Hello Friends,
The conclusion of the 2015 Legislative Session
The 2015 Legislative Session has come to a messy semi-conclusion. With the Jobs Omnibus bill hurriedly stuffed into the last two minutes of session by the House Republican majority, there wasn’t even time to see what had made it into this bill. The conference committee had been unable to conclude the bill on their own seven hours before the end of session, and Speaker Daudt and Senate Majority Leader Bakk had to step in. Then it was amended in the Senate. Yet, it was rammed through at the very end in the House with no transparency.
At the same time, the Legacy bill and a smaller-than-usual yet important Bonding bill were not able to be passed before midnight by both bodies. Adding to these failures of leadership by the Republican majority, the Tax bill had been dropped completely in the preceding weeks, as was a real Transportation bill. (We passed a “lights on” Transportation bill to keep MnDOT operating.) At the start of this year, everyone in both parties had agreed we have enormous transportation infrastructure needs, and this session was to be the “Transportation Session.”
These failures are added to the Education bill that went forth in spite of Governor Dayton’s promise of a veto if it ignored real early education funding. A compromise was offered to the House Republican majority by the Governor to drop his request for universal pre-K and add $125 million for early education options, but it was refused – despite a $2.1 billion surplus. The Governor kept his promise to veto, meaning a special session will be needed.
Ethnic Councils Reform
The most extensive and challenging legislation I did this year was to reform the structure and operation of the three ethnic councils. These small state agencies were created in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s as the eyes and ears of state government into the communities of Latino, African-American, and Asian-Pacific Minnesotans, and to be a liaison for these communities into democratic change.
I am a legislative representative to the Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans. My experience, along with the report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor about the effectiveness of these councils, prompted me to work on better accountability for these small but important state agencies. I very much value the potential of people working together on issues, so I did not agree with those who sought to eliminate the councils. Too many disparities still exist for these communities; we need to work together.
My work was bipartisan; accountability is not a partisan issue. But change is hard, especially after 35 years of gradually slipping into a status quo. In spite of my working with all involved, those who do not wish to change tried hard to discredit me and my work. However, this legislation is moving towards passage via the State Government Omnibus bill. I will continue to commit my time and energy to these councils and their effectiveness in the important work of establishing equity for all in Minnesota.
I want to thank you all for staying involved and informed throughout the session. I can’t do my work without you and hope you’ll stay involved as we move to a (hopefully) short special session. Please continue to contact me by email rep.carolyn.laine@house.mn or phone 651-296-4331.
Thank you and have a good summer,
Carolyn