Dear Neighbors,
After a recess last week to observe Easter and Passover, we returned to the Capitol to work on omnibus bills.
Health and Human Services Conference Committee
With each chamber passing their own version of the various budget bills, House/Senate conference committees have been appointed to resolve differences in the bills. I’ve been appointed by the Speaker of the House to serve on the conference committee for Health and Human Services.
The bill that passed the House floor cuts $600 million from vital services in Minnesota. This is the first time in my 25 years working in health policy where the intention of a piece of legislation is to actually cover fewer people. Serving on the HHS finance committee this year we have heard many ideas to address our shortcomings in key areas, but by leaving these solutions out of the bill, the Republicans do nothing but leave Minnesotans behind. Instead they focus their energy on so-called “reforms” – like shifting MNsure to the federal exchange – which does nothing to improve care, costs $5 million per year and gives away state control to the federal government where uncertainty abounds.
One of the first tasks of the conference committee is to examine the side-by-side comparison of both the House and Senate’s spreadsheets. In addition to harmful cuts to people, the legislation counts fake savings while shifting various payments into the future. Hopefully we can develop a real understanding of these numbers from the affected state agencies; moving forward without this information would be irresponsible.
Budget Bill Conference Committees
Conference committees operate under unique ground rules. The chair alternates between the House and the Senate each consecutive meeting, and it takes three members of each body to approve the final agreement. Once this agreed upon bill is sent back to the House and Senate, it must be voted up or down; it can no longer be amended. Before much substantive decision making can occur, “joint budget targets” must be established by House and Senate leadership, and this has yet to occur. These numbers will determine how much each area has available to invest or to cut.
Here is the membership of the conference committees for the House and Senate, all of whom are Republicans unless indicated:
HF 4 Omnibus Tax Bill. House: Davids, Drazkowski, McDonald, Hertaus, and Marquart (DFL); Senate: Chamberlain, Dahms, Miller, Senjem, Rest (DFL)
HF 861 Omnibus Transportation Finance bill. House: Torkelson, Runbeck, Petersburg, Koznick, and Howe; Senate: Newman, Jasinski, Kiffmeyer, Osmek, Sparks (DFL)
HF 888 Omnibus Environment and Natural Resources Finance bill. House: Fabian, Heintzeman, Swedzinski, Uglem, and Ecklund (DFL); Senate: Ingebrigtsen; Ruud; Westrom; Mathews; Tomassoni (DFL)
HF 890 Omnibus E-12 Education Finance bill. House: Loon, Erickson, Bennett, Kresha, and Murphy, M. (DFL); Senate: Nelson, Pratt, Eichorn, Weber, Wiger (DFL)
SF 605 Omnibus State Government Finance bill: House. Anderson, S., O'Driscoll, Dettmer, Fenton, Nash; Senate: Kiffmeyer, Anderson, B., Koran, Hall, Laine (DFL)
SF 780 Omnibus Agriculture Finance bill. House: Hamilton, Anderson, P., Lueck, Backer, Poppe (DFL); Senate: Westrom, Weber, Goggin, Lang, Eken (DFL)
SF 800 Omnibus HHS Finance bill. House: Dean, M., Schomacker, Albright, Kiel, Schultz (DFL); Senate: Benson, Abeler, Housley, Utke, Lourey (DFL)
SF 803 Omnibus Public Safety Finance bill. House: Cornish, Johnson, B., Zerwas, Scott, Hilstrom (DFL): Senate: Limmer, Relph, Johnson, Anderson, B., Latz (DFL)
SF 1937 Omnibus Jobs and Economic Development bill. House: Garofalo, Newberger, Hoppe, O'Neill, and Mahoney (DFL); Senate: Miller, Dahms, Osmek, Anderson, P., Champion (DFL)
SF 2214 Omnibus Higher Education Finance bill. House: Nornes, Christensen, Daniels, Whelan, Omar (DFL); Senate: Fischbach, Draheim, Anderson, P., Jensen, Clausen (DFL)
Hopefully, these discussions remain open to the public and will include opportunities for citizen input. Last year, we saw the consequences of a chaotic end to session when the Republicans in charge put everything off to the last minute, which resulted in bills riddled with mistakes. To be certain, Gov. Mark Dayton will be engaged in these conversations as well, as any bill that passes will need his signature to become law. This means it’s very important for everyone to reach out to him as well and let him know your thoughts on these bills. I encourage you to share your priorities with him here.
Water Action Day
Earlier this week, several organizations collaborated to hold Water Action Day at the State Capitol. This served to highlight the importance of protecting our lakes, rivers and streams while ensuring Minnesotans have clean drinking water for generations to come. There are proposals moving through the Legislature which threaten protections for this precious natural resource. In Duluth and the Twin Ports, we have a unique perspective with regard to protecting the Great Lakes, too. I was happy to see many friends made the trip down, and I appreciated the opportunity to meet with them.
March for Science in Duluth
Please consider attending a March for Science rally in Duluth tomorrow, Saturday, April 22.
Scientists, as well as those who support science, will rally to underscore the importance of science in soundpolicy making and improving lives. This rally will celebrate the scientific enterprise and the research that has advanced our society.
Duluth Rally: Saturday, 10am Leif Erickson Park
For details see Facebook event post: https://www.facebook.com/events/1200751573378185/?ti=icl
Town Hall Meeting
Another reminder that Sen. Simonson, Rep. Olson and I are holding another Town Hall Meeting later this month. We hope to see you Saturday, April 29 from 10:00 a.m. to noon at Ordean Middle School, on 4th Street. Please attend and share your thoughts as the legislative session enters its final weeks.
Thank you again for being engaged in the important topics we are discussing at the legislature. Feel free to reach out whenever you’d like with your feedback or questions.
Sincerely,
Jen Schultz
State Representative