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Minnesota House of Representatives

State Representative Jeanne Poppe

487 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4193

For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877

Posted: 2005-07-15 00:00:00
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NEWS COLUMN

SUCCESSFUL ENDING FOR THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION

The 2005 Legislative Session came to an end on Wednesday night, amidst a very public debate over the government shutdown. There is sure to be a lot of analysis of the process and why it took seven weeks of special session and eight days of government shutdown to finally reach a deal. And while discussing the process is extremely important, what's really important is the final outcome. The last four budget bills give us the standard by which we should be judged.
Education funding was a top priority. Our schools are reeling from a $185 million cut in 2003 and previous years of flat funding; without an increase they would be facing more teacher lay-offs, larger classroom sizes and more program cuts. This was a non-negotiable issue for us. The Governor had proposed a 2% increase for each of the next two years-we were able to negotiate a 4% increase. There are also additional dollars for early childhood education programs and for our gifted and talented students. This is the best funding for our schools in over two decades and will make a very significant difference.
Supporting a long-term solution of reforming health care by reducing waste and not people was a key issue. We worked very hard to keep thousands of Minnesotans on the state insurance program, MinnesotaCare. The Governor had proposed balancing the budget by cutting almost 30,000 working people from the only health care option that is available to them. These are working men and women who pay for this coverage-it is not welfare. In the final budget, not one Minnesotan will lose their MinnesotaCare coverage.
In addition, we eliminated the $5,000 benefit cap, which will allow those people with serious illnesses and injuries to get the medical care they need.
There are several other provisions about which I feel good. Instead of zero additional funding for Local Government Aid (LGA), our strong negotiations resulted in a one-third restoration of a previous cut. Out towns and cities will share in the additional $48 million, which will help pay for essential services such as the police and fire departments.
I'm very pleased that our nursing home workers will receive the first Cost of Living Adjustment in three years. These dedicated people do an excellent job of taking care of our loved ones and they deserve fair pay.
And, even though the Governor vetoed the comprehensive transportation bill that was passed with bipartisan support earlier in the session, we did pass a smaller ongoing funding bill for transportation and transit, with $6 million designated for rural transit. I am hopeful that next year we can address our growing need for new highways and bridges and safer roads.
It was not perfect, however. While we did our best to cushion the blow to rural hospitals, this final budget does contain some more cuts. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, one-fourth of the 119 hospitals in Greater Minnesota are operating in financial distress—meaning they are either operating at a loss or they have such a small operating margin that they cannot afford to do routine capital improvements to the facility.
The tobacco tax is an unfortunate revenue source in this budget, placing an unfair burden on tobacco users. The two revenue sources the Governor supported were this cigarette fee and gambling, both of which hit lower and middle income people the hardest. I would like to have seen more tax fairness but we were unable to garner enough support for any other funding option.
If I were to be asked whether or not I made a difference this session, I would absolutely say yes. The election of 13 new Democrats in the House brought the two parties within two seats of each other, making it impossible for the majority party to ignore us. If the Republicans all voted together they could get their bills passed. But, as we saw several times, with even one or two of them joining us, we had the votes we needed to get some good things done.
Because of the swing in the last election, there truly were two parties at the table during the final budget negotiations. There was a lot at stake and the two sides started out very far apart. I believe that the final deal represents a reasonable compromise, and I know that without the new DFL first term legislators, the accomplishments of the 2005 session would not be as significant and positive for the people of Minnesota.
Please continue to call or write if you have ideas or concerns you want to share about state or local issues. I can be reached by phone at 1-888-682-3180 or 1-651-296-4193, by mail at 231 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155 or via e-mail at the above address. If you are interested in receiving my e-newsletter, please email me at rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn and your name will be added to our list.

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