Greetings from the Floor,
Bills passed by the House on Monday were:
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HF 2956: Amending membership of the Dakota County Community Development Agency
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HF 3101: Repealing obsolete language related to the repealed (last year) commissioner of veterans affairs guardianship program
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HF 2613: Designating certain hospitals as STEMI (severe heart attack) receiving centers (for coordination of appropriate access to care for STEMI patients)
On Tuesday, the Higher Education Committee heard bills pertaining to the University of Minnesota’s clinical drug trials when people are study participants and the university’s use of fetal tissue for research. Bills heard in the committee were HFs 3553, 3378 and 2865. HF 3553 would require the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Ombudsman to monitor University of Minnesota drug trials when people are study participants. This was a recommendation by the Office of the Legislative Auditor’s report on the Dan Markingson case. Mr. Markingson was a subject of study who committed suicide after participating in drug trials at the university. HF 3378 would expand the oversight, compliance and training functions of the University of Minnesota’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB reviews the university’s research involving human participants. The IRB’s expansion would encompass clarification of existing policies for human participants and enhanced penalties for policy violations; inspections and audits of research activities to assure compliance with federal and state laws; training programs for employees and students involved in research projects; and establish an anonymous reporting system for employee or student complaints of violation of federal and state laws.
HF 2865 would cut $14 million of the $15 million appropriated to the University of Minnesota last year for any medical research in FY 2017 and require the university to use the remaining $1 million to establish a fetal tissue research center to provide oversight of all research activity involving fetal tissue research. If the university acts accordingly, the bill would compel the Legislature to re-appropriate the held over $14 million next session. All of these bills were laid over for possible inclusion in the Higher Education Committee’s omnibus bill later this session. HF 2865 comes from controversy last summer regarding allegations that Planned Parenthood illegally sold aborted fetal tissue after undercover video surfaced of conversations among Planned Parenthood employees (a Texas grand jury has since cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing and instead indicted the undercover videographers). The University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents retained a law firm to review past and present university practices around fetal tissue activity. The law firm found that the university did not commit any violations of state or federal law.
Yesterday, I introduced HF 3861. This bill would establish $10 million in tax credits for employers that make cash or in-kind contributions to a 2-year MnSCU school’s foundation, granted the contribution is dedicated to an academic program that prepares students for jobs in industries with a high demand for workers. I know I’ve been leery of tax credits for economic development in the past; however, after talking with MnSCU schools and businesses contributions to school foundations is a model that has proven to be effective in helping people with the costs of higher education (the foundations use the contributions for scholarships), prepare for the workforce (through in-kind contributions like engines and old equipment) and find jobs after graduation. I also put reporting requirements into the bill for the Legislature to review the impacts of the credits on degree completion, job placement and the number of scholarships schools are issuing.
Thank You for the Opportunity to Serve,
Ben