Dear Neighbors,
I know our neighbors expect the legislature to get the work of legislating done in a timely manner with an accountable process that encourages public engagement. That is what you expect from me, and it is what I expect from my colleagues, but this year it didn’t happen. Last night at almost 3:00 am, after three days, the Minnesota Legislature finally completed a special session to complete the state budget that was only supposed to take seven hours.
Governor’s Office Occupation for Immigrant Driver’s Licenses
Currently, Minnesotans who want Governor Dayton to veto the public safety bill which was passed during regular session are occupying his office in the Capitol in protest. The bill contains anti-immigrant driver’s license language. You can see a photo below and find more information here via the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee’s facebook page.
Photo credit Nick Espinosa
Legislative Updates
Republicans in the majority walked away from negotiations and wasted weeks passing bills they knew Governor would veto. The Governor agreed to broad terms for a special session, but Republicans broke this agreement when they failed to negotiate the budget bills and get them printed for legislators to debate before the special session deadline.
In terms of policy, there was nothing special about the budget bills that were passed in this special session. As I stated on twitter last night – “Special session has turned into attack on immigrants, workers, women and families. House republicans, this isn't the Minnesota way. #MNleg”
Special Session Tax Bill
The House repassed a tax bill as amended by the Senate, which included tobacco tax cuts, a tax cut for premium cigars, and an expansion of the Estate Tax exemption. The Estate Tax exemption will give back $109.3 million to 1,100 of the wealthiest Minnesotans. It is fiscally irresponsible for the future of our state budget to cut revenue during a time of economic uncertainty.
Special Session Education Bill
The education bill passed provides an inadequate funding increase to our schools during a time of budget surplus. I don’t think the changes made in the bill will stop the critical shortage of teachers of color in our classrooms. This is troubling to many districts like Minneapolis Public Schools facing budget deficits and shortage of teachers.
Special Session Transportation Bill
Republicans raided the money used for schools and healthcare in order to fund public transportation, roads, and bridges. It fails to provide new long-term, constitutionally dedicated funds. The bill does fully fund Metro Transit in 2018-2019, but will leave a $110 million hole in 2020-2021—resulting in a 30 percent cut to services. This will have a devastating impact on our community if we don’t fix it in the future.
Special Session Labor Standards (Preemption, Pensions, Contract Ratification and Wage Theft)
The House also passed an especially cruel Labor Standards bill last night. The Republicans combined preemption, pensions, state employee contracts for the Engineering Council, paid parental leave for state employees, and wage theft restrictions into one bill they knew would be vetoed. I am thankful that Governor Dayton has strongly committed to vetoing this bill because of preemption, but I’m heartbroken for the families working for our state who will not have their parental leave benefits extended and other good things that were in the bill. Governor Dayton had this to say:
“It is unconscionable that Republican legislators would pit the earned financial security of hardworking state employees and retirees against the rights of local officials to make the decisions for which they were elected by their citizens. Nevertheless, I have said that I will veto the preemption bill, and I will honor that commitment.”
Special Session State Government Finance Bill
Because of the desire of Republicans to prioritize tax cuts, they have broken our commitment to public employees, and they also eliminated staffing for the Office of the Economic Status of Women. This was unbelievably disappointing behavior on the part of Republicans.
There will be no funding for any of the $27 million requested by Minnesota IT Services (MN.IT) for cyber security efforts. The bill also reduced the state’s contribution by $20 million to PERA—our state retirement plan—for the Minneapolis Employees Retirement Association (MERF). This reduction is shifted onto the former employers of the MERF retirees, which includes the City of Minneapolis, Minneapolis Public Schools, Hennepin County, and five other metro area entities.
Special Session Health and Human Services Bill
The health and human services bill makes significant cuts to the healthcare budget. It takes $350 million each year from the Health Care Access Fund, which puts MinnesotaCare and other state health programs at risk. Additionally, there is no new funding for drinking water protection and school-linked mental health. Overall, the Republicans’ healthcare bill is based on fake savings and irresponsible budget shifts.
Looking Forward
These bills will all be delivered to the Governor today, when he will have three days to sign or veto bills passed in regular session and the special session. Governor Dayton has 14 days to sign or veto bills passed in the special session, and if he does not act on the special session bills, they are vetoed. He can line-item veto spending provisions but not policy proposals. It’s uncertain how he will approach many of the bills. We’ll have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, I encourage you to continue reaching out to Governor Dayton and tell him you support his veto of preemption, his veto of the public safety bill with anti-immigrant driver’s license language and maintaining a strong state budget into the future. He needs to hear from you about these bills, and I would encourage you to call Governor Dayton's office and share your concerns at 651-201-3400.
Minnesotans expect better than the results of this special session.
Stay Connected
You can always contact me at rep.ilhan.omar@house.mn or at 651-296-4257. I appreciate hearing from you.
Please follow me on facebook and twitter to stay up to date and receive action alerts.
Sincerely,
Ilhan Omar
State Representative