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LWVMN Capitol Letter™Volume XXXIV Issue 4, April 3, 2008The Capitol Letter™ is a report of the activities of the LWVMN volunteer lobbyists. It is published approximately every two weeks during the Legislative Session. Printable PDF Version
EducationLWVMN 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 Rep. Frank Moe (DFL-04A-Bemidji) presented HF3107 to the House K-12 Finance Division Committee on March 18. The bill eliminates referendum revenue authority for fiscal year 2010 and later. It also requires the governor's budget for the next biennium to contain recommendations for a different source of school revenue to replace the operating referendum revenue. Rep. Moe held up Minnesota's Constitution and stressed that Minnesota is out of compliance with its provision that requires equitable financing for our schools. Legislators from both sides of the aisle are beginning to support the P.S. Minnesota recommendation that a new financing system be developed that does not punish the many districts which have not been able to pass levy referendums. Moe's bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill. Regarding school funding, Rep. Mindy Greiling (DFL-54A-Roseville), chair of the House K-12 Finance Division Committee, has noted that state government as a whole is under-funded and, "We're the canary in the mine for the under-funding, because we're such a big part of the budget."* K-12 education represents 39.8 percent of the state's general fund spending. St. Cloud Area School Superintendent Bruce Watkins reported to Rep. Greiling's committee that they are short $4.5 million this year because a levy failed by just 160 votes. They will have to lay off teachers, bus fewer students and make reductions in special education, health services and paraprofessional support. There is an exodus of students going to nearby districts because of these cuts, which further reduces the district's budget as they lose per-pupil payments from the state. Supt. Watkins echoed many others when he said, "Districts have run out of places to cut corners and they're down at the Legislature saying ‘Please help us." He went on to say, "We're here because we believe the system is broken and needs your attention." The mechanics of school funding are complicated, but even with last year's increase in per-pupil funding, all it takes is 10 students leaving a district to put the district at least $51,240 behind where they were the year before.* It is becoming clear to more of our elected officials that our educational funding system is neither properly structured nor funded. It is unfair - perhaps unconstitutional - to have pilot projects like International Baccalaureate or the Principal's Academy in wealthy districts when other students in Minnesota have no access to them. Gov. Pawlenty cut funds for English Language Learners, Adult Basic Education, Early Childhood Education, Summer School and Extended Day programs, to name a few. He also criticized school districts for inadequately serving students of color. The very programs that increased at-risk student's achievement scores were cut and then educators were blamed for the continued failure. Reflecting the dire financial straits of their school districts, legislators have introduced hundreds of bills to give them some relief. In fact, earlier in the session, Sen. LeRoy Stumpf (DFL-1-Plummer), chair of the Senate E-12 Education Budget Division sent out a letter to all his members asking them to stop adding bills which carry high financial costs or mandates for superintendents to change procedures when they are already stressed because of the huge Minnesota education deficit. At this point, the House K-12 Education Finance Supplemental Budget Bill - HF2475 - (Rep. Greiling) and the House K-12 Policy Bill - HF3316 – [Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL-65B-Saint Paul)] have been heard and passed out of the education committees. In the Senate the E-12 Policy Bill - SF3001 – [Sen. Chuck Wiger (DFL-55-North Saint Paul)] and the E-12 Budget Recommendation Bill - SF3631 - (Sen. Stumpf) have also passed out of education committees. Provisions of Rep. Greiling's HF2475 indicate the complexity of these bills:*
*Session Weekly 3/28/08 **Parents United for Public Schools Newsletter, March 28, 2008 Early Childhood EducationPre-K EducationLWVUS Position: Children at Risk LWVUS supports policies and programs at all levels... that promote the well being, encourage the full development and ensure the safety of all children. These include... early childhood education. LWVMN Position: Equal Opportunity Support of increased state responsibility in creating equal public educational opportunities for all Minnesota children.... LWVMN Position: Equal Opportunity Support of policies to ensure equality of opportunity in... education and other public services for all persons. Child CareLWVUS Position: LWVUS supports programs, services and policies at all levels of government to expand the supply of affordable, quality child care for all who need it, in order to increase access to employment and to prevent and reduce poverty. LWVMN Position: Support of coordinated public policies and funding to ensure safe, affordable, quality child care throughout the state. Ruth Jones, intern lobbyist, (651) 275-3700 Between 10 percent and 12 percent of kindergarteners are not ready to start school because they have problems with language development, literacy and mathematical thinking, according to the Minnesota Department of Education. These children typically fall further and further behind as they move through the school system, with all the accompanying problems one would expect. While the Legislature has been slow to recognize the obvious need for early childhood education, Arthur Rolnick, PhD, senior vice president and research director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, has been working on this issue for several years. I was fortunate to hear him speak on March 28. Rolnick has been working to raise $1.5 - 2 billion for an endowment for a high-quality, large-scale early childhood education program for at risk children. So far, $30 million has been pledged to it. All families with at-risk children would be eligible for scholarships that would pay for tuition to an early childhood development program beginning at age three. A parental program would begin much earlier; a pre-natal program with mentoring through age two would be ideal. Public health nurses and teachers would be hired for the project. Rolnick said that research shows that the return on investing in an early childhood program which focuses on children at risk is much higher than other "economic development" projects. When certain criteria are incorporated - careful focus, parental involvement, outcome orientation, long term commitment and high quality - there is success. He spoke about the cost benefit of high quality pre-school programs. They range from $3 - $17 for every dollar invested. Children served by these programs are more likely to stay out of special education, more likely to pass rather than fail at each grade and are less likely to be involved in crime. They are more likely to graduate from high school and therefore to be employed and to have higher earnings. There will be a demonstration project in Frogtown in St. Paul to test his theories beginning this year. The pilot project will run for five years and have an independent evaluation. Then, he estimates, the full project will begin with the pilot as proof that at risk children can succeed. For further information on Arthur Rolnick and his educational theories, see Edutopia and Children of the Code. State Government FinanceLWVMN 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 House and Senate DFL leadership released their proposals last week to address the projected $935 million budget deficit. Both plans use $350 million from the state's cash flow account and tap into the budget reserves to address the shortfall. The Senate DFL plan specified certain programs for elimination or reduction. Fourteen million dollars guarantee for the Republican National Convention, the Positive Alternatives program which encourages women with unplanned pregnancies to carry their pregnancy, and a grant program that helps install E-85 pumps in gas stations would all be omitted from the budget. So would the Strategic Entrepreneurial Economic Development Program (JOBZ) championed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and several political appointees in state agencies. Health and human service programs would be cut by $200 million. House DFLers have not provided details on spending cuts in their plan. In addition to the cash flow account and the budget reserves, spending cuts and new revenue from changes in the tax code fill in the remainder of the plan. Budget targets, the dollar amount that committees need to stay within when passing their bills, were released last week and can be viewed at Minnesota Budget Bites. House Taxes Committee chair Rep. Ann Lenczewski (DFL-40B-Bloomington) released her plan for addressing the state's budget deficit. HF4103, in 23 pages, details and repeals all corporate tax subsidies in Minnesota. This includes subsidies such as the JOBZ program, foreign royalties and research and development credits. The controversial bill was heard on March 19 in the House Taxes Committee with additional public testimony to follow the week of March 31. After removing subsidies, the bill also lowers the corporate tax rate by one percent while raising additional revenue to lessen the burden on health and human services to make up the gap. Gov. Pawlenty's initial reaction to the bill was not positive, reiterating his resistance to anything that amounts to a tax increase. One tax increase that is included in the governor's budget, however, is a reduction in renters' credit. The governor has proposed reducing the renters' credit by 21%, in affect raising taxes on many low and middle-income renters. Renters' credit is a way of reducing the regressivity of property taxes on renters, who typically pay property tax indirectly through their rent. This change would impact 271,000 Minnesota households. Last week, LWVMN joined with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and other organizations in a sign-on letter opposing these cuts and LWVMN members received an Action Alert on this subject. In other finance news, House and Senate DFLers said early Monday that they were close to agreement on the content of a $925 million bonding bill. Gov. Pawlenty has stated that the bill should not exceed $825 million. What kind of a difference can $100 million make? We will likely see in upcoming weeks when the governor has the option of using his line-item veto on certain items, or vetoing the entire bill. It has been suggested, in fact, that there may be no bonding bill at all, with each side refusing to compromise. Source: Minnesota Public Radio; Session Weekly Judicial SelectionLWVMN Position: LWVMN supports a system of selection and retention of district court and appellate courts judges that includes: 1) initial appointment to judgeship by the governor, who is required to choose from a list of candidates forwarded by a nominating commission; 2) end-of-term evaluation of the judge's performance by an evaluation commission, results to be made available to the public; 3) retention election: voters choose to retain or not retain the judge. The nominating and evaluation commissions should be broadly based and nonpartisan. Karen Cole, Judicial Selection Study Committee member Judicial elections have been in front of the legislature this session. LWVMN has taken the position that our state should move from our current system of judicial elections (where one candidate faces off against another candidate) to a system called merit appointment/retention election. Under that system, a merit appointment process determines who is appointed to the bench in the first place. Appointed judges then face periodic retention elections; in retention elections, the question is not, "Vote for candidate X or candidate Y," but instead, "Should judge X be retained? Yes or no." If the answer to that question is "no," a replacement is appointed, again using the merit appointment process. The primary reasons for LWVMN's support for this approach were concerns about avoiding politicization of judicial races (following a change in the ground rules for the judicial elections based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2002 that threw out limits on judicial campaigns) and concerns about the great amounts of money flooding into judicial elections, as has occurred around the country. (For a full discussion of these issues, see the Report of the Judicial Selection Study Committee. Adopting the merit selection/retention election proposal would require an amendment to our state constitution. To accomplish that, a bill approving the proposal would have to be passed by both houses of the legislature, and then placed on the November ballot for approval by the voters. Before the session started, there was a joint committee hearing on the judicial elections held by the three legislative committees. This informational hearing was a star-studded event with strong and moving testimony supporting the bill. At one point, Governor Al Quie, Governor Arne Carlson and Vice-President Walter Mondale all testified together in favor of merit appointment/retention election system. Helen Palmer presented LWVMN's position in favor of that system. It looked like the session was off to a strong start! After the session began, a bill supporting the merit selection/retention election system was heard by House Governmental Operations, Reform, Technology and Elections Committee. The bill was voted out of that committee and referred to the House Public Safety and Civil Justice Committee. The proposal's next stop was the Senate State and Local Government Operations and Oversight Committee. There the bill faltered. Testimony against the bill was presented by the district judges association and by the Minnesota Family Council. A number of district judges testified in favor of the bill and several judicial districts submitted resolutions supporting it. In the end, the bill was passed out of the committee, but without a recommendation to pass. It was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. As it happened, the bill never did receive subsequent hearings by the other House and Senate committees. The deadlines for bills to be passed out of committee has come and gone. And the authors of the bills have decided not to press forward this session. Certainly one factor in the bill's demise this session has been the influence of the district judges. The district judges as a group have not been supportive of the proposal, although individual judges and judicial districts are supportive. And the district judges association has been continuing to discuss its position on the issue. So now attention has shifted from 2008 to 2010. And in fact, building support among the public for this change in our system so that a ballot measure will pass is likely a three-year project, and an ambitious one at that. So LWVMN will continue to reach out to the public, to explain how our judicial elections are changing and why we need to make changes to assure that judicial seats are not politicized. Election LawLWVUS 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 Rights Coalition celebrated the March 24 report of Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Richard C. Luis which supported the rules changes proposed by the Office of the Secretary of State (OSS), described in the first Capitol Letter™ in February. The rules lay out the way an agency implements the laws passed by the Legislature; they are different from statute but have similar force. LWVMN sent a letter to the OSS supporting the proposed changes for they expanded access to the polls and they clarified some issues for election officials. Among the rules accepted by the ALJ are the following modifications for Election Day registration:
The OSS may not implement these changes for five days, giving the governor an opportunity to veto all or part of the report. We believe that a governor has never vetoed an ALJ's report on proposed amendments to rules, but there is always a first time. Our first legislative victory is the bill intended to keep voter registration rolls updated. HF1546 was passed by the House on March 10, but not before Rep. Tom Hackbarth (R-48A-Cedar) offered an amendment to permit anyone who completes an application for a game and fish license to simultaneously register to vote (Journal of the House, p. 8533) – defeated on a voice vote – and Rep. Tom Emmer (R-19B-Delano) offered an amendment to require a photo ID to vote. Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-44A-Saint Louis Park) raised a point of order, the Speaker agreed that the amendment was out of order; Rep. Emmer appealed the ruling of the Speaker and requested a roll call. The Speaker was supported 83-49 and the bill finally passed 115-16. On March 19 the bill passed in the Senate 63-0 and is on the way to the governor. The requirement that challengers at the polls on Election Day prove that they are Minnesota residents is in SF1298, which passed in the Senate last year. This bill, authored by Rep. Bill Hilty (DFL-08A-Finlayson) and Sen. Linda Higgins (DFL-58-Minneapolis), is on the House calendar for Tuesday, April 1. It is slightly different than the bill that passed in the Senate last session, but we expect that the Senate will accept the House language after it passes in the House. HF3172/SF2574 contains two of our priorities. It provides for non-partisan election judges as long as two major parties are represented at a polling place and it expands agent delivery of ballots to people who are disabled or incapacitated. The bill has cleared committees in each house and awaits floor action. HF1259/SF1218, the bill to make it easier for the military and other citizens overseas to vote by absentee ballot, awaits floor action in the House. It passed in the Senate last April, 63-1. Thanks to Jonathan Maurer-Jones of the Voting Rights Coalition for much of this information. Reproductive ChoiceLWVUS Position: Protect the constitutional right of privacy of the individual to make reproductive choices. Lonni Skrentner, intern lobbyist, (952) 994-7804 Pro-Choice Lobby Day drew over 100 registrants to the Capitol on March 4. The noon rally in the Capitol Rotunda heard Majority Leader Sen. Larry Pogemiller (DFL-59-Minneapolis) and Speaker of the House Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL-60A-Minneapolis). We hope that lobbying had a positive effect on the comprehensive sex education issue which is now contained in both the House and the Senate Education Omnibus Policy Bills. A recent survey found that 90 percent of parents want sex education to be taught in schools. Yet comprehensive sex education language narrowly survived proposed amendments that would have removed it from the omnibus bill. Calls to legislators as these bills head to the floor would be appropriate to avert other attempts to strike sex education from the bill. Calls to the governor's office also would be helpful, as he has once again threatened to veto any legislation containing comprehensive sex education. Environment/Trails and OHVsLWVUS 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 This will be quite short, since all our initiatives to protect our wild areas from Off-Highway Vehicles (OHVs) have come to naught, as described in the last Capitol Letter™. Rep. Larry Howes (R-04B-Walker) did introduce our enforcement bill, HF4028, on March 13. It is too late in the session to move this bill, but it is drafted and we will work on recruiting authors for next year. Provisions were listed in the March 5 Capitol Letter™. There is some hope that our bill to close Mississippi Headwaters State Forest to ATVs may be offered as an amendment on the floor. If this idea takes root, look for a last-minute Action Alert on the subject. Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-05A-Virginia) has introduced HF4108, a bill to provide an OHV trail from the OHV "scramble area" in Gilbert, Minnesota to a proposed OHV scramble area near Virginia. Scramble areas are designed to allow people who enjoy driving OHVs around in water and mud, over boulders, up steep hills, etc., to do so. Unfortunately, reckless riders carry this behavior beyond the scramble area, as the trail from the campground to the scramble area in Gilbert demonstrates; a large area around the trail is rutted, eroding and denuded of vegetation. We oppose Rep. Rukavina's bill because all the evidence indicates that a trail connecting two scramble areas would give reckless riders opportunities to devastate a much larger area. Further, the bill appropriates one million dollars from the DNR's ATV and mudder-truck accounts* for the trail and to develop the Virginia site. We believe that money in these accounts should be used to enforce the laws we have on the books to protect the environment from reckless motorized recreation enthusiasts. This bill appeared too late to be considered in the regular committee process, but may appear as an amendment to another bill. In fact, our Traditional Use coalition will be reminding our friends in both houses that the losses we suffered in the 2007 session came in a "delete all" amendment to the Game and Fish bill on its final consideration on the House floor. The author, Rep. David Dill (DFL-06A-Crane Lake), was not asked to explain the bill, as described in the June 8, 2007 Capitol Letter™. The lesson is to watch for last minute moves to accomplish what OHV enthusiasts could not in the regular committee process. * Recall that a percentage of our gas tax money is diverted into DNR funds for ATVs, mudder trucks, off-road motorcycles and snowmobiles. The total diverted from the Highway Trust Fund in 2006 for these four vehicles was $7,068,883, according to the DNR on 3/12/08. Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-6-Cook) engineered an increase in the ATV diversion from 0.15% to 0.27% of one percent this session, as described in the last Capitol Letter™. EnvironmentLWVUS Position: 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 - Water: LWVUS supports measures to reduce water pollution from direct point-source discharges and from indirect non-point sources; and policies to achieve quality essential for maintaining species populations and diversity, including measures to protect lakes, estuaries, wetlands and in-stream flows. LWVMN Position - Natural Resources: Promote an environment beneficial to life though the protection and wise management of natural resources in the public interest by recognizing the interrelationships of air quality, energy, land use, waste management and water resources. LWVMN Position - Water Resources: Support of a state role in the preservation and management of Minnesota's water resources through protection, allocation, conservation, pricing and interbasin transfer policies protective of Minnesota's current and future needs. LWVMN Position - Land Use: Support an overall land use plan with maximum cooperation and implementation at the regional and local levels, with state help in developing and exercising land use management, with opportunity for maximum local decision making, and with regional planning and regulation for matters of more than local control. LWVMN Position - Air Quality: Support measures to reduce air pollution from vehicular and stationary sources LWVMN Position - Solid Waste: Support of measures to reduce generation of solid waste and ensure safe treatment, storage and disposal of all wastes. Marilyn Morem, lobbyist, (507) 289-7831 Ethanol Plants and Environmental Impact StatementsEthanol is going to become a more contentious issue as alternative energy technology evolves and environmental impacts are more clearly understood. The coming conflict was seen in February of this year when two bills with differing objectives regarding ethanol plants and mandatory environmental impact statements (EIS) were introduced. One bill, HF3017, sought to remove the exemption for certain ethanol plants from producing an EIS, while the other bill (HF3106) sought to add an additional exemption for ethanol plants. Both bills, however, stalled in the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee and did not meet the legislative deadlines for this session. HF3017, described in the Feb. 22 Capitol Letter™, was introduced by Rep. Ken Tschumper (DFL-31B-La Crescent). It would have removed the exemption for a mandatory EIS for ethanol plants from Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 116D.04, Environmental Impact Statement. The statute currently exempts ethanol plants producing less than 125,000,000 gallons of ethanol annually and located outside of the seven-county metropolitan area from a mandatory EIS. Additional authors of HF3017 are Rep. Paul Gardner (DFL-53A-Shorview), Rep. Julie Bunn (DFL-56A-Lake Elmo), Rep. David Bly (DFL-25B-Northfield), Rep. Michael Paymar (DFL-64B-Saint Paul), Rep. Mindy Greiling (DFL-54A-Roseville), Rep. Kate Knuth (DFL-50B-New Brighton), Rep. Sandra Masin (DFL-38A-Eagan), Rep. Bev Scalze (DFL-54B-Little Canada), Rep. John Benson (DFL-43B-Minnetonka), Rep. Maria Ruud (DFL-42A-Minnetonka), Rep. Denise Dittrich (DFL-47A-Champlin), and Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL-59B-Minneapolis). There is no Senate Companion. LWVMN supports this bill. In contrast to this bill, HF3106 (SF2757) proposed to add an additional exemption to the statute for an ethanol plant that “has a permit and expands production by no more than 60,000,000 gallons of ethanol annually.” Authors of HF3106 are Rep. Terry Morrow (DFL-23A-Saint Peter), Rep. Al Juhnke (DFL-13B-Willmar), Rep. Doug Magnus (R-22A-Slayton), Rep. Kent Eken (DFL-02A-Twin Valley), Rep. David Dill (DFL-06A-Crane Lake), Rep. Rod Hamilton (R-22B-Mountain Lake), and Rep. Bob Gunther (R-24A-Fairmont). Authors of SF2757 are Sen. Kathy Sheran (DFL-23-Mankato), Sen. Tom Saxhaug (DFL-3-Grand Rapids), Sen. Dan Skogen (DFL-10-Hewitt), Sen. Gary Kubly (DFL-20-Granite Falls), and Sen. Dennis Frederickson (R-21-New Ulm). The senate bill was referred to the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee where no further action occurred. The Green Solutions ActAs reported earlier, 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 call for studies focusing on aspects of the subject. To date, HF3195, sponsored by Rep. Kate Knuth (DFL-50B-New Brighton) and several others, traveled through its various House committees preserving the original intent of the bill: to establish principles for a cap and trade program for greenhouse gas emissions, establish a climate trust fund and set goals for its use, and define studies to be conducted. The latest action was taken by the House Energy Finance and Policy Division Committee on March 17 and it was to pass the bill as they had amended it and return it to the House Finance Committee. The Senate bill (SF2818) met a different fate in the Senate Business, Industry and Jobs Committee where an amendment removed the language relating to the principles to be used when establishing a cap and trade program and weakened the study language. The amendment and the bill were passed and referred to Senate Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Budget Division, chaired by the bill's author Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL-66-Saint Paul). At this writing, it has not yet been put on the committee's agenda. TransportationLWVMN'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 As indicated in the March 20 Capitol Letter™, transit action has moved to the county commissioners in the seven-county metropolitan area. Two county boards, Anoka and Ramsey voted last week to approve a quarter-cent sales tax (food and clothing are exempt) to help finance new rail lines and transitways. Carver County commissioners voted against levying the tax; Scott County is expected to follow suit this coming week. Three counties—Dakota, Hennepin and Washington—will vote on the measure this coming Tuesday. However, the outcome is by no means certain. County Commissioners need to hear that constituents support this measure. Expected to generate about $100 million a year, the funds will help support Northstar Commuter rail service and the Central Corridor light-rail line, connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul downtowns. In counties that enact the sales tax, a $20 fee will be imposed on car purchases. There is some concern that as a result of a projected $1 billion state budget deficit, proposed cuts of $29.9 million in fiscal year 2009 for Metropolitan Transit bus system operations will result in raids on the new sales tax (which was intended for new transit options) in addition to cuts in service and fare increases. According to the March 21 issue of Session Weekly, fewer transit routes could be one result of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's (R) supplemental transportation budget request. Rep. Doug Magnus (R-22A-Slayton) presented the governor's bill (HF3964) to the House Transportation Finance Division Committee on March 17. It would increase the Minnesota Department of Transportation's current budget by $6.85 million to meet federal requirements for additional bridge funding, i.e., the money is needed to obtain the state's share of $1 billion in additional federal bridge funding that was appropriated by Congress earlier this year. In fiscal year 2009, however, the department would sustain a $2.5 million decrease. In addition, both greater Minnesota and the metro area will see cuts in mass transit. The governor's plan includes an ongoing 4% decrease in grants to greater Minnesota transit ($752,000 in FY 2009) and a $1.7 million onetime reduction. The governor's plan also calls for $29.9 million in bus system operation reductions for the Metropolitan Council in Fiscal Year 2009 and reduces the base appropriation in the 2010-11 biennium by $3.2 million per year. Metropolitan Council Chairman Peter Bell stated that this would clearly result in significant fare increases or route reductions if passed as it was presented. Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL-66B-Saint Paul), chair of the House Capital Investment Finance Division Committee, indicated that this was exactly the wrong direction for transportation policy to take. The bill was laid over in the House Committee. A companion bill, SF3686 sponsored by Sen. Michael Jungbauer (R-48-East Bethel), was tabled by the Senate Transportation Budget and Policy Division on March 18. Sources: Session Weekly, March 21, 2008; StarTribune, March 26, 2008 AgricultureLWVMN 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. Guest commentary – Bobby King, LWVMN member and Land Stewardship Project Lobbyist Attempts to Weaken Local Control Once Again Proposed and Defeated: Land Stewardship Project (LSP) and others successfully beat back two bills that would have undermined local control. The first, SF1402 sponsored by Sen. Steve Dille (R-18-Dassel) was amended to remove all language undermining local governments' ability to control local development. Sen. Tony Lourey (DFL-8-Kerrick), vice-chair of the Senate State and Local Government Operations and Oversight Committee, worked hard to remove this language, ultimately turning the bill into one that encourages county and townships to protect farmland. This language is now part of the Senate's Agriculture Omnibus Finance Bill and we will be vigilant to make sure it is not altered in conference committee. HF1254, sponsored by Rep. Larry Hosch (R-14B-Saint Joseph), undermined the power of townships to enact moratoriums on unwanted developments. Rep. Debra Hilstrom (DFL-46B-Brooklyn Center), chair of the House Local Government and Metropolitan Affairs Committee, blocked a vote on the bill and instructed the development interests supporting the bill to work with LSP and others on a compromise over the summer. Rep. Ken Tschumper (DFL-31B-La Crescent), vice chair of the committee, worked hard to make sure this was the outcome. LSP State Policy Committee member and Township Officer Allan Perish traveled to the Capitol and testified in opposition. Proposed Livestock Investment Grants Must Be Family-Farmer and Sustainable-Ag Friendly. As introduced, SF2704/HF2942 [Sen. Dan Skogen (DFL-10-Hewitt), Rep. Al Juhnke (DFL-13B-Willmar)] proposed a livestock grant program that required an expenditure of $40,000 in improvements to receive a grant of 10% of that expenditure. It had a cap of $500,000 in improvements. This $40,000 threshold would put the program out of reach of a substantial number of family farmers raising livestock in Minnesota. Also, the bills did not include expenditures on fencing or pasture development, thus treating this method of livestock production unfairly and favoring factory farms. Through the work of LSP, the Sustainable Farming Association and Minnesota Farmers Union, the House bill has been amended to reduce the qualifying expenditure to $4,000 and to allow for expenditures on pasture development. Rep. Tim Faust (DFL-08B-Mora) and Rep. Aaron Peterson (DFL-20A-Appleton) took the lead on accomplishing this in the House Agriculture, Rural Economies and Veterans Affairs Finance Division Committee. The Senate bill has reduced the qualifying expenditure to $4,000 but does NOT include pasture development. Both provisions are part of their respective Agriculture Omnibus Finance Bills. LSP and others will work to see that the Senate language prevails. Update on Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM)–Clean Energy. This innovative program could make Minnesota a leader in producing biofuels from native prairie and other perennial grasses, but it may go unfunded. This program was authorized last legislative session and needs to be funded through bonding funds this session. The Minnesota Senate and House Bonding Conference Committee may meet this week to decide the fate of this program. The LSP, MN Environmental Partnership and other groups were initially seeking $46 million for the program. Now these organizations are working to make sure it receives as close to that as possible out of a bonding bill of over $900 million. Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) proposes $3.3 million in his bonding package. The Senate proposes $1.5 million. Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL-66-Saint Paul), Chair of the Senate Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Budget Division, pushed hard for $15 million and forwarded that recommendation to the which reduced it substantially. The House has NO funding. This is an important program. RIM-Clean Energy is a working lands conservation program that provides funding for farmers to grow perennial crops, like prairie grasses, for bioenergy. Perennial crops like prairie grass require few pesticides and little fertilizer and can trap large amounts of greenhouse gases. In addition, they prevent soil erosion, provide wildlife habitat and filter water. RIM-Clean Energy will provide sustainable alternatives to risky fossil fuels, helping to reduce our dependence on oil while supporting rural economies in Minnesota. RIM-Clean Energy will pay farmers to establish grasses and other native perennial biomass crops while at the same time increasing wildlife habitat and improving water quality. Its 20-year easements will ensure maximum benefits to both landowners and society and will help spur perennial crop production by reducing farmer risk. RIM-Clean Energy is a complementary working lands program to the existing and successful RIM-Reserve program -- both should be supported. LWVMN is getting an action alert out on this bill. Health CareLWVUS 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 Health care reform bills, also known as the DFL leadership bills, based on recommendations from the Health Care Access Commission and the Governor's Transformation Task Force are moving rapidly through the Senate and House. SF3099, authored by Sen. Linda Berglin (DFL-61-Minneapolis) passed the floor on March 27 by a 41-22 vote. An amendment sponsored by Sen. John Marty (DFL-54-Roseville) which would have removed the level three payment system and several other problematic provisions was defeated earlier by a very close 32-33 vote. (Level three payment is a complicated capitation style payment in which clinics and hospitals would be paid a fee per patient per year.) SF3099 does not implement the payment reforms immediately. It sets up a commission to study the idea further and return next year with more detailed recommendations. The governor initially indicated support for SF3099 but now has expressed opposition. The companion health care reform bill in the House, HF3391, authored by Rep. Tom Huntley (DFL-07A-Duluth), needs to pass through the House Health Care and Human Services Finance Division Committee, House Taxes Committee, and House Ways and Means Committee before it finally reaches the floor. It had been scheduled to be heard by the House Finance Committee the morning of March 28, but the bill was removed from consideration apparently because of a delay in getting the appropriate fiscal note attached. (Fiscal notes are documents presented to legislative committees drawn up by state agencies that estimate the cost of a bill being considered by the committee.) The bill may be heard the week of March 31. The cost study/global modeling bill, SF3707, authored by Sen. John Doll (DFL-40-Burnsville) and HF4079, authored by Rep. Shelley Madore (DFL-37A-Apple Valley), has passed one committee, the Senate Health and Human Services Budget Division, but is not scheduled for a hearing in the House. Since it calls for a relatively small appropriation and has the support of Senate leaders, it may find a home by amendment into a larger finance bill. The bill would establish a cost-analysis study of various health reform proposals including single-payer and SF3099/HF3391. Domestic ViolenceLWVMN Position: LWVUM supports improved procedures for agencies dealing with family violence; support for improved services for victims. This includes more advocates to protect the interests of victims of family violence, more shelters for battered women, and provision for immediate legal remedies for victims of family violence, violence prevention programs in our community, among other things. Evon Spangler, lobbyist, (651) 776-2900 Domestic violence is pervasive in our society, causing life-long impact and harm to victims and families. A bill pending in the legislature, SF3340/HF3959, attempts to raise awareness of the impact of domestic violence by naming "Domestic Violence Awareness Month" in October. Sen. Paul Koering (R-12-Fort Ripley) and Rep. John Ward (DFL-12A-Brainerd) are sponsoring this bill, which LWVMN supports. Testimony of a Domestic Violence AdvocateSF3441, authored by Sen. Mee Moua (DFL-67-Saint Paul), amends Minn. Stat. § 595.02, subd. 1 to include a provision that a domestic violence advocate may not be compelled to disclose any opinion or information received from or about a victim without the consent of a victim. A court could compel the disclosure after conducting a balancing test. There is a companion bill, HF3850, authored by Rep. Michael Paymar (DFL-64B-Saint Paul) and Rep. Steve Smith (R-33A-Mound). The bill has had a second reading in each house and awaits floor action. LWVMN supports this bill. Increased Penalties for Violation of No Contact OrderSF2598, authored by Sen. Kathy Saltzman (DFL-56-Woodbury), amends Minn. Stat. § 518B.01, subd. 22 to increase the penalties for violation of domestic violence no contact orders. Domestic abuse no contact orders are issued by courts against defendants in criminal proceedings for: (1) domestic abuse; (2) harassment or stalking; (3) violation of an order for protection; or (4) violation of a prior domestic abuse no contact order. A companion bill, HF3101, is authored by Rep. Karla Bigham (DFL-57A-Cottage Grove). The bill had no hearing in the Senate, but has progressed to the House Public Safety Finance Division Committee. LWVMN also supports this bill. Urge your legislator to support bills that protect victims and children and prevent violence. |
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