For more information contact: Ted Modrich 651-296-5809

HOUSE BRIEFS

2011 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY (SPECIAL & REGULAR SESSIONS)

TAXES/CREDITS/AIDS/BUDGET
• Budget: The budget was balanced by selling appropriation bonds, delaying school payments, transferring money from dedicated accounts not intended for general fund expenditures, and cutting spending.
• Appropriation bonds: To balance the budget and pay for ongoing operating expenses the state will borrow $640 million at a cost of over $500 million in interest and fees. This borrowing will get us through the next two years but another deficit is projected in the next budget cycle.
• Income tax: A proposal to increase the income tax temporarily on 7,700 people earning over $1 million (about half of whom do not live in Minnesota) –which would have allowed the budget to be balanced without borrowing--was not adopted.
• Aid to Counties and Cities: Cut local government aid (LGA) $203 million. Cut county program aid (CPA) $73 million. Homestead market value credit (MVC) eliminated and converted to a market value exclusion. Nonpartisan analysts estimate modifications such as these will increase property taxes by $376 million in 2012 on all property types.
• Renters Credit: Reduced from 19 percent to 17 percent the portion of rent constituting property taxes used in calculating a renters’ property tax refund. Nearly all renters (about 300,000) will see their refund reduced, including 82,000 seniors and disabled Minnesotans.
• Property tax refund: Reduced the property tax refund program by increasing the maximum refund from $2,410 to $2,460 and increasing the income level range at which the maximum applies; and decreasing the co-payment percentage for claimants with incomes from $10,880 to $93,240.
• Business tax refund delay: Repealed the law requiring the Department of Revenue to delay tax refunds to businesses in order to help manage the state’s cash flow.
• Federal funding contingency planning: A proposal directing each state agency that receives federal funds to include as part of its budget proposal an analysis of the implications for the agency if there is federal government insolvency or dramatically reduced federal payments was not enacted.
• Federal tax conformity: Conformed Minnesota’s income tax code to many of the recently enacted federal changes. Conformity reduces taxpayer confusion, makes filing the state income tax simpler, and provides tax benefits that Minnesotans expect. In many instances taxpayers will no longer have to add income back into their calculation for state taxes after calculating their federal tax. Among the conforming changes:
1. Permit the exclusion from gross income the cost of health care coverage provided to adult children under age 27.
2. Extended the authority for individuals age 70 ½ or older to transfer up to $100,000 from an IRA or Roth IRA directly to a qualified charity, while excluding that amount from adjusted gross income.
3. Authorized income tax exclusion for state loan forgiveness programs for health care professionals intended to increase the availability of health professionals in underserved areas, retroactive to tax year 2009.
4. Increased the maximum exclusion for employer-provided adoption assistance to $13,170, which will be adjusted for inflation in subsequent years.
5. Extended the higher education tuition expense deduction. The deduction applies to up to $4,000 of qualifying expenses for taxpayers with adjusted gross income up to $65,000 ($130,000 for married joint filers), and to up to $2,000 of qualifying expenses for taxpayers with adjusted gross income over $65,000 but less than $80,000 ($130,000 to $160,000 for married joint filers).
6. Extended the teacher classroom expense deduction of up to $250.
7. Reduced the marriage penalty associated with the Working Family Tax Credit, which benefits lower income families.

• Tax compliance: Authorized the Department of Revenue to use “tax analytics and business intelligence tools" in order to enhance the state's tax collections (revenues) by improving the ability to identify candidates for audit and collection activities. The goal is to better prioritize those activities to provide the highest returns on tax auditors' and collection agents' time in order to maximize tax collections, and to minimize disruption to individuals or businesses that shouldn’t be audited or reviewed.
• Constitutional officers and Legislature: 5 percent budget cuts for Governor, Legislature, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Auditor.
• Tax incidence study: The scope of the tax incidence study conducted by the Revenue Department will be expanded to include information on the distribution of the burden of federal taxes borne by Minnesota residents. Currently, the study examines the equality and inequality of the overall incidence of state and local income, sales, and property taxes.
• Local option sales tax: Prohibited local governments from promoting or spending public money to support imposing a local option sales tax. They may still spend to conduct the referendum.
• Maintenance of effort requirements (MOE): Certain county MOE requirements permanently reduced by 10 percent, including MOEs related to employment and training services, libraries, mental health services, and child welfare case management services. Also, cities’ MOE library requirement permanently reduced 10 percent.
• Political contribution refund: Extended the suspension of the PCR for two more years.

K-12 EDUCATION
• Delayed payments to schools: Schools will receive only 60 percent of their promised funding with the remainder paid sometime in the future. This “shift” effectively borrows $780 million from our schools to balance the state budget. However, no mechanism or timeline is spelled out to pay the funds back. Some districts will need to cut their budgets or borrow to offset this cut in their funding.
• K-12 per pupil funding formula: Increased $50 in FY 12, and $50 in FY 13 to help schools cover the cost of short-term borrowing.
• Small schools revenue: Districts with adjusted marginal cost pupil units of 1,000 or less are now eligible for “small schools revenue.”
• Safe school levy: Repealed requirement that districts set aside $3 of the safe school levy proceeds to pay for school counselors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and alcohol and chemical dependency counselors; also repealed requirement to maintain spending on those services and not cut the number of employees providing them.
• Staff development: Suspended for two years the requirement that school districts reserve two percent of their basic general education revenue for staff development purposes.
• Integration revenue: This program continues in the next biennium but then is eliminated. A task force will recommend how to repurpose integration revenue funds to achieve improved education outcomes for all students. Among other things, the task force will explore how to close the achievement gap. The pool of existing integration funding remains available for whatever new purpose is recommended by the task force and approved by the Legislature.
• Fund transfers: For fiscal years 2012 and 2013 only, school districts are allowed to transfer money from any fund or account to any other fund or account (excluding the community service fund and the food service fund). Such transfers may occur only after the school board has adopted a resolution declaring that the transfer will not diminish instructional opportunities for children.
• School trust fund lands: A proposal to create an independent board to oversee the management of Minnesota’s permanent school fund (PSF) lands was not enacted. School trust lands are supposed to be managed in a prudent and profitable manner with the monetary proceeds from those management decisions (timber sales, lease revenue, etc.) used for the benefit of Minnesota’s public schools. Currently, the DNR manages those lands to preserve them, not necessarily to earn income for the Trust Fund.
• School trust fund land revenue: Charter schools made eligible for some of the revenue generated by the school trust lands. Currently, only school districts are eligible for those funds.
• Charter school reauthorization deadline: Extended until June 30, 2012
• Contract settlement deadline and penalty: Repealed the January 15 deadline by which school districts must reach a collective bargaining agreement or face a state aid penalty.
• Right to strike: A proposal to make teachers “essential employees” and prohibit them from striking was not adopted.
• K-12 vouchers: Not enacted.
• Teacher evaluations: Authorized school districts and teacher union representatives will develop a teacher evaluation process through joint agreement. If a school board and union do not agree on the terms of such an evaluation, then an evaluation process developed by the Commissioner of Education will be implemented. Among other things, the evaluation process must include an individual growth and development plan; a peer review process; the opportunity to participate in a professional learning community, and at least one summative evaluation performed by a qualified and trained evaluator such as a school administrator. The evaluation must use a teacher value-added assessment model for the grade levels and subject areas for which value-added data are available, and establish state or local measures of student growth for the grade levels and subject areas for which value-added data are not available, as a basis for 35 percent of teacher evaluation results.
• Principal evaluation: To enhance a principal's leadership skills and improve teacher effectiveness, school performance, and student achievement, the commissioner of education and the associations of elementary and secondary school principals will convene a work group of experts and stakeholders to develop a performance-based system for annually evaluating school principals. The group will report its recommendations to the Legislature by February 1, 2012.
• Alternative pathway to teacher licensure: Enacted.
• Tiered teacher licensure task force: A task force will be convened to develop recommendations for a tiered licensure system for teachers.
• School grading system: A proposal to establish an “A to F” school grading system was not enacted.
• Perpich Center for Arts Education: A proposal to dissolve the Center as a state agency, and to grant authority for the Perpich Center to be re-established as a charter school, was not adopted. Budget cut 5 percent.
• Virtual school board meetings: Authorized school boards to hold meetings via “interactive technology with an audio and visual link.”
• Literacy I—social promotion: A proposal to ban social promotion and prohibit school districts from promoting 3rd graders to the 4th grade if they are not reading at grade level as measured by the 3rd grade statewide reading assessment was not enacted.
• Literacy II—literacy plan: School districts must adopt a local literacy plan to have every child reading at or above grade level no later than the end of grade 3. The plan must include a process to assess students' level of reading proficiency, notify and involve parents, intervene with students who are not reading at or above grade level, and identify and meet staff development needs. The district must post its literacy plan on the official school district Website.
• Literacy III—Parent notification and involvement: At least annually, schools must give the parent of each student who is not reading at or above grade level timely information about: (1) the student's reading proficiency as measured by a locally adopted assessment; (2) reading-related services currently being provided to the student; and (3) strategies for parents to use in helping their student succeed in becoming grade-level proficient in reading.
• Literacy IV—Literacy incentive aid: A new form of school district aid created based upon the percentage of 3rd grade students meeting or exceeding proficiency on the MCA-II reading assessment, and the percentage of 4th grade students achieving medium or high growth.
• Early graduation scholarship program, and early graduation military service award: Higher education scholarships provided to students who graduate early from high school and go on to college. A student is eligible for a scholarship of $2,500 if the student graduates one semester or two trimesters early, $5,000 if the student graduates two semesters or three or four trimesters early, or $7,500 if the student graduates three or more semesters or five or more trimesters early. Students who graduate early and enter the military qualify for these payments, not as scholarships, but as a “military service bonus.”
• Mandate reduction on home schools: Reduced state reporting requirements on home school students related to school attendance, testing, immunizations, driver's permits, and employment certificates. Superintendents relieved of various reporting requirements.
• Retired teachers/coaches: Authorized teachers who have retired with an early retirement incentive to be re-employed by the district as a coach after retirement without running afoul of state pension law.


• Youth concussions: Athletes must be removed from an athletic activity when they show signs of sustaining a concussion and may not return to the activity until the athlete no longer shows signs of sustaining a concussion, is evaluated by a provider trained and experienced in evaluating and managing concussion, and, if needed, the provider has developed a plan to aid in the athlete's recovery. Coaches and officials will complete an annual online training program on concussions that is available from the Center for Disease Control.
• Harassment, bullying, intimidation, and violence: A proposal to require school boards to adopt a written policy that prohibits harassment, bullying, intimidation, and violence based on, but not limited to, actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, physical characteristics, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics was not enacted.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION/CHILD CARE/CHILDREN/FAMILIES
• Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS): No action to advance QRIS. QRIS is a program designed to rate early learning and child care programs to ensure that Minnesota's children have access to high-quality programming in a range of settings so that they are fully ready for kindergarten.
• Early childhood education scholarships: $4 million appropriated to provide low-income families with scholarships for public or private early childhood preschool programs for children ages 3 to 5.
• Early childhood facilities: $1.9 million of bonding authorized for the construction and rehabilitation of early childhood program facilities, crisis nurseries, and parenting time centers.
• Child protection: Cut $22 million from the Children and Community Services Act (CCSA) grants. These grants go to counties to help keep children safe. Most CCSA grants benefit children and adolescents who experience abuse, neglect, poverty, disability, and chronic health conditions. The CCSA program cut will impact approximately 51,000 children all over Minnesota.
• Child support enforcement: Eliminated child support enforcement incentive grants to counties at a cost to the counties of $6.7 million.
• Child care: Imposed cuts of $26.3 million on programs that provide assistance to low-income families for child care while parents are working, searching for employment, or pursuing education leading to employment. Included among the cuts, a provider rate reduction of 2.5 percent in the child care assistance program.
• Guardian Ad Litem Board: Budget cut $600,000 (2.4%).
• Hannah’s law: A teachers and assistant teachers who are employed by a child care center must be trained in CPR, including CPR for infants and children; and in the treatment of obstructed airways. During field trips and when transporting children at least one staff person with the required training must be present.
• Joint custody: A proposal to grant both parents involved in a custody case a rebuttable presumption of joint legal and joint physical custody of their children, and a parenting time minimum of 45.1 percent, was not enacted.

HIGHER EDUCATION
• U of M, MnSCU: Higher education funding levels cut to their lowest levels in over a decade. U of M cut by $193 million (15 percent); MnSCU cut by $169 million (13.5 percent).
• Tuition increases: No cap imposed on tuition increases at the U of M or at four year MnSCU institutions. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, the maximum increase in tuition for a Minnesota resident undergraduate student at a MnSCU two-year college must not exceed 4 percent.
• Senior citizen free tuition age reduced to 62 from 66: A person 62 or older who is a legal resident of Minnesota is entitled without payment of tuition or activity fees to attend courses in any state supported institution of higher education in Minnesota when space is available after all tuition-paying students have been accommodated.
• State grant program: Increased 7.3 percent.
• Minnesota college savings plan matching grant: Eliminated the matching grant for low- and middle-income families who participate in Minnesota’s 529 savings plan.
• Work study: Cut 3 percent.
• Child care grants: No reductions.
• Buy American: Repealed the requirement that to the extent possible, a bookstore located on the campus of a public college or university in Minnesota must offer for sale clothing or articles of apparel that are manufactured in the United States of America.
• For-profit graduate education: The Minnesota Office of Higher Education will study graduate education at for-profit institutions in Minnesota.
• Stem cell research: No restrictions imposed.
• Private college liquor licenses: Made it easier for colleges to serve alcohol at catered events such as alumni parties, and donor dinners.

TRANSPORTATION
• Greater MN Transit: Funding reduced $2.72 million, resulting in reduced rural transit service.
• Metro Transit: Funding reduced $51.7 million (39.8 percent).
• Mn Department of Transportation: Cut 8.1 percent.
• State road construction: Funding decreased $43 million for 2011, and increased $66 million for 2012-2013 due to expected changes in federal aid.
• Passenger rail general funding: A proposal to prohibit DOT from spending any money for passenger rail purposes was not adopted. (This would have greatly affected the Rochester/Olmsted Ziprail proposal.)
• Driver’s license reinstatement diversion program expansion: Extended and expanded the pilot project that the legislature established in 2009 that provides diversion driver's licenses to offenders who have had their licenses suspended. In exchange, they must agree to pay their outstanding fees, fines, and surcharges in installments and meet other requirements, such as obtaining auto insurance.
• Speeding violations: No expansion of the "Dimler" law, which keeps speeding violations off of a person's driving record in certain circumstances.
• Seatbelt use primary offense: A proposal to return to prohibit law enforcement officers from issuing a citation for failure to wear a seatbelt unless the law enforcement officer first stops the driver for some other moving violation other than an equipment violation was not enacted.
• Internet-based driver education: Proposal to allow the classroom/theory portion of driver’s education to be conducted over the Internet. Not enacted.
• No front license plate: Proposal to eliminate the requirement for a license plate on the front of a vehicle was not adopted.
• Motor vehicle transaction filing fee: Increased $1.50 for deputy registrars.

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
• Early opt-in to expansion of Medical Assistance (MA): Not repealed. One of the first things Governor Dayton did after taking office was sign an executive order to provide health insurance to 95,000 more Minnesotans. This opportunity was available under the Federal Affordable Care Act. It brought in $1.2 billion in federal money at a state cost of only $188 million. The action preserves or creates 20,000 jobs, generates $2.7 billion in business activity, and produces $984 million in salaries and wages.
• Medical assistance: The state will ask for federal permission to impose new cost-sharing requirements on MA recipients. MA coverage was expanded to include dental therapists.
• Medical assistance fraud prevention and detection: The Department of Human Services directed to issue a Request for Proposal to prevent and detect Medicaid fraud and mispayment.
• Federal health care reform: A prohibition on spending state money to plan for or implement the federal health care reform law was not enacted.
• Health insurance marketplace: Federal health reform law requires states to set up their own health insurance marketplace or accept one designed by the federal government. No action.
• Nursing home and hospital cost rebasing: Planned cost rebasing was eliminated at a cost to nursing homes of $133 million, and a cost to hospitals of $491 million.
• Rate equalization: Minnesota law prohibits nursing facilities from charging private pay residents rates higher than the rates paid by the state under the Medical Assistance program so every Minnesotan in a nursing home gets the same care for the same price. Not repealed.
• Community spouses: The “community spouse” of a person who receives medical assistance or alternative care long-term care services must now contribute to the cost of care. The community spouse must pay a monthly fee on a sliding fee scale based on the community spouse's income. If a minor or disabled child resides with and receives care from the community spouse (or if her income is less than 250% of the federal poverty guidelines) no fee will be assessed.
• Seniors and persons with disabilities: Over $200 million in cuts were made to programs that serve seniors and persons with disabilities, including programs that enable these individuals to remain living in their community rather than transition to a long-term care facility.
• Managed care organizations: Imposed $437 million in cuts to managed care organizations that provide health care services to enrollees of public health programs.
• Hospitals: 10 percent cut to the rates paid by public health insurance for in-patient care.
• Personal Care Attendants: A person caring for a relative will be paid 20 percent less than a PCA caring for a stranger.
• Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP): A proposal to eliminate all funding for SHIP, which supports community-based public health initiatives, was not enacted. However, SHIP was cut 62 percent for this biennium, and is slated for elimination next biennium.
• EBT public assistance cards: The laws governing EBT public assistance benefit cards were modified to prohibit a holder of a card from using their cash assistance to purchase alcohol and tobacco products. Any unlawful use will constitute fraud and result in disqualification from the assistance program. In addition, owners of liquor stores, tobacco stores, gambling establishments, and tattoo parlors are required to negotiate with their third-party processors to block EBT transactions at their places of business and cash withdrawals at ATMs located in their establishments. To help prevent fraud in the future EBT cards will be issued with the name of the recipient printed on the card. A Minnesota EBT Business Task Force established to create a workable strategy to eliminate the purchase of tobacco and alcoholic beverages by public assistance recipients using EBT cards. The task force will consider cost to the state, feasibility of execution at retail, and ease of use and privacy for EBT cardholders.
• MinnesotaCare provider tax: If the projected health care access fund balance exceeds 125 percent of the fund’s projected expenditures the 2% provider tax will be reduced. Full repeal of the tax effective January 1, 2020.
• Family planning grants: No reduction.
• Positive alternative grants: No reduction.
• Abortion prohibition at 20 weeks: A proposal to prohibit a woman from obtaining an abortion at or after 20 weeks post fertilization, unless necessary to avoid her death or serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function was debated on the House floor. The proposal did not allow exceptions for rape, incest , or psychological or emotional conditions. It was not enacted.
• Abortion—public funding: A proposal to prohibit state-sponsored health programs from using public funds to provide abortion services was not enacted.
• Stem cell research: A prohibition on using state funds to support “human cloning,” but which would have banned stem cell research was not adopted.
• Alzheimer’s disease: The Commissioner of Health directed to undertake a variety of initiatives aimed at improving assessment and care related to Alzheimer's disease and other dementia diagnoses, including improved cognitive screening, Alzheimer's and other dementia diagnoses, and care and treatment plans.
• Autism: Established a Autism Spectrum Disorder Task Force to develop an autism spectrum disorder statewide strategic plan that focuses on improving awareness, early diagnosis, and intervention; and on ensuring delivery of treatment and services for individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.
• Premature birth: Established the Minnesota Task Force on Prematurity to make recommendations on ways to reduce prematurity and improve premature infant health care.
• “Healthy Minnesota” Contribution Program: A pilot program to turn MinnesotaCare into a voucher program will impact adult enrollees without children and with incomes equal to or greater than 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. They will no longer be eligible for the current MinnesotaCare program. Instead, they will receive a state subsidy to help them buy private market health insurance. The program would provide a subsidy on a sliding scale depending on the person’s income and age. Individuals who are denied health insurance in the private market will receive a larger subsidy to purchase insurance through the state’s high risk insurance pool (MCHA).
• Nurse licensure compact: A proposal to make Minnesota a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact was not enacted. The compact provides that a license to practice registered nursing or practical/vocational nursing issued by a state that is a member of the compact must be recognized by the other states that are parties to the compact.
• Community paramedics: A new certification for “Emergency Medical Technician-community paramedic” (EMT-CP). Services provided by EMT-CPs will include interventions intended to prevent avoidable ambulance transportation or hospital emergency department use, such as minor medical procedures, initial assessments, care coordination, and the monitoring of chronic disease management directives.
• Hospital moratorium: Authorized the expansion of a specialty psychiatric hospital in Hennepin County for patients under 21 years of age from 20 inpatient beds to 50.
• Freedom to Breath Act: No modifications to the Freedom to Breath Act/Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act, which among other things, bans smoking in bars and restaurants.
• Food inspections/licensing-faith-based & sportsman organizations: The law on food safety at faith based organizations was strengthened and clarified. The following are exempt from state health department food inspection/licensing requirements: (1) sportsman organizations holding events in a building or on the grounds of the organization; (2) faith-based organizations serving food at fund-raisers or community events conducted in the building or on the grounds of the organization, provided that a certified food manager or a volunteer trained in a food safety course trains the food preparation workers in safe food handling practices; and (3) faith-based organizations serving food at weddings, fellowship meals, or funerals conducted by the organization using any building constructed and primarily used for religious worship or education.

CAPITAL INVESTMENT/JOBS/EMPLOYMENT LAW
• Jobs/economic development: A proposal to eliminate the Trade Office, which helps Minnesota companies compete globally, was not adopted but the budget was cut 5 percent.
• Bonding: A $500 million capital investment package was adopted. Investments were made in: MNSCU; the U of M; wastewater treatment infrastructure; flood hazard mitigation; RIM; development of Lake Vermillion State Park; parks & trails; local roads & bridges; metro & greater MN transit; public safety training facilities; and rail, port, and airport improvements. As in previous bonding bills, a focus of this year’s capital investment bill was the maintenance of the state’s infrastructure (i.e. “asset preservation”). Asset preservation investments were made all across Minnesota in a variety of areas including, higher education, military & veterans’ affairs, DNR, corrections, human services, historical society, and other state agencies. "Asset preservation," refers to the basic repair and renewal of state buildings to ensure they are safe, accessible, and functional. Asset preservation includes roof, window and door repair and replacement; mitigating safety hazards; code compliance projects; elevator repair; abatement of hazardous materials; mechanical and utility repairs/upgrades; HVAC improvements, sewer repairs, etc. One goal of asset preservation is to reduce long-term facility costs by attending to preventive maintenance needs, e.g. by replacing an aging roof before it begins leaking and damages the interior of the building.
• Entrepreneur assistance: Adopted Governor Dayton’s proposal to increase by $3 million funding for the Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF) which provides grants for training and other technical assistance to facilitate the creation of new employment; maintain existing employment; increase business start-ups, expansions, and retention; and support the development of microenterprises (businesses with 5 or fewer employees). A legislative proposal to eliminate MIF was not enacted.
• Small business loan guarantee: Established a program through which the state will guarantee up to 70% of the loan made by qualified “gap” lenders, which are entities that provide loans in conjunction with larger loans made by commercial financial lenders. The guarantee is capped at $1.5 million per loan. Employers must have 500 or fewer employees and use the money exclusively in Minnesota.
• Minnesota Science and Technology Program: $500,000 appropriated to assist in the creation of science and technology businesses and jobs by, among other things, accelerating the commercialization of science and technology products, processes, or services from colleges or universities, nonprofit research institutions or qualified science and technology companies.
• Contaminated site cleanup: A proposal to cut the contaminated site cleanup program by 63 percent was not adopted but funding was cut by 19.7%.
• Unemployment compensation eligibility: Clarified that an adult child of a business owner is eligible for unemployment benefits on the same terms as any other laid off Minnesotan.
• Unemployment compensation extension: Ensured that qualifying Minnesotans remain eligible for up to 86 weeks of benefits.
• Local Government Pay Equity Act: A proposal to repeal a requirement that local units of government have equitable compensation plans in order to eliminate sex-based wage disparities was not adopted.

PUBLIC SAFETY
• Disaster relief: $9 million allocated to pay for the state and local match for federal disaster relief for: (1) the spring floods in southwestern and western Minnesota; (2) the May 22 tornado in Minneapolis and Anoka County; and (3) the July 1 storms and tornadoes. Authorized Anoka and Hennepin County to grant abatements for property taxes payable in 2011 to homes damaged by the May tornado. Minneapolis provided additional TIF modifications to respond to the tornado damage.
• Bureau of Criminal Apprehension: Cut $500,000.
• Community and probation services: Funding for oversight of released offenders reduced.
• Peace officer training: Reduced the frequency at which officers must undergo training in emergency vehicle operations and pursuits from every four years to five years. Reduced by $450,000 (5.6%) reimbursements to local governments for peace officer training costs.
• Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Funding for the OJP, which supports crime victim services, battered women’s shelters and assistance, victims of child abuse, sexual assault survivors, and law enforcement & community services was reduced 3.9 percent.
• Civil Legal Services: Cut 6.7 percent. A prohibition on using the remaining funds to represent or serve clients in federal legal matters was not adopted. However, priority will be given to clients with civil cases within the jurisdiction of state courts or agencies. $1.75 million is dedicated to improving the access of low-income clients to legal representation in family law matters.
• Fire Safety Account: Transferred $3.7 million from the “Fire Safety Account” to the General Fund to help balance the state budget. The money in this account is raised from a charge on homeowners’ insurance policies and is intended to be used for firefighter training and other fire prevention related initiatives.
• Courts: Funding increased to maintain core court functions.
• Board of Public Defense: Budget increased $2.5 million (1.9%).
• Inmate healthcare co-pay: Required inmates of a state adult correctional facility to pay a co-pay of at least $5 per visit to a healthcare provider.
• Spending restrictions: Spending restrictions imposed on the Courts, the Guardian Ad Litem Board, Uniform Laws Commission, Board of Public Defense, Board on Judicial Standards, and the Sentencing Guidelines Commissioner: (1) no purchase of motor vehicles or out-of-state travel that is not directly connected with and necessary to carry out core functions; and (2) 51 cent cap on mileage reimbursement.
• Juvenile prostitutes—Safe Harbors: Sexually exploited children under age 16 will no longer be treated as criminals, but rather as victims in need of protection and services. The change addresses a contradiction in law, in which juvenile prostitutes are legally viewed as both delinquents to be dealt with by the criminal justice system, and victims of sex trafficking in need of help by the social service system.
• Juvenile prostitutes: If sufficient funding from outside sources is donated, the Department of Public Safety will develop a statewide victim services model to address the needs of sexually exploited youth and youth at risk of sexual exploitation.
• Buy American: Repealed the law prohibiting public employers from purchasing or requiring an employee to purchase for use while on duty, uniforms, safety equipment, or protective accessories that are not manufactured in the U.S.A.
• Short-term offenders: Proposal to require counties to house and pay for state prisoners with 60 days or less to serve, not enacted.
• Vulnerable adults I: A person who is convicted of criminal sexual abuse of a vulnerable adult must now register as a predatory offender.
• Vulnerable adults II: Increased the penalty from a misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor for non-caregivers who assault and inflict demonstrable bodily harm on a vulnerable adult, knowing that the person is a vulnerable adult. Caregivers committing such an act were already subject to this higher-level sanction.
• Emily's Law: Current law, which permits a child 14 or older to be tried as an adult under certain circumstances, was not modified. A proposal to lower the age to 10 for certain violent offenses was not adopted. A proposal to lower to 13 the age at which a juvenile may be prosecuted as an extended jurisdiction juvenile (EJJ) if the juvenile is alleged to have committed a “violent juvenile offense” was not enacted. EJJ offenders receive both a juvenile and an adult sentence. The juvenile sentence is imposed and the adult sentence is stayed. If the offender violates the terms of the juvenile sentence or commits a new offense the terms of the adult sentence can be imposed.
• Firearms: No modifications to the statutes governing: (1) the use of deadly-force as a means of self-defense (Castle Doctrine); (2) the recognition of “permits to carry” issued by other states (reciprocity); (3) the authority to carry a firearm in the Capitol complex with a valid “permit to carry”; (4) the authority of law enforcement officers to seize and confiscate firearms; and (5) the requirement that anyone wanting to buy a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon from a federally-licensed dealer first obtain a “permit-to-purchase” and undergo a state background check.
• Fire sprinklers: Vetoed—a prohibition on the State Building Code, the State Fire Code, or local units of government from requiring the installation of fire sprinklers, or automatic fire-extinguishing equipment or devices in any new or existing single-family homes.
• Synthetic drugs/hallucinogens: 2C-E criminalized in response to the mass drug overdose of ten people and the death of a Coon Rapids man in mid-March. Added 2C-E and certain other stimulants and hallucinogens, including 2C-I, Mephedrone, and “bath salts” to the list of “Schedule I” controlled substances. Schedule I drugs are drugs that have a high tendency for abuse and have no accepted medical value. Pharmacies do not sell Schedule I drugs and they are not available via a prescription from a physician. Also, incorporated derivatives of synthetic drugs (“analogues”) on Schedule I so Schedule I will not need to be changed every time a synthetic drug undergoes a small change in its chemical structure.
• Synthetic marijuana: The sale and possession of synthetic marijuana (K2, Spice, Demon, Triple X, Mr. Nice Guy etc.) criminalized. The unlawful sale is a gross misdemeanor. Possession is a misdemeanor.
• Water pipe fluid: Modified the controlled substance possession offenses, and the offense of possession of a small amount of marijuana, so that prosecutors may not charge an offense based on the weight of water used in a water pipe, except in cases where the mixture contains four or more ounces of a fluid. Currently, if a person possesses a controlled substance that is mixed with water pipe water the charging decision can be based on the total weight of the mixture even if the controlled substance only makes up a small percentage of the mixture.
• Used public safety equipment: Legal immunity granted to municipalities for any liability claim resulting from the use of public safety equipment donated by the municipality to another municipality, unless the claim is a direct result of fraud or intentional misrepresentation on the part of the municipality.
• Retail theft racketeering: Expanded the definition of “criminal act” in the racketeering statute to include felony-level theft in order to better combat criminals who are conspiring together to steal goods from retailers.

ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES
• Environmental review and permitting: Accelerated and simplified the environmental review and permitting process to facilitate business expansion and job creation. The legislation builds upon an executive order signed by Governor Dayton establishing goals and procedures to ensure that PCA and DNR environmental permits are issued more efficiently.
• LCCMR: The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) recommends to the Legislature how to appropriate the constitutionally dedicated funding received from 40% of the state lottery’s net proceeds. This year the LCCMR recommended funding of 87 specific projects. The Legislature adopted 63 of the recommendations, including 55 without any changes and seven at a decreased or increased funding level. It added seven additional appropriations of its own for a total of 69 appropriations. In total $51 million was allocated for a variety of environmental/conservation purposes, including: (1) land acquisition, restoration, and improvement to protect and enhance forests, wetlands, shoreline and prairies; (2) natural resources inventorying, surveying monitoring, mapping, and planning to obtain critical information to guide relevant decisions; and (3) environmental education and outreach.
• Outdoors, arts & cultural heritage constitutional amendment: In the 2008 general election voters approved a constitutional amendment to increase the state sales tax 3/8 of 1% to fund various priorities, including outdoor initiatives, clean water programs, parks and trails, and arts & cultural heritage. This year the Legislature appropriated $86.9 million for outdoor heritage projects; $179.4 million for clean water; $78.1 million for parks and trails; and $105.3 million for the arts and cultural heritage.
• Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council: The "Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council" (LSOHC) advises the Legislature on how best to utilize the outdoor heritage funding that results from passage of the constitutional amendment (see above). The council is made up of private citizens and legislators. This year the council made $86.9 million in recommendations, which were adopted by the Legislature in full. Twenty-seven projects or programs were funded. They are located in 75 of the state’s 87 counties and include activities such as: protection and restoration of prairies & grasslands; shoreline habitat protection; shallow lakes and wetlands enhancement and restoration; forest wildlife habitat protection and enhancement; and enhancement of in-stream and riparian fish and wildlife habitat in coldwater streams. Approximately 96,000 acres will be acquired, restored, or enhanced.
• Conservation Corps: 33 percent budget reduction. The Corps’ mission is to provide youth and young adults hands-on environmental stewardship and service-learning opportunities in the areas of conservation, natural resource management, and emergency response work.
• Invasive species control: A variety of measures aimed at preventing the spread of invasive species were enacted, including: (1) new criminal penalties, such as a misdemeanor sanction for taking wild animals from infested waters for bait or aquatic farm purposes; (2) greater authority for the DNR to inspect water-related equipment, including boats and trailers. Inspectors may prohibit an individual who refuses to allow an inspection or who refuses to remove and dispose of aquatic invasive species from placing or operating boats or other water-related equipment on state waters; (3) authorization for conservation officers and other licensed peace officers to use compliance “check stations” but must try to minimize delays; (4) new permitting, training, and examination requirements for lake service providers (individuals who install or remove docks, boats etc. for compensation) and (5) authorized the issuance of a civil citation to a person who fails to remove drain plugs, open valves, or drain water from water –related equipment when leaving waters of the state or when transporting the equipment.
• Invasive species control-decal: A watercraft operator must display on the watercraft an aquatic invasive species rules decal prior to launching. The decal will contain the rules associated with aquatic invasive species prevention. A violation is a petty misdemeanor.
• State park tree logging: A proposal to harvest and sell black walnut and other timber resources in Frontenac State Park and Whitewater State Park was defeated.
• Lutsen Ski Resort-water draw: Lutsen granted approval to annually take up to 150 million gallons of water out of the Poplar trout stream for snowmaking purposes.
• Adopt a WMA: Established an adopt-a-WMA (wildlife management area) program to encourage various groups (sporting, outdoor, business, etc.) to volunteer to help maintain and improve WMAs.
• Spearing: Authorized on Cass Lake for at least five years.
• Sandhill Crane hunting: Authorized.
• Deer killed by motor vehicles: The driver of a motor vehicle that has collided with and killed a deer is eligible for a possession permit.
• Coyote bounties: Authority granted to counties and towns to offer a bounty for the killing of coyotes.
• Wolf: Authorized the DNR to establish a gray wolf season immediately upon the wolf being removed from the federal endangered species list. Current law requires the DNR to wait five years after delisting before taking such action.
• Parental responsibility: Prohibited a parent or guardian from knowingly allowing a person under the age of 18 to hunt without the required license, permit, training, or certification.
• Ice fishing in a state park: Free fishing when ice fishing a body of water that is completely encompassed within the boundary of a state park. Currently this privilege is available only to those angling from shore or a boat/float.
• Two-line angling: Not authorized.
• Stand restrictions eased: Removed the height restriction on permanent stands used for hunting deer, elk, and moose.
• Research bears: Proposal to require the DNR to annually notify, in writing, all persons with a license to take bear in a permit area where qualifying research bears are present of certain facts, including the location and nature of the research being conducted in the area, and to request that they avoid shooting a research bear. Not enacted.
• License transfers to people with disabilities: Authorized a person to transfer a license for use by an individual with a severe disability or critical illness who is participating in a hunting or fishing program sponsored by a nonprofit organization.
• Sulfate levels-wild rice: The PCA directed to study and update the administrative rules governing the permissible level of sulfate in wild rice waters. A proposal to statutorily increase the sulfate standard from 10 milligrams per liter to 50 milligrams per liter was not enacted.
• Lake Vermillion State Park: $8 million in bonding authority approved to provide for the development of the new Lake Vermillion State Park.
• ATVs: No new restrictions on trail use.
• Tree nursery closure: A proposal to close Minnesota’s two state-run tree nurseries was not enacted. However, plantings limited at one of the state’s nurseries to plantings for research or use on public lands or private conservation lands with permanent protection. The DNR required to submit a plan to the Legislature that includes a long-term business plan for the state’s nurseries to ensure self-sufficient operation.
• Experimental and special management lakes: The cap on the number of lakes with special northern pike fishing restrictions reduced from 119 to 100.
• Municipal wastewater treatment: Provided a process for municipal environmental labs to obtain an exemption from certain national standards that are required by the health department for state certification.

ENERGY
• Nuclear power: The moratorium on the construction of nuclear power plants was not repealed
• Coal moratorium: A proposal to completely repeal the moratorium on the purchase of electricity from carbon dioxide emitting large energy facilities (coal power plants) was not enacted. In addition, a more limited modification to the moratorium to permit the purchase of up to 1,500 megawatts from new facilities was vetoed. An even narrower modification to permit the importation of 100 megawatts of power from Great River Energy’s Spiritwood plant in North Dakota was signed into law.
• Inverted rate pilot projects: Repealed the authority of the Public Utilities Commission to implement a pilot program to demonstrate the effect of inverted rates on promoting conservation by residential customers. This was the law that enabled the PUC to permit CenterPoint Energy to establish its tiered pricing program, which charges consumers a different rate per unit of usage as their gas use increases. The CenterPoint pilot project will be allowed to continue to completion, but no new programs will be allowed.
• Cold weather rule: Authorized utilities to provide to customers the required summary of “rights and responsibilities” under the cold weather rule electronically if they have requested electronic billing.

AGRICULTURE
• Ethanol producer payments: The final deficiency payments will be made, and the program will be repealed effective June 30, 2013. $2.5 million in unused funds will be transferred to the Next Generation Energy Board for bio-energy grants. In the future, a portion of the funding that was annually set aside for the producer payments ($10 million) will go into a special fund (AGRI) to support “Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation.”
• Milk grants/food shelves: No cuts in the grants to Second Harvest Heartland for the purchase of milk destined for food shelves and other charitable organizations.
• Ag literacy: $100,000 allocated each year of the biennium for a licensed education professional for the “Agriculture in the Classroom” program to develop and disseminate curriculum, provide teacher training opportunities, and work with schools to enhance agricultural literacy by incorporating agriculture into classroom curriculum.
• Retail food handling inspections: In order to protect the food supply, the budget for the retail food handling inspection program was increased by $490,000 to address a backlog of inspections. These inspections occur at places like grocery stores.
• Anhydrous ammonia: In order to enhance public safety, increased funding $280,000 to address a backlog of inspections of facilities storing or distributing agricultural anhydrous ammonia. Also granted the Department of Agriculture greater flexibility in how frequently a facility is inspected in order to make more efficient use of limited resources. Facilities with a good safety record and a history of compliance may be eligible for less frequent inspections.
• Raw milk: A proposal to permit dairy farmers to sell raw milk directly to consumers at farmer's markets, farm stands, private buying clubs, community fairs, a consumer's residence, etc. was not adopted. Current law allows consumers to purchase raw milk directly at the farm where the milk is produced.
• Animal facility or crop operation interference: A proposal to create a new crime of “animal facility or crop operation interference” was not enacted. The crime would have included such things as videotaping farming or animal operations without the consent of the owner.

VETERANS SERVICES/MILITARY AFFAIRS
• Disabled veterans homestead market value exclusion: Expanded eligibility for the disabled veterans homestead market value exclusion by permitting: (1) the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran to receive the benefit for five full years after a disabled veteran's death (an increase from two years); (2) the surviving spouse of a service member who dies of service-connected causes while serving honorably in active military service to receive the exclusion for the same five-year period as the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran that dies; (3) a disabled veteran's primary family caregiver, if one exists, to receive the market value exclusion if the veteran has no homestead of his or her own.
• MN Assistance Council for Veterans: Increased funding $100,000 to the Council to provide assistance to veterans and their families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, including housing, utility, employment, and legal assistance. This assistance will be coordinated with all other available programs for veterans, such as the State Soldier Assistance Program.
• MN Veterans Homes: Increased funding for the 21-bed specialty care/Alzheimer’s unit at the Fergus Falls Veterans Home, and the adult daycare facility at the Minneapolis Vets Home.
• Enlistment incentive: Increased funding by $3 million to provide a tuition reimbursement enlistment incentive for members of the National Guard.
• Higher education assistance: The sunset on the Higher Education Veterans Assistance Program (HEVAP) was repealed. The program will continue. The HEVAP program provides veterans assistance officers at Minnesota’s higher education institutions to serve the educational needs of students who are veterans by providing information and assistance regarding the availability of state, federal, local, and private resources. The goal is to help veterans ascertain and obtain the educational benefits that are available to them.
• Disabled veterans rest camps: $475,000 appropriated from the “Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund” to assist with upgrades to camps that serve disabled veterans, including those with post-traumatic stress disorder who wish to reconnect with their families in a supportive environment.
• Veterans preference for DNR lotteries: The list of qualifying service members or veterans who are eligible to obtain first preference in any drawing or lottery involving the selection of applicants for hunting or fishing licenses and permits was expanded to include those who have received a Purple Heart or who have a service-connected disability rated at 100 percent.
• Gold star license plates: Eligibility for Gold Star vehicle license plates extended to legal guardians, children and siblings of persons who have died while serving in active military service.
• Drivers’ licenses of military members: The Minnesota driver's license of a service member who is serving in active military service outside the state of Minnesota, as well as the driver's license of the service member's spouse, will remain valid for at least one full year following the person's discharge from service, and until the person's birthday in the fourth full year following the person’s most recent renewal.

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
• Shutdown remedies: (1) state agencies are authorized to waive late fees in connection with the issuance or renewal or licenses, permits, and registrations if the lateness was due to agency operations impacted by the government shutdown; (2) retailers whose alcohol buyers card expired just prior to the shutdown may purchase alcohol using the expired card until July 31; (3) state employees who were laid off during the shutdown will receive service and salary credits in their pension plan for the period of the shutdown; (4) the Racing Commission authorized to waive the racing day requirements for the 2011 season if a racetrack is unable to meet the requirements due to the shutdown; (5) any statute of limitation that limits the ability of a person to file a claim for a tax refund, appeal, or other tax document is tolled until August 19 if the Commissioner of Revenue determines that the shutdown contributed to that person being unable to timely file the appropriate paperwork; (6) health-related licensing boards prohibited from assessing late fees or initiating disciplinary action for failure to timely renew a license or registration that came due during the shutdown, if the renewal application was submitted by July 31. 2011.
• Sunset Commission: Sunset Commission established to consider whether a public need exists for the continuation of a state agency or its advisory committees. The commission will review every state agency on a predetermined schedule, and report its findings to the Legislature. Smaller agencies will automatically be abolished regardless of the commission’s findings unless reauthorized by the Legislature. Larger agencies, such as cabinet level agencies, will continue in existence regardless of the commission’s findings unless abolished by the Legislature. The commission will also make recommendations to the Legislature regarding the transfer, or reorganization of programs within state agencies, and general recommendations to improve the operations of agencies.
• Technology consolidation: Consolidated state information technology functions in the Office of Enterprise Technology. OET may allow IT services to be outsourced to a private vendor when the value of an outside vendor contract can be demonstrated.
• Debt collection: Authorized the Commissioner of Revenue to enter into a reciprocal agreement with the federal government under which the state would collect certain debts owed to federal agencies by offsetting those debts from state payments, and the federal government would do the same with respect to state debts and federal payments.
• Pay for Performance Act: The Commissioner of the Department of Management and Budget directed to implement a pilot program to assess the feasibility of using state appropriation bonds to pay for the services based on outcomes. Under the program certain state services would be contracted out to other entities, such as nonprofits, which will get paid based on increased tax revenues or cost avoidance to the state due to the performance of the services.
• State employee performance appraisal and pay: The Commissioner of Management and Budget directed to develop a plan for the redesign and implementation of the performance appraisal system for executive branch state employees. The redesigned system must include three components: (1) evaluation of the individual employee's performance relative to goals for the individual; (2) evaluation of the performance of the employee's program toward meeting outcomes for the program; and (3) evaluation of the performance of the entire agency toward meeting targeted outcomes for the agency. Under the plan an employee may not receive an increase in salary or wages based on progression to another step or lane unless the employee's supervisor certifies that the employee's individual performance has been satisfactory.
• State job classifications: The Commissioner of Management and Budget directed to report to the Legislature on a process to redesign and consolidate the job classification plan for executive branch employees, with a goal of assigning all classified positions to no more than 50 job families.
• Health insurance use incentives. Authorized the Commissioner of MMB to develop and implement a program that creates an incentive for efficient use by state employees of the State Employee Group Insurance Program (SEGIP).
• State employee insurance plan dependent eligibility verification audit: The Commissioner of Management and Budget will issue a request for proposals for a contract to provide audit services to ensure dependents on the state group health insurance plan are, in fact, eligible for dependent coverage.
• Employee gain-sharing: Implemented a “gain-sharing” system whereby state employees are provided a bonus if their suggestion or involvement in a project results in a documented cost-savings to the state. The bonus may be up to 10 percent of the savings up to a maximum of $1,000 for an individual or $2,500 for a group of employees. The award will be paid from the savings generated by the suggestion.
• Zero-based budgeting: Not adopted. This method of budgeting assumes the budget of each state agency is zero, and any budget received will be justified anew each budget cycle.
• 15% state workforce reduction: Not adopted.
• E-Verify: A contract for state services valued in excess of $50,000 must require certification from the vendor and any subcontractors that the vendor and all subcontractors have implemented or are in the process of implementing the federal E-Verify program for all newly hired employees who will perform work on behalf of the state of Minnesota.
• State agency value initiative: Established a state agency value initiative (SAVI) to encourage state agencies to identify efficiencies in agency programs and operations that result in cost savings for the state. In order to encourage innovation and creative cost saving by state employees, 50 percent of any unspent funds from the agency biennial appropriation may be retained by the agency to fund specific agency proposals or projects. The retained savings must be used to fund projects that directly support the agency’s mission. The goal of SAVI is to eliminate the “Christmas in June” effect, where agencies with unspent funds are faced with the choice of either finding something to spend it on before the end of the budget period or losing it.
• Fleet management: Department of Administration directed to issue an RFP to improve the procurement, allocation control, energy efficiency, maintenance, and in-service life of state agency vehicles. The vendor may be paid from the savings attributable to the work done by the vendor.
• State building management: Department of Administration directed to issue an RFP to provide recommendations for efficiencies in state building management, including optimization of energy consumption and facility maintenance. The vendor may be paid from the savings attributable to the work done by the vendor.
• Strategic sourcing RFP: An RFP will be issued for a contract to suggest efficiencies in “strategic sourcing” (i.e. procurement processes). The goal of the RFP is to reduce state spending on goods and services through tools such as product standardization, contract consolidation, multiple jurisdiction purchasing alliances, reverse and forward auctions, life-cycle costing, spend analysis and other techniques.
• Zoning variances: Enacted reforms in response to a Minnesota Supreme Court case (Krummenacher) that made it next to impossible for local units of government to grant zoning variances even in the most routine circumstances if the property could be put to reasonable use without the variance. Greater latitude given to local units of government to grant variances.
• Fiscal note preparation: A proposal to transfer responsibility for producing “fiscal notes” (the documents that quantify the cost of a legislative proposal and used to aid in establishing the state budget) from the executive branch to the legislature was not enacted.
• Administrative rules: A proposal to prohibit administrative rules from taking effect until enacted into law by the legislature if the cost of compliance with the rule exceeds $10,000 was not enacted.

ELECTIONS
• Photo ID to vote: Vetoed—a requirement that voters provide a valid government-issued picture identification before being allowed to vote.
• Loss and restoration of civil rights: Proposal to provide persons accused of a felony-level offense with notification that a guilty plea or conviction will result in a loss of civil rights, including the right to vote, until the sentence has been discharged. At discharge, a “notice of restoration of civil rights” would have been provided to inform the offender that their civil rights were restored, and that they would have the right to vote provided they registered to do so. Not adopted.
• Redistricting: Vetoed—legislation to redraw the state’s congressional and legislative boundaries.
• Electoral vote allocation/national popular vote: A proposal to award Minnesota’s presidential electoral votes based on the results of the national popular vote was not enacted.