Accessibility menu
State Representative Dan Fabian
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-9635
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
SESSION UPDATE
News From Representative Fabian
As we are nearing the end of the 2011 session I wanted to highlight a few things we have accomplished so far.
Jobs and the economy have always been our number one priorities during this session. The permitting process was hindering business development and expansion and it was one of our goals to remove obstacles in state government that cause our job creators to look across state lines in order to expand their business. So we presented House File 1 which I had the privilege of carrying. It passed and was signed into law by the Governor. We know our economic recovery begins with common sense regulatory reform that will save time and cost to our businesses while protecting the environment and public health.
The information below describes the top three priorities of House File 1:
· Establishes a 150 day goal for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to issue permits and require a report on applications not meeting that goal.
· Eliminates district court review of environmental review decisions and send all appeals directly to the Court of Appeals.
· Allows a project proposer the option prepare the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), rather than a regulated government unit such as a state agency or local government.
Later this session I was able to introduce House File 954 in the Government Operations committee. This bill was passed and it will now allow Kittson County to make official offices appointed positions, but is subject to an 80 percent vote of the county board and reverse referendum. This bill also provides that each current officeholder to complete the term to which the officer was elected before an office is made appointive. John Anderson and Joe Bouvette, both Kittson County Commissioners testified on behalf of this bill.
I recently introduced House File 1497 last week in the Government Operations Committee. This bill says that The Pollution Control Agency should extend permit terms from 5 years to 10 years in order to coincide with site capacity, design capacity, ultimate capacity, or design life as determined by the proposer, if the permit is pertaining to a solid waste land disposal facility. This proposal was brought to me in part, by Dale Nelson the Mar-Kit landfill manager.
A couple of bills that I am focusing on now are House File 1238, which I am authoring and House File 1579, of which I am a co-author. HF 1238 is in regards to county septic systems. This bill delays implementation of new MPCA standards for rural septic systems until 2016. Rural counties have expressed deep concern regarding the new rules proposed by the MPCA. It is possible that each county could have an increase in expenses of up to $50,000 in an attempt to implement the new rules. Also home owners could incur costs to upgrade their systems of $1,200 and up to $8,700. Counties were originally required to adopt an ordinance by February 4, 2010, but were given a two year extension last session. This bill has very strong support from the associations representing rural counties.
House File 1579 called the Minnesota Accountable Government Innovation and Collaboration (MAGIC) Act, which establishes a pilot program in which counties may apply to develop and test alternative models for service delivery that focus on performance measures and outcomes rather than processes for delivering the services. This is a responsible and responsive way to streamline government services and make them more efficient for Minnesotans.
I want to thank you again for allowing me to serve you at the State Legislature and as always if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to contact my office. I promise to continue to work hard on your behalf as we continue to hold the line on spending and taxes. I believe that state government needs to live within its means.
Sincerely,
Dan
News Items
- REP. FABIAN EXTENDS GRATITUDE TO TRAILS4TRANSPLANTS ORGANIZERS IN WARREN - (Posted: Jun 11 2013 2:46PM)
- June Town Hall Meeting Schedule - (Posted: Jun 3 2013 2:28PM)
- REP. FABIAN: MINNESOTANS DO NOT WANT FORCED DAYCARE UNIONIZATION AT THIS TIME - (Posted: May 20 2013 2:42PM)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.