Rep. Debra Hilstrom (40B) – Legislative Update
Dear Neighbors,
We’re entering the final two weeks of the 2018 legislative session. In the past week or so, the Minnesota House has passed the majority’s major budget bills, as well as their tax bill. Each area of the state budget has been rolled into just four bills: 1) health and human services and transportation, 2) E-12 education and higher education, public safety (which got to stand on its own), and finally, 4) jobs and energy, agriculture, environment and natural resources, and state government finance.
I wanted to give you an update on the status of each of these:
E-12 and Higher Education
In the E-12 portion, much of the money was devoted to school safety improvements, including building renovations and added staff. Unfortunately, the bill had few other investments in Minnesota students. It doesn’t fund voluntary preK beyond next school year and doesn’t address school districts’ growing special education costs due to a lack of state and federal support.
Gov. Dayton this week announced a plan for Emergency School Aid to help school districts. The plan would deliver $137.9 million in one-time Emergency School Aid for school districts across Minnesota. This represents a two percent school funding increase in the coming year amounting to an additional $126 for every student in Minnesota
Many districts including Osseo, Anoka-Hennepin and Robbinsdale are facing significant shortfalls. If we’re going to expect our schools to deliver the world-class education Minnesota families are accustomed to we need to make sure they have the resources to do it. The proposal will go a long way to make sure more of our young people have the opportunity to achieve in the classroom.
The Higher Education part of the bill does little to address high tuition or student loan debt, with just $4 million of new funding for the Minnesota State system and a paltry $500,000 for the University of Minnesota. We have to do better than this.
Health and Human Services and Transportation
The bulk of this bill was funding to prevent a pending seven percent rate cut to providers of services to people with disabilities. This pending cut was due to the Trump administration ignoring recent funding increases Minnesota has made for direct service providers. Otherwise the bill was notable for what it didn’t include, namely, stronger protections for seniors and other vulnerable adults, no “penny a pill” fee on pharmaceutical manufacturers to end our opioid crisis, and little in the way of child care assistance.
In the transportation piece, while it had $101 million for the Minnesota Department of Transportation and $250 million in Trunk Highway Bonds, it earmarked specific projects in certain legislators’ districts but not for our district.
It also lacked any new investments in transit. It also failed to deliver any more funding to fix the MNLARS driver and vehicle licensing system.
Public Safety
As the lead-DFL member of the Public Safety and Security Finance and Policy Committee I have been successful in adding a few things to this bill. $3.6 million for the guardian ad litem program was included. This will help kids who may be victims of abuse or neglect navigate the court system. It left out some critical funding, including the constitutionally required 2019 contract for inmate health care. This would mean cuts to other areas in the Department of Corrections. At a time of increased assaults on guards this is the wrong direction. Treatment and prevention funding for the opioid epidemic recommended by Gov. Dayton and sponsored by our own Senator Eaton was also left out of the bill.
Jobs/Energy, Agriculture, Environment/Natural Resources, State Government
This was a 334 page bill, the title of which was over two pages alone due to the number of areas of law affected, that contained many troubling provisions. Gov. Dayton’s budget commissioner outlined their concerns with the bill in a letter here indicating it would likely be headed for a veto.
My concerns about the bill include weakened environmental policy, cuts to various job creation programs, and a 30 percent cut to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. A provision was also included to give the Legislature the power to micromanage funds from the recent settlement Attorney General Lori Swanson earned from 3M for their decades of dumping harmful chemicals. This money should be going to environmental cleanup in the affected areas in the east metro to ensure residents have clean drinking water, and not serve as a slush fund for the Legislature. If signed into law, this piece could threaten the settlement itself.
Taxes
A bipartisan priority this session is to conform our state tax code with the federal code following passage of the Trump administration’s tax bill last fall. It’s important to do so in a way that protects families and is fair to everyone. The winners under the federal bill were clearly corporations and the wealthiest, so it’s important to many of us that this session’s tax bill benefit everyday Minnesotans. Unfortunately, the majority’s tax bill was again focused on corporations, with double the tax cut for them than what was included for individuals.
The next major bill to be considered will be the Capital Investment Bonding Bill to fund public infrastructure improvements. The first hearing was held on the House majority’s bill today, which invests $825 million, just over half of the $1.5 billion Governor Dayton proposed. With low interest rates we have the opportunity to make investments in our communities while creating good-paying jobs.
Please keep in contact with your input. It’s an honor to represent you.
Sincerely,
Debra Hilstrom
State Representative