Dear Neighbor,
The House approved all three of its supplemental omnibus finance bills this week. They are now destined for a conference committee which the Speaker has told me I will co-chair, where I will work to reconcile our proposals with those from the Senate as we advance toward the Legislature's May 23 adjournment.
Two separate provisions I authored to mitigate child care reimbursement disparities and to resolve an issue threatening funeral homes throughout Greater Minnesota passed the House during omnibus action on Thursday.
The child care bill equalizes the child care reimbursement rates in cities such as St. Cloud which stretch into two or more counties. Current differences in subsidies between counties have created uneven terrain, forcing some child care providers out of business and causing families to lose services. The funeral home bill will allow small town funeral homes to stay open as long as they have a central preparation room.
An amendment I offered to provide full funding to the St. Cloud Human Rights office was also adopted, and passed as part of the bill.
These bills passed as components in a wide-ranging House omnibus bill encompassing health and human services, public safety and state government finance. Other provisions of note in the package improve quality of life for Minnesota seniors and transitioning Minnesotans on the failing MNSure program to the federal exchange. The overall bill also makes several reforms to limit the state's ability to make future estate claims, allows the state to purchase the now empty Appleton prison to accommodate the increasing state prison population (provided it is staffed by state employees), and cuts some unnecessary spending from the state bureaucracy.
Two other omnibus bills – a package of K-12 and higher education provisions on Monday and Wednesday's bill with jobs, energy, environment and agriculture measures – passed the House earlier in the week.
The education package includes a bill I authored to fund creating morning and afternoon preschool sections consisting of low-income students and English language learners at three St. Cloud elementary schools. Overall, it re-invests $56 million of K-12 cost savings back into programs proven to boost learning outcomes for students, innovative new proposals to bring broadband to students across the state, as well as programs to reduce Minnesota's teacher shortage and increase diversity in the state's teacher workforce. College students will save money through reforms that reduce the need for remedial classes, as well as a provision to increase awareness of loan forgiveness programs. The bill also expands higher education opportunities for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Two of my other proposals received approval in the Jobs bill, providing additional funding for Centers for Independent Living, which helps handicapped people live independently, and also for the State Services for the Blind, which helps older adults becoming blind stay in their homes. The bill also helps the city of Cold Spring by giving them some flexibility in dealing with water issues affecting Third Street Brewery and the city. This bill at large increases Minnesotans’ access to everyday necessities like clean water, broadband internet, housing and child care and addresses emerging issues like farm safety, livestock disease, economic disparities and potential state-incurred legal costs for a new copper mine on the Iron Range.
Overall, the three omnibus finance bills that passed this week have no new net funding for the year. The state operates on a two-year budget, and we passed a budget last year that funded the state through June 30, 2017. However, these bills do recognize that there are some needs that have arisen and need new funding, and the bills then pay for this new funding by finding savings in other areas.
I look forward to working with the Senate and Gov. Mark Dayton to advance these bills toward enactment and also anticipate discussions related to tax relief, a long-term transportation plan and a bonding bill to pick up in the next few weeks. Look for more details on these issues as things evolve in St. Paul.
Sincerely,
Jim