With High School Page Tyson Somers. It's great when Woodbury students come down to the Capitol to learn more about state government and the legislative process!
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
With less than three weeks left in the legislative session, there are a lot of moving parts and legislation to be negotiated before adjournment. Here is an update from the Capitol.
Streamlining County Government
You may recall earlier email updates where I discussed my legislation to give the Washington County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) economic development authority, allowing two areas of local government to streamline into one, share resources and eliminate a local tax levy. This change was a priority for Washington County and many cities passed resolutions in support as well. The new entity would be renamed the Washington County Community Development Agency (CDA).
That bill was amended onto another piece of legislation related to Dakota County and passed the Senate, and then the House Floor this week. It has now been sent to Governor Dayton for signature.
I am pleased this initiative passed unanimously in both legislative bodies. It's a great change for Washington County and our local taxpayers!
Supplemental Bills
Last week, the House passed several supplemental omnibus bills that implement funding and policy changes in a number of areas of government. As you may remember, the House passed a net zero spending increase target for supplemental budget legislation, so any funding in these bills comes from cost savings or previously appropriated money that is better spent in other areas. Minnesotans expect state government to use their tax dollars wisely, and I believe we do that in these bills.
Additionally, I am pleased that two initiatives I authored this year were also included in the final Education omnibus bill. The Grow Your Own Tuition Assistance Program and Collaborative Urban Educator grants will help provide new avenues for people to enter teaching and increase the diversity of our teaching workforce. Every Minnesota child deserves a world-class education, and these bills help ensure excellent candidates statewide are able to receive the training they need to enter the teaching profession.
Here are some of the other highlights and key provisions passed in the supplemental omnibus bills last week.
Education/Higher Education
- Implements fixes to our broken teacher licensure system to help more quality, qualified educators teach in Minnesota classrooms
- Funds innovative programs to help underperforming students and close the achievement gap
- Gives teachers authority over their classroom to remove disruptive students and provides for both short and long-term solutions to address violence in our schools
- Expands higher education opportunities for students with developmental and intellectual disabilities
Health and Human Services/Public Safety/State Government
- Implements a state government hiring freeze for Fiscal Year 2017
- Reduces the salaries for agency and department heads by 5 percent
- Halves the MNsure premium tax from 3.5 percent to 1.75 percent to save Minnesota families money on their health insurance and implements performance benchmarks for our broken health care exchange
- Transitions MNsure onto the federal health care exchange
- Funds veteran initiatives
- Addresses waste, abuse and fraud in our public programs, and uses captured cost savings for a one-time rate increase for community-based and long-term caregivers who care for our state's most vulnerable
- Works to make child care more affordable for Minnesota families
Jobs/Energy/Agriculture/Environment
- Repeals the 2014 law allowing for the unionization of independent child care businesses after child care providers overwhelmingly rejected unionization in a recent election
- Makes investments in animal health and disease prevention following last year's avian flu outbreak which affected Minnesota turkey producers
- Addresses economic disparities in workforce development across the state
Entering the final two weeks of session, these bills will now be negotiated with the Senate. The $900 million surplus is untouched in the House supplemental budget bills, and I would like to see that money dedicated to transportation and tax relief. The House tax and transportation bills passed last year are currently in conference committee awaiting final negotiations with the Senate.
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As always, if you have ideas about what you would like to see happen this session or need assistance on a matter of state government, I welcome you to contact me. Please don’t hesitate to call (651-296-1147), email (rep.kelly.fenton@house.mn) or stop by my office.
Sincerely,
Kelly
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