A Nonpartisan Publication of the Minnesota House of Representatives ♦ March 19, 1999 ♦ Volume 16, Number 11 HF1897-HF2182 Session Weekly is a nonpartisan publication of the Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Office. During the 1999-2000 Legislative Minnesota House of Representatives • March 19, 1999 • Volume 16, Number 11 Session, each issue reports daily House action between Thursdays of each week, lists bill introductions and upcoming committee meeting schedules, and pro- vides other information. The publication Reflections is a service of the Minnesota House. Eight-hour days began to last longer as members raced to meet the first committee No fee. deadline of March 19. Committee chairs were working overtime to get policy bills prepared for discussion on the House floor. To subscribe, contact: The race continues for the next six weeks — right up until May 17 when legislators Minnesota House of Representatives must adjourn the first of two years in the 81st biennial session. By law, work must end Public Information Office at midnight of the third Monday following the third Saturday of the fifth month, in an 175 State Office Building odd-numbered year. St. Paul, MN 55155-1298 When the House and Senate reconvene in the second year, legislative business must be (651) 296-2146 or completed during a time not to exceed a total of 120 days within the two-year period. 1-800-657-3550 Only the governor can convene a special session any time during the Legislature’s interim TTY (651) 296-9896 period, but he cannot control its duration. As of the March 19 deadline, members had introduced a record 2,182 bills in the Director House. Of these, hundreds had moved out of House committees to be heard in the LeClair G. Lambert chamber by the full House. Many are yet to be acted on, while some have been re-referred Acting Assistant Director/Editor to other committees. Any bills that originated in the House this session will now only be Nick Healy heard in finance committees, Ways and Means, or the House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee. Acting Assistant Editor All activity around the Capitol now increases. Lobbyists can be seen on their cell Sandy Donovan phones talking more to unknown listeners; they also hang out more often at the chamber Art & Production Coordinator door, hoping to discuss a bill with a legislator. As the cafeterias get more crowded, it Paul Battaglia becomes difficult to get in and out during a quick lunch break. Also, staff and members get a bit tired, but understandably so. Writers March 19 can be considered the halfway mark of this first year of session. By now, new Jon Fure, Sarah Hallonquist, pages in the sergeant’s office have learned how to dodge the crowds blocking the hallways Grant Martin, Paul Wahl and filling the elevators in the State Office Building. And they’ve learned the names and Chief Photographer faces of 134 members. Now, standing and walking for hours is not even a major problem. Tom Olmscheid Committee deadlines prevail year after year. In spite of increased activity or lack thereof on some bills, everyone’s hard work results in new policies for Minnesotans and Photographers funding to keep the state in operation. Gina Dabrowski, Laura Phillips, A second deadline comes up on March 31, when bills that met the first deadline must Andrew Von Bank have their companion file passed out of policy committees in the other legislative body. Office Manager The final deadline for this Legislature is April 16. By then, every major funding bill is Nicole Wood pieced together with directives or appropriations for issues favored by each caucus in the House and Senate, as well as special projects on the governor’s list. Staff Assistants Once the smoke clears on Tuesday, May 18, legislators head home to all corners of the Ivan Weiss Jr., Jennifer Ridgeway state. One can only surmise that the total number of bills passed, failed, or vetoed during the first five months of 1999, will be worthwhile for every resident in the state of Session Weekly (ISSN 1049-8176) is pub- lished weekly during the legislative session by Minnesota. the Minnesota House of Representatives Pub- —LeClair Grier Lambert lic Information Office, 100 Constitution Ave., St. Paul, MN 55155-1298. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Session Weekly, Public Information Office, INSIDE Minnesota House of Representatives, 175 State Highlights ........................................................................................................................5 Office Building, 100 Constitution Ave., St. Paul, MN 55155-1298. A Closer Look: Abortion bills advance ................................................................18 Printed on recycled paper which is 50% recycled, Governor’s Desk (CH1-CH17)................................................................................. 20 20% post-consumer content. Bill Introductions (HF1897-HF2182).................................................................... 21 Committee Schedule (March 22-26)....................................................................28 t e d i n o r n P On the cover: Speaker Steve Sviggum leads House Republicans to a meeting in Room 217 r e r c e in the Capitol. y p c a l e d p —Photo by Tom Olmscheid 2 SESSION WEEKLY / March 19, 1999 Transportation spending . Urge to cut fees, need for funding pressure lawmakers By Sarah Hallonquist Efforts to lower Minnesota’s license tab fees are beginning to resemble the process of nego- tiating a potential tax rebate. Everybody has a plan, but none of the plans are the same. While neither the House nor the Senate has passed a bill yet, committees in both bodies have heard several proposals, including one supported by Gov. Jesse Ventura. But with the looming possibility of a tab fee reduction, lawmakers on the House transpor- tation committees are clamoring to find a way to fill the gap that would result in the state’s highway fund. Currently, less than 1 percent of the state’s general fund dollars are targeted toward transportation. Add those two factors to a multi-billion dollar list of proposed transportation projects for the next two decades, and you get a fund- ing crunch that some legislators see as exacer- bating the already contentious process of getting a major transportation project Lawmakers on House transportation committees are studying a number of plans to reduce license tab fees while maintaining funds for highway and transit projects statewide. approved. The House Transportation Finance Com- Photo illustration by Tom Olmscheid mittee approved a bill March 17 that would Ventura would retain the current deprecia- Federal subsidies, driver’s license fees, and lower tab fees but not in the manner proposed tion schedule for vehicles more than 1 year other miscellaneous funds also support the by the governor. old, but if the calculation comes to more than trunk highway fund. The state can also sell Sponsored by Rep. Bill Kuisle (R-Rochester), $75, the motorist would only have to pay bonds to pay for highway projects. the plan would lower tab fees for most vehicles the $75. Kuisle’s bill would constitutionally dedi- and provide a constitutional amendment to make If the calculation is less than $75 but more cate 50 percent of the proceeds from the mo- sure transportation funding is secured in the than $35, than the motorist would pay that tor vehicle sales tax to transportation projects. future. amount. That would leave cars more than 10 Thirty percent would go into the Highway The bill (HF446) would increase highway years old still paying the $35 flat fee, under the User Tax Distribution Fund, and 20 percent funding, but at the expense of about $120 governor’s plan. would go into a new transit assistance fund. million from the general fund — money usu- But both proposals would leave a hole in the The remaining 50 percent would stay in the ally dedicated to other government agencies. Highway User Tax Distribution Fund, a pot general fund, where the all proceeds from the Kuisle’s bill now moves to the House Taxes that provides money for highway projects state- motor vehicle sales now go. Committee. wide. Voters would be asked to approve this pro- The transportation finance panel rejected The governor is recommending a transfer vision by voting on a constitutional amend- the governor’s plan, which was tacked onto of money from the general fund to cover the ment placed on the November 2000 ballot. another tab fee reduction bill under losses for the first year. But in subsequent In the 1980s, the Legislature put into law a consideration. years, the loss to the fund would increase to an plan to transfer some motor vehicle sales tax Ventura wants to change the current system estimated $40.3 million in 2003. money into the highway fund, but it was not so that motorists would pay no more than $75 The current highway system is supported secured with a constitutional amendment. The to renew their license tabs each year. Under his largely by a state constitutional amendment state did transfer a small percentage of motor plan, vehicle owners would pay the current tax that dedicates certain percentages of the gas vehicle sales tax revenues for a few years, but only during the first year of their vehicle’s life. tax and fees for license plates and tabs to a the Legislature repealed the law when the gen- The current registration tax rate is $10 plus highway fund. eral fund needed the extra money. 1.25 percent of the vehicle’s suggested retail That fund is divided into three parts: 69 Some lawmakers want to see all motor ve- price. However, when the vehicle is 3 years percent goes to the trunk highway fund, 29 hicle sales tax funds devoted to transportation old, the percentage is dropped to 90 percent percent goes to the county state-aid highway projects.