By Rep. Paul Anderson
Things are fairly quiet this Monday morning here at the State Office Building, following a Sunday floor session of the House of Representatives that lasted well into the night. Adjourning just past 5:30 a.m., legislators were finalizing bills that will fund state government for the next two years. Good progress has been made but the threat of a veto from Gov. Mark Dayton of the education finance bill casts a big shadow over the final day's session. It's somewhat challenging trying to write this column to keep readers up-to-date on what's happening here at the Capitol when the situation is so fluid and can change at a moment's notice.
Several bills returning from conference committees were acted on Sunday, among them the K-12 spending bill, which at just over $17 billion for the upcoming two-year biennium, is the largest single outlay in state government. The per-pupil funding formula increase was set at 1.5 percent the first year and 2 percent for the second year. That comes out to roughly $205 per student and represents over 70 percent of the entire $400 million increase in funding for this part of the budget. In addition, one of the schools in our district, Sauk Centre, would also become eligible for funding under the Q-Comp program as they were among six schools on a waiting list.
Some good policy issues were also including in the funding bill, among which is wording to allow local districts to determine their school calendars in regard to the four-day week. Also included is a one-year provision allowing schools to begin classes this fall on Sept. 1 because Labor Day falls so late on the calendar. This education bill gives school districts greater flexibility in areas such as student testing and also allows the Board of Teaching to expedite the licensing process for out-of-state teaching candidates.
It does not contain language for the governor's pre-kindergarten initiative, which has caused Gov. Dayton to issue his veto threat. What makes a veto even more problematic is the fact the legislative chambers in the Capitol are scheduled to be closed off for major remodeling work beginning the day following adjournment. So, if no changes are made to the bill after its passage by both the House and Senate and the governor follows through on his veto threat, there is no place for the Legislature to meet in special session. Dayton has said he would erect a tent on the Capitol lawn and have us meet there. Stay tuned on this one as things could get interesting.
Good news on the health and human services bill, also passed early Monday morning, as language giving nursing homes additional state funding for reimbursement rates was included. Hopefully, this bill doesn't generate a gubernatorial veto as it gives our nursing homes a much-needed boost in state payments. The total cost of this one provision is around $150 million per year. Another positive feature of the HHS bill is additional funding in the area of child protection.
On the transportation front, agreement was not reached on major new funding. The two bodies could not come together on the gas tax issue as the DFL Senate wouldn't give up its position on a gas tax increase while the Republican-controlled House held firm in saying "No" to the proposal to raise the gas tax by at least 16 cents per gallon. As a result, a "lights-on" transportation bill will keep the status quo in effect. The provision calling for $25 million for cities under 5,000 population was reduced to $12.5 million in the new transportation bill.
The environment and agriculture finance bills, rolled into one, are scheduled to be heard in debate on the final day of session. The ag language provides a good level of funding for the agencies dealing with the avian flu situation that's affecting our state's poultry industry. It also contains a loan program for producers needing assistance in getting back into production. Also included in the bill is language pertaining to buffers. It is a much-scaled back version of the 50-foot initiative proposed earlier this year by Gov. Dayton. Under this bill, public ditches would be required to implement buffers measuring one rod or 16.5 feet. Additional funding will be allocated to county Soil and Water Conservation Districts to implement the program, which for the most part, will be locally controlled.
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