WEEK Two: Friday, Jan. 18
Hello Friends and Neighbors,
The second week of the 2019 session kicked off with a legislative press forum with Governor Walz and the four leaders from the Senate and House. There were also a number of press conferences on issues ranging from distracted driving, how the state is dealing with the federal shutdown, and legalizing recreational marijuana use.
The Minnesota Senate committees kicked into gear with a busy week of overviews and a few early bill hearings. Some of the topics under discussion included Health and Human Services fraud prevention investigations, disability waivers, energy storage, education budgets, a farm and agriculture overview, a hearing on disease affecting our deer population, prison sentencing modifications, and an overview on our November budget forecast.
Governor Walz and all four legislative caucuses expressed their commitment to pass some non-controversial bills early in the session, so legislative action is expected to ramp up in the coming weeks. Let’s stay involved and do this together.
In the Senate
State leaders provide insight into the 2019 Legislative Session
Governor Tim Walz, along with Senate DFL Leader Tom Bakk, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, Speaker Melissa Hortman, and House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt participated in the annual State Capitol Forum News Service’s press briefing earlier this week. The leaders were optimistic about passing a number of bills that have bipartisan support fairly early in the session.
Some of the issues leaders agreed could gain early passage include legislation dealing with opioid addiction, elder abuse, and distracted driving. Other legislation such as Restore the Vote, new gun laws, and tax conformity may take more time.
The leaders discussed the likelihood of passing tax conformity this session. Senator Bakk emphasized the DFL Senate is committed to passing a version of tax conformity that does not jeopardize Minnesota’s long-term fiscal stability for the sake of short-term funding.
There were differing views on passing new gun laws. DFL leaders and Governor Walz support background checks on most gun purchases and closing the so-called gun show loophole which allows patrons attending gun shows to sell guns to each other without background checks. Only dealers at gun shows are currently required to run a background check when selling a gun at the event.
Governor Walz and DFL leaders expressed support for restoring the vote while Republicans were lukewarm about the proposal. Minnesotans currently lose the right to vote until they have been released from supervision, including while they are living in the community, even if they never spent any time in prison or only served a short jail sentence.
Bipartisan ‘Hands-Free’ cell phone legislation introduced
Minnesota is one step closer to safer roads thanks to legislation introduced this week prohibiting cell phone use outside of one-touch communications. Modeled after laws present in 16 states and Washington D.C. the ‘hands-free’ cell phone bill would increase safety on Minnesota’s roads for drivers, passengers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
While current law already bans emailing, texting, and using a web browser while driving, this bill would require drivers to use their cell phones in a ‘hands-free’ mode only allowing voice activated commands or other actions that need one touch activation. A driver would not be required to use their phone or other device hands free if they are safely parked out of traffic or for emergencies. The bill would enact the same enforcement and penalties for using a cell phone outside of ‘hands-free’ mode.
Walz Administration plans for shut-down consequences
Governor Walz, Lt. Governor Flanagan, Attorney General Ellison, members from both parties, and leaders from the Minnesota faith community held a press conference this week regarding the federal shutdown and its effects on Minnesotans.
Various leaders expressed sentiments of solidarity, and sought to reassure the public that despite difficulties, Minnesotans would feel minimal impacts from the longest federal government shutdown in the nation’s history.
Governor Walz and his administration informed Minnesotans that this issue is an urgent, non-partisan priority for the state government.
The Walz Administration has already begun working to ensure that Minnesotans relying on SNAP and other services funded by federal grants are informed of any changes to their plan. Several religious leaders emphasized the priority of food aid, asking for help with difficulties faced due to a lack of funding for programs like SNAP, as well as in agriculture across the state.
Minnesota receives approximately $1 billion each month from the federal government across a variety of industries. Within the state government, there are about 3,000 state workers who are payed completely or partially by federal dollars. However, there have been no layoffs, benefits are still being paid, and no services have been stopped at this time. Recipients of food aid in Minnesota receive on average $110 per month, a number which several religious leaders stressed was insufficient.
The Walz Administration is committed to working with state and federal elected officials to guarantee that the federal government will fully reimburse the state of Minnesota, regardless of the longevity of the federal shutdown.
Opposing marijuana press conferences get heated
One high-level issue at the 2019-20 legislative session is reforming Minnesota’s laws on marijuana, including the potential for decriminalization or full legalization. Two competing press conferences were held this week – one to oppose and one to support legalization.
The first press conference, held by Smart Approaches to Marijuana Minnesota, opposes the further decriminalization and legalization of marijuana. The group has a wide range of professional and community service backgrounds and featured comments from health professionals and members of law enforcement who have economic, safety, and health concerns of commercialized marijuana use.
The second press conference, held by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), has taken a position that with regulation marijuana legalization can be a major positive for Minnesota and is currently working with legislators in both the Senate and the House on crafting legislation that legalizes recreational marijuana use. Another pro-marijuana organization, Minnesota Campaign for Full Legalization, held its own news conference, which attempted to further counter many of the claims made by opponents.
Education Policy Committee Work
A bipartisan coalition of senators introduced a series of reforms this week to strengthen Minnesota’s special education policies, put the focus back on students, keep teachers in the classroom, and save school districts money in the process. The reforms are designed to reduce burdensome administrative requirements for teachers of special education services to give them more time in the classrooms with their students and less time on paperwork.
If enacted, the reforms expect to save teachers up to fifty-two hours of paperwork per student every year, or up to nineteen weeks for a class of fifteen students. Supporters say the bills will make a real impact by providing students more personal interaction with their teachers and help those teachers focus on meeting students’ needs. This is why I spoke in support of these reforms because our students are best served when their teachers are at their side.
In Committee
New education commissioner introduced, E-12 overview presented
Mary Catheryn Ricker, Governor Walz’s choice for education commissioner, introduced herself and outlined priorities to the Education Committee at its first meeting this week. Committee members heard a brief overview of education finance and a run down of the November forecast.
The Education Finance and Policy Committees have now been rolled into one committee with 12 members, five of who are DFLers. This committee will hear both finance and policy education bills this session and handle all education confirmations. Commissioner Ricker’s appearance before the committee was brief and was not a part of any potential confirmation hearings. She is a national board-certified middle school English teacher, most recently teaching in St. Paul. She has served as executive vice president of the American Federation of Teachers and as president of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers.
Senate fiscal staff provided a brief overview of education finance and the November forecast numbers. Some quick statistics: almost 65% of education programs are funded by the state; 30% is local and just over 5% is federal funding. E-12 education is the largest part of the state budget at 41.3%. Education funding will increase by 4% in FY22-23 because of policy decisions such as a formula increase, growth in the number of students and various transfers.
Energy Committee approves energy storage bill
The Energy and Utilities Committee heard and approved a bill this week that takes a good first step toward deployment of energy storage in Minnesota.
Similar to legislation that was considered last year that had held bipartisan support, the bill allows public utilities to recover costs of implementing energy storage system pilot projects, and requires them to include in their resource planning an assessment of how the deployment of energy storage systems contributes to meeting their needs. The bill calls for $150,000 from the renewable development account for an energy storage systems cost-benefit analysis.
The pilot projects will provide valuable information that can be used when planning future storage projects while the integrated resource planning portion of the bill will help to ensure that storage is considered along with other forms of generation and capacity. The cost-benefit study will be useful in analyzing how energy storage should be added to the overall energy mix.
Energy advocates argue that energy storage is critical in helping to modernize Minnesota’s electric grid while increasing the state’s attractiveness as a leader in energy storage development. The bill will be considered next by the Energy Finance Committee. (S.F. 100)
Environment Finance Committee gets update on Chronic Wasting Disease
The Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee heard this week from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources about the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal brain disease found in the cervid family: deer, moose, and elk. CWD is a highly contagious neurological disease that persists in the environment and can be spread within a short time after exposure, although symptoms may take up to three years to show up.
Caused by mutated proteins called prions, CWD can be spread not only by infected live deer, but by contaminated body fluids and parts from deer that are long dead. Until the 2018 deer hunting season there were 17 confirmed cases of CWD found in Minnesota’s wild deer herd. To date, the DNR has found 36 CWD-positive deer in Minnesota, with 35 of those found in the southeast surveillance zone in Houston, Winona, and Fillmore Counties. Nationwide, CWD is confirmed in 25 states and two provinces, with parts of southern Wisconsin indicating that more than 50% of wild deer are infected with CWD.
Minnesota wildlife officials are working hard to slow the spread of CWD among wild deer in the state’s southeastern counties, trying to keep CWD confined to a few captive deer farms and relatively small areas of wild deer habitat. Special landowner hunts were held in December and early January, and a special hunt will be held January 25 and February 1 in portions of Winona and Houston counties to kill and test more deer.
To date, an estimated $1.3 million has been spent from the DNR’s Game and Fish funds last year on surveillance and prohibitions on carcass transportation, feeding, and other activities in an effort to control the spread of the disease. Efforts are focused on counties in central and southeast Minnesota.
November forecast update
The November forecast projected a $1.5 billion budgetary balance for FY 2020-21. Roughly half ($720 million) of this balance was carried over from FY 2018-19. As a result, the structural balance for FY 2020-21 is approximately $870 million.
Since the November forecast was published, a monthly update has been released by Minnesota Management and Budget which reduced the November forecast revenue numbers by $102 million for the months of November and December. The rationale for the reduction is a projected decrease in annual growth related to equity values and rhetoric from the White House. Due to the timing of the publication the impact of the federal government shutdown was not factored into the forecast, but there is an expectation that the shutdown may have a modest drag on GDP.
The Legislature and Governor Walz will have a more concrete idea of the resources available for the upcoming session when the February forecast is released at the beginning of March.
U of M, Minn State outline budget requests for Higher Education Committee
The University of Minnesota and Minn State this week outlined their biennial budget requests at the first meeting of the Higher Education Committee of the session.
Higher education funding has taken budget hits over the past few years. Last session the committee saw $1 million re-appropriated from other programs and zero additional funding for the U of M. Minn State has fared better but still has made budget cuts due to insufficient funding.
Minn State is requesting $246 million for the coming biennium which is a 17% increase. Minn State is promising a tuition freeze if it receives this funding:
- $37 million for an ISRS Next Gen technology infrastructure project
- $169 million for quality programming and to cover 3% inflationary costs
- $25 million in targeted financial support
- $15 million to address workforce gaps
The University of Minnesota is requesting an additional $87 million, which is a 7% increase. The U of M is hoping to limit tuition increases to 2%. The additional funding would go to staff salary increases, student financial support through the U’s core mission, and enhancing student services such as mental health services and classroom upgrades. The U of M is not promising a tuition freeze this session.
The U of M and Minn State will likely also ask for capital improvement money this session.
The Human Services Reform Committee gets off to a fast start on anti-fraud measures
Senate Republicans have made preventing fraud in the state’s public programs a central piece of their legislative agenda for the session. Lawmakers on the Human Services Reform Committee spent their first meeting hearing legislation stuffed full of provisions intended to prevent fraud in programs like health care, child care, and housing support. The bill attempts to strengthen program integrity measures and give state and local officials better tools to conduct oversight and hold those who commit fraud accountable.
Members of the committee agreed that combating fraud is a necessary part of making sure taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly, but such a large and significant piece of legislation will require more time and discussion to make sure these changes do not prevent people from accessing the care and help they need. The bill was referred to the Family Care and Aging Committee and is expected to return to the Human Services Reform Committee for additional work. (SF 4)
Proposal to reverse the 7% cut gets a second chance
The federal government notified Minnesota last year that it would not help fund rate increases to providers of services for people with disabilities. As a result, the Department of Human Services stopped paying the rate increases and providers experienced a 7% cut. The Legislature originally passed these increases to help providers pay their staff better wages and ensure people with disabilities get quality care. Lawmakers stepped in last session to reverse the cut, but Republicans included the fix in their 990-page supplemental budget bill that was vetoed by the governor.
“Thank you Senator Abler and Senator Hoffman for our first Senate Hearing on SF 6 – our bill to restore the 7% cut.”
Legislators and advocates are trying again this year with new legislation to reverse cut. Two proposals were heard in the Human Services Reform Committee on Thursday that take different approaches to restoring the funding based on total cost. Both bills had to be laid over until lawmakers have more information when the state’s budget picture becomes clear in February. (SF6, SF92)
Changes proposed for Minnesota sentencing guidelines
The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission this week presented proposed guideline changes to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Guidelines Commission is tasked with rational and consistent sentencing standards for criminals that promote public safety, reduce sentencing disparities, and ensure that sanctions imposed for felony convictions are proportional to the severity of the offense and the offender’s criminal history.
The proposed guideline changes aim to improve the calculation of criminal history scores as well as add a sentencing enhancement for second or severe violent offenses. The proposed changes will go into effect on August 1, 2019 unless the legislature takes action otherwise.
Upcoming Events
Join Representatives Zack Stephenson, Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and I for two Town Halls at the end of January!
Legislative Town Hall Friday January 25th
Where: Margaret Place Senior Apartments 1555 118th Lane NW, Coon rapids
When: 5:00 pm
Legislative Town Hall Saturday January 26th
Where: Hennepin County Library Brooklyn Park 8500 W. Broadway Avenue
When: 10:00 am
It is my greatest honor to represent you the citizens of Brooklyn Park, Champlin and Coon Rapids here at our great state capitol. In addition to representing you, I absolutely enjoy it when you come visit. So come on down, reach out and tell me what matters to you so I can continue working on your behalf. You can reach me by email at sen.john.hoffman@senate.mn, phone by 651-296-4154 or just stop by. I am at 95 University Avenue Suite 2231 in the Minnesota Senate Building. A hello from Senator John Hoffman.
Sincerely,
Senator John Hoffman