Dear Friends,
This last week has been packed with debating omnibus bills. In total, we passed three bill off the House floor, and they are now waiting to be debated in the Senate. Here is a brief summary of each of the three bills, and links for more detailed information.
K-12/Higher Education Omnibus Bills
Last Monday, the House passed its K-12/Higher Education omnibus bill with a bipartisan vote of 84-46.
Policy provisions in this bill include providing teachers safety from student assault, and encouraging civics education in our schools, and streamlining the teacher licenser process.
Funding allocations include $6 million for paraprofessional “grow your own” programs and future teacher grants, as well as $6 million put toward improving early childhood literacy and learning.
The Higher Education section of the omnibus includes measures to better educated college students regarding federal loan forgiveness programs and debt management after they graduate. Another highlight is a provision asking MnSCU to generate new pilot programs for students with developmental and intellectual disabilities, geared toward teaching independent living and job skills, and enabling program participants to live amongst peers in a college setting.
A couple of my own provisions that I have previously mentioned were also in the final omnibus, including more flexibility with existing funding to help schools address teacher shortages, and a measure that expands on the school “Innovation Zones” proposal from 2012.
House Public Information Services page for Education Omnibus: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/sessiondaily/SDView.aspx?StoryID=10168
Agriculture, Environment, and Job Growth Bill
On Wednesday, our Agriculture, Environment, and Job Growth Omnibus passed the House floor in a vote of 72-54.
Highlights from the Job Growth portion of this bill include a $5 million investment in workforce housing, and $11.5 million for clean water improvements.
The Agriculture portion includes $1.8 million to the University of Minnesota for the development of software that can predict and track animal disease outbreaks, and $3.3 million for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to develop outbreak-related emergency response procedures.
The Environmental section allocates $8.6 million to our state’s parks, trails, and forestry work, and includes a new provision requiring new motorboats with enclosed compartments to have carbon monoxide detectors.
House Public Information Services page for the Agriculture, Environment, and Job Growth Omnibus: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/sessiondaily/SDView.aspx?StoryID=10177
Health and Human Services, State Government, and Public Safety Bill
In the early hours of Friday morning, we passed the Health and Human Services (HHS), State Government, and Public Safety omnibus bill by a vote of 72-57.
HHS section included a request to audit the MNSure exchange to see how many of the people enrolled in MinnesotaCare and Medical Assistance actually qualify for these services. This provision builds on the Office of the Legislative Auditor’s previous findings, which indicated that significant numbers of people have been mistakenly enrolled in these programs, wasting substantial amounts of tax payer money. Any savings gained by this audit will go into a new fund to give long-term care providers a pay raise.
Also added to the HHS omnibus was an amendment I presented requiring DHS & MNSure to process major life events within 30 days. This will help counties have correct information so Minnesotans health care coverage is accurate. The vote to add this amendment was bipartisan.
The State Government Finance portion of the omnibus includes additional fund allocations for the State Soldiers Assistance Fund funding, and money for the Eagles Healing Nest veteran’s home. There is also a measure that bans all non-essential, state-funded travel by state employees.
The Public Safety provisions include an increased fine for people who drive around school buses when the “stop” arm is extended, and an increased penalty guidelines for drivers without a valid license who cause injury or death in an accident.
House public Information Services page for the HHS, State Government, and Public Safety Omnibus: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/sessiondaily/SDView.aspx?StoryID=10178
Dakota County Chamber Day at the Capitol
Thank you to the Dakota County Chamber of Commerce members who took the time to stop by as part of Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Day at the Capitol. I enjoyed our conversation and hearing about your priorities and concerns for this session!
(Left to right Laura Gill, myself, Vick Stute, Anita Johnson)
As always, I will keep you updated on the bills that we hear in the House, and where we are in the legislative process. Please contact my office at (651)296-5387 or by email at Rep.Roz.Peterson@house.mn if you have any comments or questions!
Enjoy this gorgeous week!
Sincerely,
Roz