Dear neighbors,
Only a few days remain in the 2017 legislative session, and a budget solution seems elusive. All budget issues remain unresolved with the exception of agriculture. Compromise is needed to pass a budget to fund Minnesota into the future, but unfortunately, Republicans have been unwilling to stay at the negotiating table and meet in the middle.
As we go into negotiations over the weekend, I wanted to give you a quick update:
Budget Process
Going into the weekend, there are three possible outcomes:
- Finish on time – Republican leaders and Gov. Mark Dayton could come to a compromise by Monday and fund the state government for the next two years.
- Go to a special session – If we cannot reach an agreement by Monday, the Governor will need to call a special session to pass a budget before June 30th.
- Government shutdown – If no budget is passed by June 30th, the government will shut down, threatening the closure of parks and agencies across the state.
Victory on Real ID
If you’ve been following the debate about Real ID in Minnesota, you’ll know that we face a deadline of 2018 to upgrade our driver’s licenses to be Real ID compliant for Minnesotans to continue boarding domestic flights with their IDs.
Both Republicans and Democrats agreed that we needed to make this fix. Unfortunately, Republicans originally inserted some poisonous language that would have prevented some immigrants from earning driver’s licenses, thus causing the bill to stall. Though that was an important debate, there was no need for it to be tied to the fate of Real ID.
This week, thanks to the hard work of activists across the state, Republicans finally agreed to take the anti-immigrant language out of the bill. And unsurprisingly, the clean bill sailed through the House and the Senate and was quickly signed by the Governor.
Minnesota will begin issuing Real ID compliant licenses in October 2018, though you will now be able to use your existing driver’s license (provided it doesn’t expire) until 2020 to board flights.
High Quality Teachers
The teacher licensure bill passed out of the House on Tuesday, lessening Minnesota’s rigorous teaching standards that have allowed us to build a nation-leading education system. This is the biggest change to our teacher licensure process in decades and is very controversial. Ultimately, the Governor vetoed the legislation.
The bill would have changed licensing requirements, let school districts change their process for renewing licenses, and paved the way for retired teachers with out-of-state teaching licenses to teach in Minnesota without any formal training.
Minnesota values our teachers. Our kids can learn from a variety of teachers – with a mix of practical and classroom skills – but we must insist that they are learning from those who have attained the training needed to provide the best education possible.
While Minnesota faces a teacher shortage, a better approach to solving it would be to fully fund our schools and ensure that every school, in every corner of Minnesota, has the resources needed to give Minnesota kids an excellent education. Education has made Minnesota a leader, but we won’t continue to lead by lowering our standards. That’s why I’ll continue to fight to fully fund our schools.
Rep. Peggy Flanagan
309 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155