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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL)

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Legislative Update: New Laws & Special Session Update

Friday, July 1, 2016

Dear Neighbors,

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you a safe and happy Fourth of July with your family, friends, and neighbors as we celebrate our nation’s independence, and give you an update on what is and isn’t happening at the Capitol after the end of the legislative session in May.

It will be a beautiful weekend, and I hope that we all take advantage of the many outdoor activities that will be happening around Minneapolis. You can check out the city’s guide to Minneapolis 4th of July by clicking here.

While the holiday provides plenty of opportunity for fun, a recent article in the Star Tribune showed that last year, fireworks related injuries were the highest they have been in a decade. Heading into a busy weekend with many young children around, please take time to remind everyone to be safe, and keep kids away from fireworks.

New Laws Take Effect July 1

Even though this session was defined mostly by its unfortunate dysfunction, there were many bills that became law, some of which go into effect on July 1st.

Some state departments will see an increase in their budgets after of the $189 million supplemental budget. Most spending bills take effect July 1 at the start of the state's fiscal year. A summary of selected new laws provided by the nonpartisan House Public Information Office that take effect July 1, 2016, can be accessed here.

A complete summary of all laws passed by the 2016 Legislature is available online from the House Public Information Services Office here.

Special Session

The 2016 legislative session ended in chaos at midnight Sunday, May 22, with the two top priorities left unfinished: a transportation bill and a bonding bill.

There was no comprehensive, long-term transportation funding plan agreed to by the House Majority. In the end, the House Republican Majority’s opposition to transit funding was greater than their support for roads and bridges statewide, either through a transportation or a bonding bill. It’s unfortunate as there is bipartisan recognition of the need for better transportation options statewide.

The bonding bill was hurriedly cobbled together in the final hours on the final night of session and as we know now, it contained dozens of factual errors and omissions. In fact, we only received an updated spreadsheet from House staff with corrections two days after we adjourned for the year.

There was an element of déjà vu from last year on the last day of session; deals being made behind closed doors without public input, and an expectation from the House GOP Majority to take votes on these last minute deals which no one had read or offered input on before passage. Poor time management and a lack of compromise seem to be recurring themes of the 2015-2016 biennium.

Below are more detailed highlights of what was actually accomplished; these bills were debated and passed on our constitutionally-mandated last day to legislate.

Bonding

A single copy of the bonding bill spreadsheet outlining the statewide projects, which had $300 million for one-time transportation funding, was presented to the House DFL Minority one hour before midnight on the final evening of session. With very little time to review projects included and no accurate information about the bill, it passed and went to the Senate. The bill was amended in the Senate requiring it to return to the House to be voted on and re-passed with transit language, but the House rushed to adjourn without voting on the returned bill.

The bonding bill received its first actual public hearing just the week before adjournment. It had a number of projects of interest to our area, including funding for The Family Partnership social service agency and for metro area regional parks, as well as the 35W and Lake interchange. The metro parks money was added after the legislative session.

Tax Bill

The omnibus tax bill passed the House of Representatives on a vote of 123-10 after several changes were made in the Taxes Conference Committee. The original House GOP Taxes bill had $2 billion in tax cuts focused on corporations, but after House and Senate Taxes Conference Committee meetings, House Republicans accepted several provisions from the Senate Democrats. The revised cost of the bill came to approximately $857 million over the next three years. A few of the measures would have included: expanded child care and working family tax credit expansions; a new student loan tax credit of up to $1,000; and deductions and credits for contributions to 529 college savings plans. There was also additional funding for Local Government Aid. Although we must be cautious with the long term effects of tax cuts on our state budget, I was glad to see the tax cuts go to the middle.

Unfortunately there was a tobacco tax cut included in the bill which would have reduced the tax on tobacco products in the future by $32 million. There are more urgent needs for these revenues other than a giveaway for big tobacco.

I did support the overall bill due to the provisions that supported student loan assistance, struggling families with sky-rocketing child care costs, veterans benefits and LGA improvements. Compromise involves accepting the fact that to get what you want, sometimes you have to accept things that you don’t like.

In the end, the Governor vetoed the entire bill. There was a one word drafting error that would have increased the cost of the bill by $101 million. GOP leaders think a letter of intent would have been enough to fix the error, but the Commissioner of Revenue pointed to statute showing evidence that a special session is necessary to correct the error. The incorrect legislation passed was clear, just wrong, meaning new language would need to be passed to correct the error. This error is yet another example of what happens when bills are not thoroughly vetted in a timely manner and passed in a rush at the last minute.

Special Session Update

Specific conditions from Governor Dayton were outlined in a letter to legislative leaders on June 1 regarding a special session. These provisions include $182 million for additional bonding projects statewide and more than $75 million in supplemental spending for areas such as higher education, community partnership initiatives and economic development.

For the Governor to call a special session, he is requesting an agreement on a reconciled, long-term transportation plan among House and Senate leaders that has funding for metro transit.

On June 21, Governor Dayton met with legislative leaders again regarding a potential special session. Little progress was made. Speaker Daudt still has not come forward with any counter-offer to Governor Dayton’s proposal for a special session. He was asked to make a written offer during the meeting and refused point blank. However, he did add two new items to the discussion - insisting on local preemption legislation and a school voucher proposal. That preemption legislation would stop local units of government, such as Minneapolis, from enacting requirements for things like access to earned sick leave, paid parental leave, or higher minimum wage rules.

Please always feel free to share your input on any issue that faces our community and state. I look forward to hearing from you and can be reached at 651-296-0173 or by email at rep.jim.davnie@house.mn .

Sincerely,

Jim Davnie

State Representative