problem if the anti-tax crusaders have their way. They have started an aggressive lobbying effort against the county boards in the seven counties. Therefore, we may soon be asking you to contact your county commissioners.

Many of you responded to two Action Alerts, targeted Action Alerts and phone calls in the past two weeks, asking that you contact legislators for their support and then that you thank those who voted for the override. Thank you! Those calls and emails made a real difference.

Next up? The governor's bonding bill proposal includes over $400 million for transportation needs, which represents 38% of the total and a substantial increase from past years. After the override, the DFL proposal may emphasize other needs such as bonding for post-secondary education facilities.

Thanks to the Session Weekly, Feb. 29, 2008 and to John Tuma of the Minnesota Environmental Partnership for some of this information.

Health Care

LWVUS Position: LWVUS believes a basic level of quality health care at an affordable cost should be available to all US residents. Other US health care policy goals should include the equitable distribution of services, efficient and economical delivery of care, advancement of medical research and technology, and a reasonable total national expenditure level for health care.

LWVUS favors a national health insurance plan financed through general taxes in place of individual insurance premiums [and] is opposed to a strictly private market-based model of financing the health care system... (1993)

Glenda Larson, lobbyist, (612) 377-3985

Grassroots support for real change in the health care system is building. The Health Reform Caucus, made up of freshmen Rep. David Bly (DFL-25B-Northfield), Rep. Carolyn Laine (DFL-50A-Columbia Heights), Rep. Shelley Madore (DFL-37A-Apple Valley), and Rep. Ken Tschumper (DFL-31B-La Crescent), has been meeting since July to discuss progressive health care reform. This includes a single-payer system, county-based purchasing, de-privatization and bulk purchasing of prescription drugs. The caucus organized a "road show" in February to publicize SF2324/HF2522 (the Minnesota Health Care Act) authored by Sen. John Marty (DFL-54-Roseville) and Rep. Tschumper. Seven Minnesota cities, Bemidji, Brainerd, Duluth, Hibbing, Mankato, Northfield, and Winona, were visited by Sen. Marty, the members of the Health Reform Caucus, members of the Minnesota Health Care Coalition (MUHCC) and other advocates for the Minnesota Health Care Act. Attendance was good at the meetings and there were many questions and much support for single payer from citizens.

SF2324 had its first hearing February 18 in the Senate Health, Housing and Family Security Committee. The bill was expertly explained by Senator Marty. The Minnesota Health Plan will be publicly financed, privately run and will include free choice of physicians. LWVMN believes that this legislation will achieve the important goal of ensuring that all Minnesotans receive high quality health care, regardless of their income. More information is available at Citizens for The Minnesota Health Plan.

Hundreds of Minnesotans turned out to fill the hearing room and the hallways for the hearing. The vote was 8-3 to move SF2324 on to the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee chaired by Sen. Linda Scheid (DFL-46-Brooklyn Park).

Bills based on recommendations from the Health Care Access Commission have been introduced: SF3099/HF3391 authored by Sen. Berglin and Rep. Tom Huntley (DFL-07A-Duluth). These bills increase funding for state health care programs, work toward the goal of universal coverage and establish cost containment strategies. One of the concerns with the bills is that they call for an individual mandate for insurance, which requires individuals to purchase health insurance, if the state's uninsured rate does not fall to certain levels by specified dates.

The recommendations about new cost containment strategies from the working group to the Health Care Access Commission dated 11/5/07 notes that”…these initiatives are not likely to, in and of themselves, address the long-term problems facing today's health care delivery system and that nothing short of a major reform is needed to effectively address the problems facing the current health care system.” Amendments to these bills from the recommendations from the Health Care Transformation Task Force, created in 2007, are expected to be available soon. The task force was charged with the job of creating a statewide action plan for transforming the health care system with the goal of improving affordability, quality, access, and the health status of Minnesotans.

Immigration

LWVMN Position: LWVMN supports incorporating immigrants into our communities by providing access to education, by endorsing the development of secure identification documents, and by respecting the right of law enforcement personnel to perform their duties without the burden of interpreting federal immigration policies.

LWVMN believes all Minnesota residents, regardless of their immigration status, should be eligible for in-state tuition at state colleges and universities under the same conditions, such as one year's state residency or graduation from a Minnesota high school.

LWVMN opposes residents with legal immigrant status running for local office.

LWVMN believes state funding of Adult Basic Education for each program site should be adequate to meet the needs of the eligible residents.

Judy Stuthman, LWVMN Board Member, (651) 644-8588
Kathy Tomsich, lobbyist, (651) 490-1809

Legislation directed at stopping illegal immigration is being introduced in state legislatures across the United States. Minnesota is no exception. Whether these bills get at the root cause of illegal immigration is doubtful, and many of these bills will also impact citizens and legal residents.

The governor's immigration proposals were already introduced by Sen. Joe Gimse (R-13-Willmar)Sen.Joe Gimse (R-Willmar) as SF2618 and described in the last Capitol Letter™. Since that time, 12 other bills have been introduced in the House or Senate. So far, there has not been a hearing scheduled on any of these bills. A summary of some of these bills follows.

HF2874/SF3173, introduced by Rep. Laura Brod (R-25A-New Prague) and Sen. Gimse, requires citizenship and legal status verification of offenders committed to custody, and the release to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of non-citizen inmates who do not have valid legal status. This has been referred to the House Public Safety and Civil Justice Committee.

SF2373, authored by Sen. Gimse, would include the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services' I-9 employment eligibility verification form as one of the documents that, if altered or falsified with the intent to defraud, would constitute aggravated forgery. Persons convicted may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than ten years or to payment of a fine of not more than $20,000, or both. All new employees, citizens or non-citizens, working in the U.S. must complete this form at the time of hire. This was referred to Judiciary Committee and has no House companion.

In another effort to disable sanctuary laws, HF3010/SF2681, authored by Rep. Paul Kohls (R-34A-Victoria) and Sen. Warren Limmer (R-32-Maple Grove), would prohibit ordinances that restrict any city or state government official from communicating with Homeland Security or any state or federal government office regarding the citizenship or immigration status of any individual. This was referred to the House Governmental Operations, Reform, Technology and Elections Committee.

HF2633, authored by Rep. Brod, modifies the requirements for accepting a driver's license from another state as a valid form of identification. Specifically, it excludes drivers' licenses from the following states as a valid secondary document for identification: Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, and Oregon. This was referred to the House Transportation Finance Division Committee and has no Senate companion. According to a representative from the ACLU, this is clearly unconstitutional. A state must honor the laws of another state.

On the bright side, two bills introduced in the previous session are still alive and we will continue to lobby for their passage. HF747/SF830, authored by Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-44A-Saint Louis Park) and Sen. Ann Lynch (DFL-30-Rochester), would grant a tax credit for citizenship expenses. This was referred to the Taxes Committee in both the House and Senate. With a budget deficit the bill might not be funded this year. The second bill, HF1483/SF984, authored by Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL-65B-Saint Paul) and Sen. Mee Moua (DFL-67-Saint Paul) prohibits the state from complying with the Real ID Act. The Real ID Act, an unfunded federal mandate, is an attempt to establish a national identification card and contains a number of privacy problems. SF984 passed in the Senate last April, 51-14, but has not passed in the House.

LWVMN Capitol Letter™

Volume XXXIV Issue 2, March 5, 2008