Dear Neighbor,
Legislators were in St. Paul on Thursday to discuss issues that may be on the agenda if a one-day special session were to take place in the next several weeks, before the regular session begins March 8.
Gov. Mark Dayton has suggested legislation to deal with three separate issues could be part of a potential special session. The House and Senate have assembled joint working groups to examine each of these subjects: REAL ID, extension of unemployment benefits for miners out of work on the Iron Range, and economic disparities.
I have been asked and have agreed to co-chair the economic disparities working group. This appears to be the most broad and complex issue among the three under consideration. A state official provided a comprehensive overview during what was a productive discussion Thursday. A recent study indicates minority Minnesotans have seen a drop in income since the Great Recession. It says African-American Minnesotans have seen their income fall by an inflation-adjusted $7,700 since 2007 – and down by $4,500 from 2013 to 2014 alone.
There are a host of other problems that affect minority populations in our state. A key factor is that Minnesota has the worst education achievement gap in the country between white and minority students. This has led to many not achieving their potential.
Dayton has proposed spending $15 million in an attempt to mitigate economic disparities, but has not provided a detailed breakdown of how those funds would be appropriated. House Democrats have suggested this topic is too broad to deal with in a special session. Minority Leader Rep. Paul Thissen, D-Minneapolis, stated in a Jan. 4 letter to Dayton: "...we will not be able to sufficiently address the crisis [in racial disparities] in a single Special Session."
I am hopeful we can make progress on this issue if there is a special session, but I agree with Rep. Thissen that the greatest progress will likely have to come during regular session. We will be having another meeting next week on this subject.
REAL ID is a working group subject that has garnered significant media attention of late. New federal guidelines pertaining to ID requirements for boarding domestic flights are set to go into effect at a yet-to-be-specified date. Once that happens, Minnesota will have 120 days to bring its IDs into compliance with updated federal standards. That leaves enough time to address this issue once the regular session starts in March.
House and Senate leaders were meeting with the governor this morning in order to determine whether a special session should take place. No announcement had been made at the time of this writing and many questions remain on each of the three issues. Legislators and the public alike deserve more time to digest information and scrutinize proposals as they evolve.
Look for more as this matter develops.
Sincerely,
Jim