Hello friends and constituents and welcome to week two of the 2018 session. I enjoyed the company of many constituents visiting our Capitol and talking with me about matters important to all of us. I enjoyed talking with students from Anoka Hennepin Tech High School on the Senate floor and showing them the renovation of the Capitol including the once sealed up former Supreme Court Dining room.
This past Wednesday, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released a new forecast that projects a $329 million budget surplus for the current biennium. I want to remind you that less than 10 years ago, Minnesota faced a $6 billion budget deficit including one that I had to face my freshman year. As you recall the previous legislation shifted funds that should have gone directly to our school districts forcing them to borrow the money to provide education. I believed then and now that forcing districts to borrow money that we, the tax payer, pay and promised to our students is wrong. We should never hold our students hostage to Governments inability to balance a budget in a real manner. However, the remarkable fiscal turnaround for our State was and is due in large part to a prudent decision made by Governor Dayton and DFL lawmakers to raise income taxes by 2% on the richest 2% of Minnesotans in 2013 indicating a more fair way of percentage of taxes paid.
State lawmakers are now tasked with determining what to do with the budget surplus. Options include passage of a supplemental budget, adding savings to the state’s rainy-day fund, financing a bonding bill, or leaving the money on the state’s bottom line. I am interested in your thoughts on this as we know if we aren’t careful and fiscally vigilant, we could be right back to that deficit we inherited. What we do know is that federal tax reform and ongoing dysfunction in a Republican-controlled Congress created a lot of uncertainty for state finances. Senate DFL Leader Tom Bakk urged Minnesotans to be cautious in reacting to the new budget figures, adding that state lawmakers should not “over commit” and instead take prudent steps to ensure a structurally balanced budget.
Take a look at Governor Dayton’s comments regarding renewable energy in Minnesota with facts and an encouragement for us in the State to take it to the next level.
I welcome your comments and suggestions and as always I invite you to bring your family and visit me and our Great State Capitol. Have a great beginning to March.
Sincerely,
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Senator John Hoffman
February forecast provides cautionary optimism
Minnesota Management and Budget released the state’s February forecast this week. The forecast projected a positive balance of $329 million for the current biennium. The change is a positive swing of $518 million from the November forecast. The fluctuation is due to an increase of $353 million in revenue and $167 million less in government spending than what was previously projected.
Governor Dayton and legislators will use the data published in the February forecast to develop their respective budgets. It is expected Governor Dayton will release his budget on March 15, at which point the legislature will examine his proposals and develop its own priorities. Once the legislative proposals go through the formal hearing process negotiations on supplemental bills will start in earnest.
Minnesota named second strongest state in America
Minnesota is the second-best state in the country, according to the 2018 Best States study from US News and World Report. They evaluated all 50 states on a range of criteria, from education and health care to infrastructure and the economy, to capture how states best serve their citizens. Last year Minnesota was named third; this year we moved up in the ranking to number two. A number of benchmarks brought Minnesota to the top States in the Union, including having a high quality of life and opportunity for our citizens. High quality of life looked at metrics such as clean drinking water, pollution, voter participation, and community engagement. Opportunity looked at metrics such as education and income inequality. Other important benchmarks Minnesota scored well on include a high median income, strong home ownership rate, and good high school graduation rates. So the state that ranked number 1 is Iowa.. What?
New high school graduation rates
Investing in our children and teachers has proven to be successful. The Minnesota Department of Education this week announced that in 2017, Minnesota students posted the highest rates graduation rates on record—82.7%. It is great news that high school graduation rates are up and measures show achievement gaps are slowly closing in some areas. This session, a focus on smarter student testing, school safety enhancements, full service community school investments, and teacher diversity and quality programs will help us move the graduation rate needle upwards even faster.
Although graduation rates for our black students have increased 12.9% points—a 25% increase—since 2012, there are still too many students who are not receiving a high school diploma. I am committed to working to ensure all students in Brooklyn Park, Coon Rapids and Champlin have equitable opportunities and receive the support they need to graduate. We need to double down our efforts to provide low-income and minority children access to quality early-learning programs to improve their school readiness.
Training requirement would help teachers address student dyslexia needs
A bill requiring Minnesota teachers renewing their teaching licenses to take training to understand dyslexia and identify and access professional services to address it in Minnesota students was heard in the Education Committee this week. The Professional Educators and Standards Licensing Board would be required to adopt rules requiring additional reading preparation standards in dyslexia for teachers renewing a Tier 3 or 4 license. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus education policy bill.
Last session, $247,000 was appropriated to MDE to pay for a dyslexia specialist position to help schools and teachers with information and support to aid children with dyslexia.
According to Decoding Dyslexia Minnesota, about 135,000 Minnesota school age children have dyslexia. A survey showed that 75% of teachers said they have not received training for teaching students with dyslexia.
Bill would enhance human trafficking prevention
Legislation that allows school districts to include child sexual prevention instruction in health curriculum had its first hearing this week. Districts would not be required to include the curriculum in their classroom programs.
This bill is in response to concerns that the Super Bowl could increase sex trafficking incidents, and to focus efforts to combat increased sex trafficking in Minnesota and across the country. Legislators were approached with the idea of the legislation by Jessica Melnik, a junior from Hopkins High School and founder of Girls United MN, after she and her friends observed one of their classmates being trafficked. She also worked closely with Beth Holger-Ambrose, executive director of The Link, to find a way to address the crisis of sex trafficking in schools.
According to testimony, Minnesota is the 13th largest human trafficking market with between 8,000-14,000 victims each year.
Photos and fingerprints
Legislation was heard this week to change the way Minnesota conducts background studies on children of daycare providers. In 2017, legislation on the state’s background study law required children age 13 through 17 who live in the home of a child care provider to have their fingerprints and photo taken as part of their background study. Minnesota has long required a background study for these individuals; however, previous studies included only basic identifying information.
The legislation eliminates the requirement that all children of daycare providers age 13 through 17 be fingerprinted and photographed as part of their background study. Instead, it permits the commissioner to require a background study that includes fingerprints and a photograph only when there is reasonable cause.
Supporters of this bill claim the language in the 2017 Omnibus HHS Bill was added late in the process without opportunity for stakeholder input. They also contend fingerprinting and photographing of all children of providers goes too far. Some child care providers are so strongly opposed to having their children fingerprinted and photographed they are declaring they may close down their daycare businesses if forced to comply.
Opponents argue that it makes sense to broadly define who is subject to an enhanced background study because children of child care providers may have unsupervised access to daycare children and it is an important way to ensure their safety.
The bill was approved by the Human Services Reform Committee and is moving on to the Judiciary Committee.
HMO quality of care investigations
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard a bill this week that has been the focus on an investigative story in the Star Tribune. When someone enrolled in an HMO plan suffers an injury or death in a health care setting, they or their family members can file a quality of care complaint that triggers an investigation into the circumstances that led to the problem. The results of those investigations are not available to those family members, leaving them without answers for their own peace of mind and not knowing whether they should pursue damages in court.
The bill would require HMOs to submit their results of quality of care investigations to the Department of Health where they would be redacted to remove confidential information. Supporters say they have a right to know results of investigations they request for peace of mind. Opponents say the quality of care investigation process relies on confidentiality to ensure the medical professionals reviewing the adverse outcome can remain candid and honest to continue to improve the quality of care they provide. The balance of the right to know and the need to preserve the integrity of the investigation process remains a sticking point, and the bill was laid on the table for the committee to potentially consider again later this session.
2017 Omnibus Pension Bill Reconsidered
The Pension Commission met Tuesday evening to overview the 2018 Omnibus Pension Bill. The major pension plan administrators testified in support of the bill and stakeholder testimony is scheduled for next week.
The bill is mostly comprised of the 2017 Omnibus Pension Bill that passed the Senate Floor unanimously last session but did not become law because it was combined with unrelated controversial provisions. The most significant change is the addition of pension adjustment revenue on the education formula to compensate school districts for the increased Teachers’ Retirement Association employer contributions required in the bill. The estimated cost is $32 million for this biennium.
The bill represents a shared sacrifice approach, with current public employees, employers, retirees, and the state contributing to ensure the long-term stability of Minnesota’s pension obligations. Now that the February forecast has been released, legislative leaders will need to determine whether the limited resources provided in the surplus should be used to shore up pension liabilities.
STEM Advocacy Day
People with Disabilities Day at the Capitol
Tuesday was People with Disabilities Day at the Capitol. A variety of groups collaborated to put this together including, The ARC of Minnesota, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, ACT, Autism Society of Minnesota, Brain Injury Alliance, and MOFAS. It was an honor to speak at the rally along with Sen Eken and Sen Abeler. Later on in the day I got a visit from two constituents, Taylor and Sam, who attended the rally. They didn’t have an appointment but I always make time out for visitors from the district. Feel free to stop by any time or call my Assistant Chris at 651-296-4154 and plan a visit and tour.
Physical Therapy Day at the Capitol
On Wednesday it was Physical Therapist’s Day at the Capitol. I heard from a Physical Therapy student Katelyn and from Dr. Eva Norman. I was able to take some time out from committee to meet them. Katelyn, Dr Norman and other physical therapists that were lobbying that day were working towards making physical therapists innovative in healthcare, reducing patient access barriers and building the physical therapists workforce. I admire their commitment to the care of their patients and have promised to support their two initiatives.
MAAP STARS day at the Capitol
MAAP STARS (Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs, Success, Teamwork, Achievement, Recognition & Self-Esteem) is a youth organization for students attending alternative programs. The purpose of their Legislative Day was for their students to learn about the legislative process and meet with their legislators so they could share information about their programs. I was able to give them a tour of the capitol and get them on the Senate floor as well as showing them the hiding message that Cass Gilbert left for the State of Minnesota when he finished the Capitol in 1905. I hope its a day they remember for a long time.
Firefighters Day at the Capitol
I want to thank Daren and Pat from the Coon Rapids Firefighter department for coming down to the Capitol and meeting with me and educating me about the issues our public safety fire fighters deal with daily. One topic we need to support and fix is the burden of proof of PTSD for ALL firefighters including our volunteers. Thursday was Fire Service Day at the Capitol and it was a pleasure getting a visit from them.
7 Years Early From Governor Dayton
March 1, 2018
“Minnesota has made tremendous progress to support clean energy and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions that threaten our health and our environment. I urge the Legislature to adopt the ‘50 by 30’ Renewable Energy Standard, which legislators from both parties have championed. We must do even more to ensure our children and grandchildren inherit a better future, and a stronger clean energy economy.”
— Governor Mark Dayton
7 Years Early
A new report released today by Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows that 25 percent of Minnesota’s energy now comes from renewable sources, meeting Minnesota’s Renewable Energy Standard seven years ahead of schedule. Last year, Governor Mark Dayton’s Administration and a group of bipartisan lawmakers called for an increase in Minnesota’s Renewable Energy Standard from the current standard of 25 percent by 2025, to 50 percent by 2030. When Governor Dayton took office in 2011, just 17.2 percent of energy in Minnesota came from renewable sources.
READ MORE about today’s news. [Link]
CHECK OUT what Governor Dayton had to say about today’s news. [Link]
LEARN MORE about the proposed ‘50×30’ Renewable Energy Standard. [Link]
SHARE the news on Twitter. [Link]
LIKE AND SHARE the news on Facebook. [Link]
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
| 17.2 Percent
|
When Governor Dayton took office in January 2011, just 17.2 percent of Minnesota’s energy came from renewable sources. |
| 25 Percent | Today, a new report showed that now 25 percent of Minnesota’s energy comes from renewable sources – seven years ahead of the goals established in the state’s renewable energy standard. |
| 57,000 Jobs | A recent report showed that Minnesota’s clean energy industryemploys 57,000 workers. |
| 48 Percent | Another recent study showed that solar energy jobs alone grew by 48 percent in Minnesota between 2016 and 2017. |
If you have any questions or concerns feel free to call my office at 651-296-4154 or by e-mail at jhoffman@senate.mn
