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State Representative Tara Mack
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5506
For more information contact:
E-mail update
Progress report from St. Paul
Hello from the Capitol!
It was a big week at the Capitol, with Gov. Mark Dayton delivering his
State of the State Address and some key bills passing through the House.
Locally, I had a chance to meet this morning with city officials from
both Apple Valley and Burnsville as well as other south metro cities to
discuss legislative priorities for our local cities. In addition, I had
the exciting opportunity to attend a ceremony where a few of our local
arts organizations, Dakota Valley Symphony and the Velvet Tones, were
awarded grant dollars from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council with
money from the Constitutional Legacy Funds.
Here's an overview of other happenings from this week:
State of the State (and beyond)
Gov. Dayton gave his State of the State Address on Wednesday. His
speech focused on areas where the state needs to spend more money,
including education and transportation. His budget will be released
Tuesday and that will give us a clear picture of exactly how the
Governor plans on balancing the budget.
Dayton vetoes budget bill
The first bill passed by the House and Senate this year became Gov.
Mark Dayton’s first veto on Thursday. The “Phase 1” budget bill would
have cut more than $901 million in state spending. We hoped the bill
would take an early bite out of the state’s projected $6.2 billion
biennial budget deficit by extending what was already in place from last
spring and preventing $824 million in spending that is on auto-pilot
from kicking in.
Yes vote on alternative pathways to teaching
Providing alternative pathways to teaching moved a step closer to
becoming law when the House passed a bill Thursday with bi-partisan
support. It now goes to a conference committee to prepare if for a final
vote. The bill would make it easier for schools to employ teachers
without traditional education training who meet other criteria.
Candidate requirements include a bachelor’s degree with a 3.0
grade-point average, unless waived by the Board of Teaching; passing
three tests including basic skills, pedagogy and content; participation
in at least 200 hours of training; and ongoing professional development
and supervision, including by a school site team. This initiative is
one that has been used across the country and is supported by the
President as a way of addressing the achievement gap in low-performing
schools. It is important to remember that the local schools always have
final say over who to hire in their schools with the people they think
are best qualified to meet the needs of students.
House approves HF1 streamlining bill
The bill to streamline the environmental permit process within two
state agencies, was approved on the House floor and awaits action in the
Senate. Most of the bill had bipartisan support and mirrored an
executive order issued earlier by Gov. Dayton to make the permit
application process more efficient within the Department of Natural
Resources and the Pollution Control Agency. Our state's permitting
process is one of top concerns that I have heard about from local
business owners so I am glad to see us making progress in making this
area less burdensome for job providers.
As always, I welcome your thoughts on the issues. The best way to reach
me is by e-mailing rep.tara.mack@house.mn.
Sincerely,
Tara
News Items
- April 6 Legislative Update - (Posted: 2012-04-06 00:00:00)
- March 30 Legislative Update - (Posted: 2012-03-30 00:00:00)
- March 23 Legislative Update - (Posted: 2012-03-23 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
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