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State Representative Leon Lillie
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-1188
For more information contact: Christina Gosack 651-296-5524
NEWS COLUMN
House Votes to Decrease Mercury Pollution, Approves Funding for Sex Offender Commitment
We are now entering the final weeks of the 2006 Legislative Session, and the agenda has narrowed to a handful of key bills. Two of these important bills passed the House floor this week: the Mercury Reduction bill and the 2006 Supplemental Budget.
The Mercury Reduction bill that passed the House unanimously this week is one of the best examples of compromise I have seen in my time at the legislature. Minnesotans love to fish, and we want the fish we catch in our lakes to be safe to eat. Right now, mercury, a nerve toxin, is contaminating so many of the lakes and rivers in our state that pregnant women and young children who are the most at risk are advised not to eat most Minnesota fish at all. The biggest way we can cut down on mercury pollution is to limit emissions from coal-fired power plants.
The mercury bill was the result of Democrats and Republicans bringing utilities and environmental groups to the negotiating table to work out a compromise that aggressively reduces mercury pollution without an unnecessary increase in the price of electricity. We accomplished the remarkable task of striking a compromise the Legislature, Governor, and outside groups could agree to that will decrease mercury emissions from the biggest coal-fired power plants in Minnesota by 90% before 2014. I was proud to join my House colleagues to pass this bill unanimously.
We also passed the 2006 House Supplemental Budget this week. In non-budget years like this one, we make adjustments to state finances by passing a Supplemental Budget. We had a modest state surplus to deal with this session. I would have liked to use this opportunity to invest in our most critical shared priority - educating our kids. Early childhood education in particular provides taxpayers with a 7 to 1 return on investment by preparing some of our most vulnerable children for school. House leadership passed up this opportunity by removing all early childhood and K-12 funding from the final 2006 Supplemental Budget.
Still, I voted in favor of the bill because it funds several important areas, including the state programs for Sex Offenders and the Mentally Ill and Dangerous. Both of these programs provide treatment to dangerous individuals and keep them off of the streets. This bill also creates an Internet Child Pornography Investigation Team to help law enforcement around the state.
As we enter the final weeks of session, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts or questions. If you have comments or questions on these or any other legislative issues, please contact me at (651) 296-1188, by e-mail at rep.leon.lillie@house.mn, or at 353 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Saint Paul, MN 55155.
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