Dear Neighbor,
Hello from the House, where we have wrapped up the final floor session of the week. I will be spending much of this afternoon chairing a meeting of the Ways and Means Committee to continue reviewing and amending as needed finance bills that will shape our next two-year state budget. My busiest time of the session is approaching as we conclude Ways and Means work and also start conducting long floor sessions to discuss finance bills.
Here is a recap of this week's House news:
HIGHER ED. BILL UPDATE
One of the next items on the Ways and Means calendar will be to prepare the Higher Education Policy and Finance Omnibus Bill to be received on the House floor. This bill provides $1.3 billion to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, an increase of $105 million over the February forecast. This includes a tuition freeze in 2016 and a 1-percent reduction in 2017 for two-year schools. It also provides a tuition freeze in 2017 for four-year schools and limits 2016 increases to 3 percent.
BILLS WITH LOCAL TIES ADVANCE
As for other news this week, I had another hearing on the bingo bill I authored, this time in the House Taxes Committee. This bill would reduce the charitable gambling tax on the remaining seven bingo halls in the state, including the Bingo Emporium in Saint Cloud. The passage of this bill is necessary for the Bingo Emporium to stay open.
Also, the House Transportation bill, of which I am a co-author, passed Ways and Means. In addition to laying out a framework for helping solve our infrastructure issues by spending $7 billion over the next 10 years without raising taxes, and roughly doubling transit funding for Greater Minnesota, it also has a small item of interest for Saint Cloud. The bill dedicates funding to the Saint Cloud Fire Department to create an emergency response team. This will be very useful in the event of an oil train disaster or other public safety emergency.
EMERGENCY AVIAN INFLUENZA ACTION
The House took special action Thursday to pass $900,000 in emergency funding to help us combat a statewide outbreak of avian influenza among turkey flocks. A joint hearing of ag. finance and policy committees took place this week in the House and a number of experts provided their perspectives on this issue. Work will continue this session and beyond to determine appropriate actions and funding necessary to mitigate the impacts of avian influenza now and in the future. We were scheduled to take up the Agriculture Finance bill in Ways and Means o Thursday, but delayed this hearing pending receiving more information on this rapidly evolving situation. We will be bringing forward the Agriculture Finance bill with additional money for dealing with the avian flu crisis in Ways and Means next week.
FIREARMS LEGISLATION
A series of four bills pertaining to guns also came to the House floor this week. Each of them passed with wide bipartisan support, including the most controversial bill which allows the use of suppressors on firearms. I was not very familiar with suppressors (also sometimes termed silencers, though they really can't silence the sound of a gun) and learned a few things that led me to support the bill. First, I did not realize suppressors already are allowed in 39 states. They are helpful in mitigating hearing damage caused by firearm blasts, providing a reduction in decibels from 145-160 to 130. The federal process that would take place prior to permitting a suppressor includes a background check by a local chief law enforcement officer, the federal government, and the standard national instant background check. This allowance is helpful to hunters and the bill passed by a wide bipartisan margin of 89-40.
BUDGET DISCUSSION WITH GOV. DAYTON
I had another breakfast meeting with Gov. Mark Dayton this week to discuss budget issues. It was a productive talk and I thanked the governor for including in his budget proposal part of a bill I have authored that would allow more people to qualify for education tax credits available to help cover the costs of school supplies and other related expenses for public, private and home-schooled students.
As always, your thoughts on these and other issues are welcome as the May 18 scheduled date of adjournment approaches. The session's biggest decisions remain and your input helps me continue doing my best to represent the people of our area.
Sincerely,
Jim