Minnesota House of Representatives Session Weekly
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SESSION WEEKLY A NONPARTISAN PUBLICATION MINNESOTA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES • PUBLIC INFORMATION SERVICES VOLUME 24, NUMBER 20 • MAY 18, 2007 INCHES APART BUT WORLDS AWAY REACHING FOR THE STARS LOOKING TO THE NEXT GENERATION HF2479 - HF2502 SESSION WEEKLY Session Weekly is a nonpartisan publication of Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services. During the 2007-2008 Legislative Session, each issue reports House action between Thursdays of each week, lists bill introductions and provides other information. No fee. To subscribe, contact: Minnesota House of Representatives CONTENTS Public Information Services 175 State Office Building 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. HIGHLIGHTS St. Paul, MN 55155-1298 Consumers • 6 Family • 9 Insurance • 12 (651) 296-2146 or (800) 657-3550 or the Minnesota Relay service at 711 or Development • 7 Government • 9 Law • 12 (800) 627-3529 (TTY) Education • 8 Health & Human Services • 11 Local Government • 13 www.house.mn/hinfo/subscribesw.asp Employment • 8 Housing • 12 Military • 13 Environment • 8 Director Barry LaGrave Editor/Assistant Director Lee Ann Schutz BILL INTRODUCTIONS (HF2476-HF2502) • 23 Assistant Editor Mike Cook Art & Production Coordinator Paul Battaglia FEATURES Writers FIRST READING: Legislators look for compromise with the governor • 3-5 Nick Busse, Craig Green, Stephen Harding, Sonja Hegman, FEATURE: Aerospace program for kids gets state’s attention • 14-15 Patty Ostberg, Mia Simpson Chief Photographer AT ISSUE: Next Generation Energy Act proposes a trio of aggressive reforms • 16 Tom Olmscheid AT ISSUE: Drinking water issue gets dirty • 17 Photographers Andrew VonBank, Sarah Stacke FEATURE: Symbols capture the essence of the state • 18-19 Staff Assistants RESOURCES: Governor’s Log • 21-23 Christy Novak, Joan Bosard MINNESOTA INDEX: Educating Minnesota • 24 Session Weekly (ISSN 1049-8176) is published weekly during the legislative session by Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services, 175 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155-1298. Periodicals postage paid at Minneapolis, Minn. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Session Weekly, House Public Information Services, 175 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155-1298. Printed on recycled paper which is 50% recycled, 30% post-consumer content. On the cover: Joshua Houdek holds an “Override!” sign as Unnu Nambudiripad, left, and Rick Heimaark hold a model bus as the Coalition to Fund Transportation Now greeted House members arriving for the May 16 floor session. The group encouraged members to override Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s veto of a transportation finance bill that included up to a 7.5-cent increase in the gas tax. —Photo by: Tom Olmscheid FIRST READING PHOTO BY TOM OLMSCHEID Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller indicates how close DFL leaders are to an agreement with Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher made frequent trips to the governor’s office trying to work out a budget agreement May 17. Inches away or worlds apart? With time running out, legislators look for a compromise with the governor BY SESSION WEEKLY STAff containing tax increases would be vetoed, but he more things change under the Capitol dome, the more legislators have tried anyway. Another bone of contention was the they stay the same. unwillingness of House and Senate leaders to reveal a global picture of their intended Legislators have found themselves scurrying to get biennial spending; rather, the information budget bills passed and avoid a special session for the was being revealed piecemeal as each bill was Tfourth straight budget-setting year and seventh in the past eight. acted upon. So the parade of vetoes continued. But with a May 21 deadline quickly approaching, it will be close. A new plan As time continued to count down the Battling the clock the session — E-12 education and taxes — had primary question grew louder. Would there be As if House members needed any reminder, yet to be considered by either body. At least the enough time to craft new bills, get them passed all week most had to walk past a digital clock Taxes Conference Committee was meeting; and onto the governor’s desk with enough left outside Senate Republican offices in the State E-12 conferees hadn’t gathered for a couple over to deal with a potential veto? Office Building ticking off the time left for of weeks. Senate leadership tried to breathe new them to get their work done. Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s complaints with life into the vetoed omnibus finance bills Six days before the constitutional many of the bills were that they exceeded his with trimmed down versions of previous adjournment, seven of the 12 major spending recommended spending target, set forth in conference committee reports. bills landing on the governor’s desk had been his $34.4 billion budget released in January. vetoed, and arguably the two largest ones for He was also clear from the get-go that bills First Reading continued on page 4 May 18, 2007 Session Weekly 3 First Reading continued from page 3 E-12 Education Among the areas funded in the bill were the Although conferees on the E-12 education Department of Employment and Economic The Senate Rules and Administration finance bill have not met since April 30, a trio Development, Department of Labor and Committee began a set of procedural moves of budget groups met briefly in the following Industry, Explore Minnesota Tourism, May 15 to bring the economic development, days. Minnesota Housing Finance Agency and the health and human services, higher education, Sponsored by Rep. Mindy Greiling Minnesota Historical Society. state government, taxes and E-12 education (DFL-Roseville), HF6 covers everything It also included $41 million in new funding finance omnibus bills to the respective floors. from voluntary all-day kindergarten to for housing issues, increased funding for youth Senate bill sponsors each said they took seriously property tax relief. Included in the programs by $13.5 million, would have created the governor’s veto messages and removed or $13.9 billion package is a 9.4 percent increase a small business growth acceleration program modified policy provisions that he criticized. in biennial funding. The Senate version to help qualified companies implement Nonetheless, the governor had plenty to say (SF2095) contains similar funding. technology and business improvements, about the lack of transparency used in crafting The result of a May 16 pre-dawn meeting, required every licensed health care facility them. an amended version (HF2245) was passed in the state to adopt a safe patient handling “Given their style of negotiating, which is to 47-17 by the Senate. Although about program, established restricted journeyman send me bills that they know are unacceptable, $200 million less than the first bill, it still and restricted master plumber licenses, I don’t see how that’s going to end in a timely would provide school districts a 2 percent and created a packinghouse workers bill of or productive end of session,” he said at a press increase in state funding next year, but zero rights. conference to sign the smoking ban legislation. for 2008-09. Approximately $387 million in Sen. David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm), “No governor in my memory has been asked new money would go to special education. who sponsors the bill with Rep. Mary Murphy by the Legislature to veto one set of omnibus As of press time, the bill awaits action by (DFL-Hermantown), said the revised package bills, much less two, as a way to negotiate an the full House. However, Rep. Carlos Mariani is $35 million less, including $5 million in end to session. I think that’s unprecedented. (DFL-St. Paul), chairman of the House E-12 ongoing money. Among its other changes It’s a troubling and very disturbing set of Education Committee, predicted the bill “will are the removal of a severance disregard for actions from my standpoint.” not be the final product.” He said the sides are receiving unemployment benefits, less money With a goal of getting the bills to the governor’s close to an agreement. is allocated to help replenish the Minnesota desk before midnight, the Senate approved all six Minerals 21st Century Fund and softened revised omnibus bills May 16, and sent them to packinghouse worker language. Economic Development Murphy said May 17 that she expects the House, which acted on none. Approved 84-44 by the House and 42-22 by the House to take up jobs and economic Here’s a look at where the yet-to-be-resolved the Senate May 4, the $448.8 million omnibus development very much like the form of the major finance bills stand, as of 8 p.m. May 17. economic development finance bill (SF2089) negotiated bill passed by the Senate. was vetoed by the governor three days later Capital Investment because, among other reasons, it spent The $334 million bonding bill was vetoed $56 million more than he requested and Health and Human Services May 1, and no attempt has been made to revive Pawlenty said it would be detrimental to The governor quickly rejected the omnibus the bill. business. health and human services finance bill, Pawlenty rejected HF886*/SF2157 because it was more than four times larger than he requested. Traditionally, bonding bills in budget years are smaller. Included in the plan was nearly $70 million for higher education asset preservation, $40 million for construction of the central corridor transitway between Minneapolis and St. Paul, $37 million to pay half the cost of a new arena in Duluth, $30 million for public infrastructure needed to support a steel plant in Itasca County, $12.7 million for repairs to the Department of Transportation building in St.