Capitol Letter for February 3, 2023
The Capitol Letter™ is a recurring publication that provides reports from LWV Minnesota volunteer Observer Corps and Lobby Corps members on what is happening in the current legislative session.
Lobbying by LWVMN
LWV South Tonka member Cindy Holker testified to the House Elections Committee in support of MN’s participation in the National Popular Vote Compact! LWVMN Board and LWV Woodbury Cottage Grove Area member Paul Huffman testified to the Senate Elections Committee on this issue as well. See Cindy at 1:00:57!
Additionally, Paul shared his experience as an election judge in Washington County, speaking in favor of Automatic Voter Registration, pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds, and creating a permanent absentee ballot list. - Hear his well-informed testimony at 1:04:30.
We were also represented at the Restore the Vote Press Conference with House bill author Rep. Cedrick Frazier, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Speaker of the House Melissa Horton, Secretary of State Steve Simon, and four justice system impacted men, Rev. Brian Herron, Elizer Darris, Zeke Caligiuri and Sandy Yance - Thanks to https://restorethevotemn.org/ for their leadership in passing this bill in the Minnesota House! (see Observer Reports below)
Observer Reports
House Ways and Means - Monday, January 30
LWVMN Observer Corps Member Shannon Moore
HF28 (Frazier) Right to vote restored to individuals convicted of a felony upon completion of any term of incarceration imposed and executed by a court for the offense. This sort of bill has been around for 10 years. Opposition: voting is restored to people who are on parole but that is unfair to people who were not granted parole and are still incarcerated. (Response - people who are on parole have been deemed to be safe in the community and should have the right to vote.) Actions have consequences, this is overstepping. Are other rights going to be given back to people who are not incarcerated? (Response - this bill is only about voting.) If they end up in jail again, what happens, do they lose their right to vote? (Response - Yes) If a person is out on parole and they violate their parole and are not sent back, will they still have the right to vote? (Response- No) If they are given the right to vote, will their name be taken off the sex offender registry? (Response - this has nothing to do with the sex offender registry.) Support - This is long overdue. There is a clear theme nationally to restore voting rights to felons who are no longer incarcerated. I will support the bill. Roll call vote requested. 17 aye / 8 no. Bill prevails and will move to the General Registry (see Observer Report below)
House Floor Session - Monday, January 30
LWVMN Observer Corps Member Amy Caucutt
HF4, Licenses for all, passed the House, after long debate and many unsuccessful Republican amendments on a party line vote of 69-61. Author Rep. Gomez and several other DFL members spoke of the "broad and deep coalition" (immigrant groups, farm and business groups, labor unions, religious organizations, and others) supporting this "righting a 20 year wrong." Supporters could be heard cheering outside the House floor every time the door opened. Authors explained the bill, necessitated by an executive order in 2003 denying non-citizens the right to have drivers' licenses...although exceptions have been made for some non-citizens. DFL members told stories of the fear of immigrants of deportation if they drove illegally (to work, or to school, or to run errands, without a license or insurance). Republican amendments mainly were designed to create a license that looked different enough that no one would confuse it for an ID for election purposes. But making it appear different, would of course partially defeat the purpose of a license allowing immigrants to "fit in" and not be “called out" as illegal immigrants in other settings. All were defeated and GOP members reacted with frustration to the fact that their ideas were not being incorporated, because they said they wanted to make this work but their voters fear “election fraud.” Rep Baker commented that "someone down the hall wants us to look like "One Minnesota (i.e. the Governor), but this is being pushed by only DFL, and they have election certificates representing 48% of the voters." Rep. Long responded that a broad coalition supports this bill, and "the only opponents are across the aisle." This bill has twice passed the House and once passed the Senate in the previous 20 years.
Senate Elections Committee - Tuesday, January 31
LWVMN Observer Corps Member Amy Caucutt
SF538 (Hoffman-DFL) Popular Vote for President bill attracted many testifiers including 7 citizens against from Cannon Falls and Rochester; 5 focused on government in support including LWVMN and the Sec. of State, 2 from conservative organizations in opposition, and 2 in support who have been working on this issue for some time (Mr. Rosenstiel a MN Republican, and former Vermont state senator working on this issue, Chris Pearson). The arguments for states creating a compact, promising their electoral votes to the popular vote winner for president as soon as states with 270 electoral votes agree. Under our current system, 5 out of 46 US presidents have been elected without being the top vote getter; a handful of battleground states get all the attention during campaigns, and in fact when bills are passed; the president is the only political office w/out the one person one vote rule which most Americans expect to be the law; this allows the needed change within the current constitution; we have made "important course corrections" on election issues in the past as eloquently stated by Paul Huffman of LWVMN. Opposition arguments were: this is an "end-around to the US Constitution; we are a "constitutional republic" not a 'democracy', this is how the founders wanted it to give states rights; and several issues regarding implementations such as problems with recounts or what is official total in a state with ranked choice voting? GOP Senators Bahr, Mathews and Koran joined the free-wheeling debate allowed by the chair and drew in Mr Parnell from Virginia, of "People for Opportunity' who opposes this bill. Heated debate from DFL members Port, Mitchell, and Rest, who carried this bill in 2007 with Secretary Simon as House author. Sen Marty called an end to the questions, and the bill passed 8-6 on a party line vote; sent to the floor.
SF746 and A-1 Amendment (Hoffman) allows candidates who express "reasonable fear" to have their address remain private after Sec. of State determines the address is within the district. Many legislators told horrible stories of threats, harassment and even assaults that did not rise to the level of a police report or filing for court order. Several senators, including Rest (DFL) and Limmer (R) said that there should not even be a requirement for "reasonable fear", simply the discretion of the candidate. On a voice vote, the bill was sent to the judiciary committee.
Committee on Climate and Energy and Energy Finance and Policy - Tuesday, January 31
LWVMN Observer Corps Member Sherry Hood
HF597 is authored by Representative Larry Kraft, St. Louis Park, DFL. The bill proposes a grant program to provide financial assistance to MN cities to address climate change and money appropriated. The grant would provide a maximum of $50,000, which for cities of a population under 20,000 would need a match of 5%. Those cities over 20,000 would require a 50% match. Total appropriation asked for is $5.5 million. Testifiers were Dr. Kate Knuth, the 100% campaign; Mayor Patrick Hanson, Hopkins; Victoria Reinhart, Ramsey Co. commissioner representing the Association of MN Counties; Craig Johnson, League of MN Cities; Elizabeth Wefel, Coalition of Greater MN Cities; and Frank Kohlasch, Assistant Commissioner of MPCA. All spoke in favor of the bill. Minority questions were centered on details and registered no opposition. The bill is being laid over (meaning possible inclusion in an omnibus bill).
House Committee on Elections and Finance - Wednesday, February 1
LWVMN Observer Corps Member Cindy Holker
HF 204 - Enable electronic signature feature of electronic poll books. Currently once an election judge checks a voter in, an oath gets printed off and voter signs. This would allow signature electronically. Testimony was all in favor, including the Secretary of State's office and Max Hailperin, an election judge, who gave a presentation on how this would help efficiency and prevention of mistakes. The bill was passed unanimously to the general register (which means that the House could bring it to a floor vote). Companion bill (SF285) passed the Senate Elections Committee with all Republicans voting no. In discussion today, it was noted that a voter has a choice to sign electronically or to sign by hand. This was not in the Senate bill and was part of the resistance so may have been updated.
HF 799 - Employers must allow employees time off to vote without penalty. This currently is the law for Election Day. This bill extends to the early voting period. Testimony was all positive. Republican discussion and request that it be made clear that you can only vote once (DFL did not agree to amend the wording). They also pointed out that employers have rights and that an employee should be able to find a nonworking time to vote during the 46 day early voting period. Bill was passed onto the general register along party lines.
HF 642 (Companion bill above) - Election of president should be via National Popular Vote. This effort needs a majority of electoral college votes to make it happen. 15 states have so far voted this in. In contrast to the Senate Elections Committee on this issue (see above) where there were a number of testifiers against the Bill, the House had only one person testify against the Bill, the rest were in favor. Republicans had many objections to the bill for various reasons, but focused on combining rank choice voting states with states like MN and what an issue that could be to declare a winner. Republicans also asked to have the bill tabled for further discussion but this was voted down. Bill was passed to the general register along party line vote.
Senate Elections - Thursday, February 2
LWVMN Observer Corps Member Pamela Anne Mercier
SF 3 (Boldon), Democracy for the People Act. Three Articles: Article 1 or "Strengthening the Freedom to Vote" - includes proposals to restore the right to felons on probation or parole when they are no longer incarcerated, to allow eligible 16 and 17 year olds to preregister to vote, to create a system for automatic voter registration, and to allow eligible citizens to join a permanent absentee voter list, automatically receiving an absentee ballot before each election without completing an absentee ballot application for each election.; Article 2 describes proposals intended to "Protect Voters and Our Election System". The first section describes the duties of the Secretary of State to provide translated voting instructions and sample ballots in languages other than English, as well as the services of an election judge who is a certified translator in districts that request such a translator. Section 2 contains proposed rules to prevent voter intimidation and interference with the voting process and penalties resulting from noncompliance with these rules.; Article 3 focuses on proposals to "Modernize Campaign Finance System to Empower Voters and Increase Disclosure of Secret Spending". The intention of the proposed amendments to Minnesota statutes in this Article is to reduce the influence of so-called "dark money" and corporations in Minnesota politics. Amendments include revisions in the definition of campaign contributions, revised requirements about "expressly advocating" for candidates in various campaign advertisements, and changes to campaign finance reporting. The bill would also create a public campaign funding program via “Democracy Dollars.” These coupons would be issued to eligible contributors who could use the coupons to make campaign contributions. Summary of Testimony: All of the testimony was strongly in favor of the bill, including Secretary of State Steve Simon. Secretary Simon spoke enthusiastically about the potential of the voting portions of the Act to significantly increase voter participation in Minnesota. Additionally, he reported that implementing these provisions would allow for better updating of voter data and smoother running of elections. Several other testifiers echoed Secretary Simon's support of the voting provisions of the bill. This included LWVMN Board Member Paul Huffman who claimed that passage of the bill would not only increase voter engagement but would also reduce the paperwork load of election workers and, thus, potentially decrease administrative errors. Representatives of several non-profits added their approval to the bill's voting provisions. One group's support focused on the potential positive impact on minority communities and allowing released black and brown felons to vote. Several groups' representatives stressed the importance of the youth vote and how this bill addresses this need to engage young people through its provision allowing 16 and 17 year olds to preregister. Several testifiers also spoke in support of Article 3. They claimed its provisions would diminish the influence of large donors and increase transparency about the origins of campaign financing. They stated emphatically that these reforms are needed in Minnesota. There were limited comments and questions from Legislators after the testimonies since the bill was tabled for another hearing next week.
Houe Session - Thursday, February 2
LWVMN Observer Corps Member Amy Caucutt
HF 28 (Frazier) Restore the Vote described in earlier reports passed 71-59 with 2 GOP votes (Myers and Nadeau), but not Baker and Garafalo who in an earlier legislature had actually been co-authors. Amendments by GOP members Novotny, Torkelson, and Engin mainly tried to carve out crimes for which felons on probation would not be eligible to vote. The effort was to make this bill look like a weak on crime bill instead of expanding access to our democracy as so many other red and blue states have done recently. Rep. Frazier offered amendments to the amendments which nullified that, so that original amendment authors either withdrew their amendments or hoped that the frazier efforts would be ruled out of order. There was much drama as the parties jousted back and forth on parliamentary procedure. GOP speakers attempted to shame the DFL for these actions without success as votes were on party lines. There were some amazing speeches on democracy that would make League members proud! (For example, Alicia Kozlowski (08B, DFL) at 1:57:00) (Note: Companion, SF26, passed the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee this morning and was referred to Finance); SF13- Juneteenth as a holiday- passed 126-1; HF50 (Lands bill, Hansen) passed 128-0
Senate Education Policy - Wednesday, February 1
LWVMN Observer Corps Members Kathleen Oganovic and Cathy Thom
Kathleen: SF 449 - Presented by Senator Heather Gustafson (DFL -36) / Three Testifiers who spoke about the escalating need for comprehensive school mental health service lead positions to support the mental health needs of students and teachers. A few positive comments from the Committee. SF 619 - Presented by Senator Mary Kunesh (DFL - New Brighton) / All 10 testifiers spoke passionately about the need for the Teachers of Color Act. The most inspiring testifiers were a 4th grader, a senior and a junior. Dr. Elena Bailey spoke about the lack of correlation between success in passing licensing exams as a good predictor of good teachers and Megan Addiola spoke about students' right to wear Native American regalia at graduation ceremonies. Both Senator Zach Duckworth (R - 57) and Senator Jim Abeler (R- 35) indicated that they supported the bill with multiple questions and comments for Sen. Kunesh that were seen as not helpful. Both bills were approved and sent on to Finance.
Cathy: SF619, TESTIFIERS: a. Sarah Lancaster, Teacher, Onamia School District, 2022 MN Teacher of the Year - She is the only licensed teacher of color in her district. It is very isolating, and is reminiscent of the isolation she felt as a Native American child with only white teachers. Parents and students of color often express gratitude when they have teachers in the classroom who "look like them." There are too few, and many of those teachers of color who begin teaching leave the profession after just a few years. b. Azomali Obisakin, 4th grade student, St. Paul Public Schools - She said that she felt very uncomfortable in her old school in rural Minnesota, where she was the only student of color, and her bus driver, principal, and teachers, who were all white, could not understand and rather than addressing any problems with white students who expressed racism to her, they instead congratulated her on her own responses to stick up for herself, and left it at that. In her school in St Paul, where there are more students and staff of color, these types of issues are more promptly and thoroughly addressed by adults and students of color are not left to fend for themselves. c. Sidarth Gazula, Minnesota Youth Council Rep, Student, Wayzata Public Schools - Testified that he has never been taught by a teacher who has the same heritage as him. Emphasized that current American history focuses excessively on white people's experiences. That is changing, but not quickly enough. It is alienating and decreases engagement of students of color. Increasing the number of courses about the experiences of Americans of color, and the number of teachers of color to teach those classes, will be beneficial to students of color and white students alike. d. Marsara Dunbar, Minnesota Youth Council Rep, Student, Parnassus Preparatory School - Outside of school, Ms Dunbar is surrounded by many people of color, but that changes when she goes to school. There are students of color, but staff are nearly all white, particularly teachers. Increasing the number of teachers of color would benefit BIPOC students and BIPOC teachers, who can support each other and inspire each other to train and apply for leadership positions. Representation matters, and during the aftermath of George Floyd's murder, it would have been very helpful to students like to have more teachers of color to help them process, understand, and move forward during such traumatic events. e. Janet Freeberg-Lawson, Teacher, Osseo Area Schools (Hybrid) - English Teacher at Park Center High School who testified that she does not have many colleagues of color, and it is very isolating. She teaches many students of color, but she herself as a teacher of color does not have the professional support she needs. She believes that much of this isolation is why many teachers of color leave the profession at such high rates. And the lack of teachers of color becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because not experiencing having teachers of color means that few students of color will aspire to be teachers. Also a factor is the lack of respect and low pay that teachers currently receive. f. Kimyatta Lewis, Teacher Candidate, MSU-Mankato (Hybrid) - Special Education Teacher of 16 years, now becoming fully licensed as a teacher. Students of color of all abilities lament to her and ask her why there are so few teachers and other staff of color in their schools. She said that her reluctance to pursue a full teaching license was due to a lack of mentors, and a lack of funding. Now she has enrolled under a grant program for aspiring teachers of color that is making the pursuit of becoming a fully licensed special ed teacher possible for her. g. Shannon Geshick, Executive Director, MN Indian Affairs - Testified that increasing the number of teachers of color is a top priority of her organization. Said that it is key to closing the state's wide achievement gap between white students and students of color, particularly indigenous students, who have the lowest average achievement rates. The bipartisan support for the bill has been encouraging, but the sense of urgency is increasing, and the bill needs to be passed into law now, because achievement gaps and mental health issues in the wake of COVID-19 are increasing at greater rates. Students need teachers who understand racial and generational trauma. h. Katya Zepeda, Legislative and Policy Director of Education, MN Council on Latino Affairs - Testified that research clearly shows how beneficial having teachers of color is to the achievement and mental health of students of color. She urged prioritization of this bill's passage this year. i. Professional Education Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) representative Yelena Bailey spoke in favor of the bill. She emphasized that there are specific requirements, goals, and reporting built into the bill, and it allows for coordination of efforts across the state - currently attempts to increase teachers of color are isolated and scattered around the state. Emphasized that PELSB fully supports the removal of teacher licensure exam requirements that are onerous and serve as barriers to fully licensing teachers of color who have completed teacher prep programs. The Teacher Prep and Mentoring Grant is crucial and effective, and increasing support for it is in the bill. j. Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) representative, Adosh Unni, spoke in favor of the bill, emphasizing that it aligns with bills in the past, and with Gov Walz's own education proposals for this legislative session. She also thanked Senator Kunesh for accepting the A1 amendment (prohibiting schools from using American Indian mascots and allowing Native American students to wear tribal regalia during graduation ceremonies) as it was proposed by MDE itself after consultation with Native American communities around the state. She testified that all of these measures are "far past due." We have made some progress, but it's so far quite small and not going quickly enough. Larger investments and policy changes are necessary. MEMBER DISCUSSION: Senator Duckworth (R - Lakeville) - Gave a shout out to former Senator Chuck Wiger, who championed this bill in the past. He then listed some past efforts, such as "Grow Your Own," that have been implemented in the past. This bill strengthens, coordinates, and adds to those. But he suspects that the bill as a whole has not passed yet because of the "curriculum aspects of it." He asked if those curriculum elements would have to go through the same process as other curriculum changes/reviews do. Senator Kunesh said that another bill for ethnic studies will put that curriculum through the usual legislative and MDE review processes. The other requirement simply requires that all other curriculum, when it comes up for regular review, be screened for elements that may not be inclusive enough, and elements can be both removed and added as necessary via that regular review process. Senator Kunesh also clarified that there are protections required that teachers cannot be discriminated against or disciplined simply for teaching ethnic studies or incorporating material from people who belong from a protected class. MDE Rep. added clarification that curriculum is what districts put together at the local level, and MDE puts together the standards. The standards are benchmarks, the curriculum is the means of teaching those benchmark standards. MDE does do some model programming, but those are quite specific and limited in scope, and the vast majority of curricular choices are made by local districts. This bill would not change that MDE would set ethnic studies standards, and local districts would choose their own curriculum materials to fit the standards for their own students. Senator Duckworth added that further licensure requirement relaxation beyond just waiving exam requirements is also a way to increase teachers of color that are not included in this bill. Senator Abeler (R - Anoka) praised the bill and said that it should be renamed "Teachers of Color Act - We Mean It," because so many efforts have been quite limited and piecemeal in nature. He reiterated Senator Duckworth's comments about teacher licensure, emphasizing that what teachers of color we have are currently in Tiers 1 & 2, the tiers who have not yet completed teacher prep programs, and they get stuck there and don't progress to Tiers 3 and 4, and we need to do more with the licensing standards to help with that. He also suggested a few minor language changes for clarity, brevity, and to be less "inflammatory" without the use of a few select words such as "anti-racist," and the phrase "favor white people." Not that these aren't valid concepts, but they can be divisive and make the bill a nonstarter for certain folks who might otherwise support it. Senator Kunesh said that the language was chosen by constituents of color, and asking for language choices is another form of "whitewashing" the bill and soft-pedaling to make certain white people feel better, because those reactions simply shows that these problems still exist, and that is exactly why the bill is necessary. Senator Grant Hauschild (DFL - Hermantown) expressed strong support for the A1 amendment given the history of the frequent misuse of Native symbols as mascots. He went to a university in North Dakota with a Native American mascot that has since been replaced. Senator Maye Quade (DFL - Apple Valley) said as a black woman she never had any black teachers herself, and her parents had to be her teachers about the history of Americans of color, particularly Black history because she never learned any of it in school. She said she never thought about becoming a teacher because she thought that people who look like her didn't become teachers because none existed in her educational experience.
Joint House Commerce & Health Finance & Policy Committees - Monday, January 30
LWVMN Observer Corps Member Cathy Thom
Fairview and Sanford Health Proposed Merger: University of Minnesota - Myron Franz from the U of MN spoke against the inclusion of the Univ of MN Hospital and Clinic system within the merger with Sanford because it could harm its quality as a teaching and research institution. The Univ of MN wants to have the merger delayed until an alternative plan can be constructed for the Univ of MN medical facilities. Feb 1st is the first meeting with Sanford in regard for those discussions. Attorney General Ellison echoed the concerns of Franz and the Univ, saying that the merger should focus on doing things right over doing things quickly. Said that first notification of the merger was only given to him in October 2022, less than 90 days ago, and 60 days after the parties first notified the Univ of MN of the merger. The companies' executives are pushing for a merger resolution by March 31, 2023. AG Ellison's office has since been researching the merger to see if it violates the law and/or if it would be harmful to the state of MN, especially since there may be antitrust concerns, and because it deals with assets owned by the state of MN and a public institution which possesses a crucial public mission, with hundreds of employees. AG Ellison said there are still robust internal & external investigations currently going on in regard to these issues regarding the merger, which also calls for a need to delay. Bill Gassen from Sanford Health testified about Sanford Health and how its merger with Fairview would be good for Fairview, the University of MN, and the state of MN. A Fairview Executive also testified in favor of the merger, and together they tried to assure the joint committee that the teaching and research aspects of the Univ of MN hospital and clinics would be preserved. Minnesota Nurses Association - Two nurses testified who work at hospitals acquired by Fairview and both said that they do not put “patients before profits”. Pointed out that Fairview closed two hospitals in the middle of the pandemic due to profit concerns. Spoke against the merger because they feel that Sanford has too much of a focus on rural hospitals, many of which they have closed after acquiring them, and that Sanford will only honor recent union contracts through next November, with no guarantees they won't drive the unions out altogether within the Fairview system once the merger is complete. SEIU Healthcare - Same concerns, but with an added emphasis on employee treatment and patient care concerns. Understaffing, decreased patient and employee safety is a concern and has been an issue with Fairview, according to them, and could exacerbate with the merger.
Informational hearing, no action will be taken, but the Committee Chair (Rep. Stephenson -DFL - Coon Rapids) urged the companies to ditch the March 31st target date written into their contract, but they answered not committing to the delay but would consider it. That answer provoked a statement of disappointment and Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL - Rochester) said she also questioned whether or not Sanford would be committed to upholding legal and care standards in regard to Minnesota patients, such as abortion, transgender, and other care that varies from state to state. A Sanford executive assured Rep. Liebling that those guarantees would be written into the by-laws, contracts, and care covenants. Rep. Kotyza-Witthuhn (49B, DFL) expressed concern that past merger data shows that health care industry consolidation results in increased care costs. She also expressed concerns about abortion care in Minnesota v. what is allowed in North Dakota. Rep. Kraft (DFL -St. Louis Park) - Pointed out that it is concerning that the Fairview/Sanford corporate folks are asking for legislative support for the merger while still having 80% of Univ of MN admin, faculty, and staff strongly opposing it. The legal team responded saying that the board would have representatives from all entities, saying that due to the existing Fairview agreement which lasts through 2026, Sanford cannot dictate what happens with the University medical facilities in the aftermath of the merger. He then refocused on Sanford Health's need for sustainable models and plans for rural MN hospitals. Rep. Quam (R - Byron) - Compared health care to agricultural consolidation, saying that each merger claims it is necessary for economic sustainability. The Fairview exec replied that bed capacity is not the problem, staffing shortages and patient access to certain types of acute and specialty care are. He also took aim at the insurance industry for playing a large role in driving up costs. The Sanford exec added that more combined resources will be able to invest in artificial intelligence and virtual care across both systems. Rep. O'Driscoll (R - Sartell) - Asked the Fairview exec if they have considered a merger with a Minnesota-based entity rather than Sanford. The Fairview exec said no - because that would involve too much overlap and would be flagged by the FTC for that. There is not as much overlap with Sanford, which makes it a better merger for Fairview within their nonprofit business model. Rep. O'Driscoll asked AG Ellison about the "footprint overlap" and if what they were saying was true - that it would be an easier merger to approve than one that was completely within MN borders. AG Ellison said that is what his office is currently investigating, which is why they are counseling for delaying the March 31st deadline. He said that his main concern is antitrust/anti-competition violations. There is outstanding discovery to procure, and community meetings/hearings to hold, etc. It will also include an assessment of the current financial health of Fairview Health. Rep. Kaohly Vang Her (DFL - St Paul) expressed concern that non-profit hospitals are trending towards handing off their actual profit-making specialties/procedures to for-profit hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers (such as TCO), and then keep merging and closing more hospitals (she referenced the recent closure of St Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul). The Fairview Exec said that it is actually insurance payers who are pushing patients to go to those places for those procedures, because private specialty conglomerates can provide specialty ambulatory surgery centers at lower internal cost than nonprofit hospital systems can. Rep. Klevorn (DFL - Plymouth) expressed concern about the actual Univ of MN facilities and that the merger would actually provide Minnesotans a return on their investment in regard to Fairview's profits from them from public and private investment trusts as well as operating profits. They also have received tax benefits from them since 1997 due to not just their own nonprofit status, but also due to the special public institution status of the Univ of MN. The Fairview exec agreed to provide information on the merger's "fair market value" assessment of those facilities. Rep. Brad Tabke (DFL - Shakopee) asked what the companies are doing to address the concerns of faculty and staff from all Fairview system employees. The Fairview exec replied that they have several meetings still scheduled to address their concerns, and it continues to inform their planning and process. A lot of this process is simply answering their questions about details in regard to staffing, pay, benefits, scheduling, seniority, etc.
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Thank you to our Lobby and Observer Corps members for their advocacy! Please learn more at our 2023 Legislative Session Webpage and email Sam with any questions or suggestions for the Capitol Letter.