As fall turns to winter, hunting seasons fly by, and the holidays arrive, it means one more thing is coming up on the horizon: the next Legislative Session at the State Capitol. The 2013 Legislative Session made a lot of progress for Minnesotans: fully funded all-day K, early childhood scholarships, middle-class job creation measures, college tuition freeze, and an increase in direct property tax relief like the Homeowner Credit Refund and Renter’s Credit among them, but we have more work to do.
In addition to a bonding bill to repair and improve Minnesota’s roads and bridges, wastewater infrastructure, college buildings and other public infrastructure, the upcoming legislative session is also an opportunity to make government more efficient, improve services to taxpayers and undo burdensome laws and regulations, in what some people are calling the “Unsession.”
I had three thoughts that I would like to share and gather feedback on from constituents.
The first would be a new special license plate for Minnesota State Parks, similar to the Critical Habitat plates. Like current license plates, these wouldn’t need to be renewed for 7 years and would have a tent or park design to show that you have paid your state park permit fee. This would make it easier for Minnesotans: no need to renew the permit every year and no need to worry about losing the little permit sticker before affixing it to your windshield. It would also be easier for state park employees to see that you have paid your park permit.
Second, there is legislation that has already been drafted allowing highway rest stops to be used for voluntary boat decontamination. As the threat of Aquatic Invasive Species continues to grow, we need to encourage people to decontaminate their boats and make it as convenient as possible — removing excuses for why people choose to not do it. These rest stops are already there; this would just allow them to be used for one more voluntary purpose.
The final idea involves paper licenses used for hunting and fishing. A recent story in the Star Tribune found that the second most common hunting violation was people not carrying their license. The number of violators would be higher, but DNR officials said that instead of issuing citations, they “write a lot of warnings.”
It’s easy to understand how that happens. Licenses are paper and get misplaced often — think of all the paper receipts we all have lying around the house!
In a world with an ever-increasing number of smartphones, why are paper licenses the only option? The DNR sells licenses online — why can’t we then pull up our license right on our devices days, weeks, or months after we buy them? Car insurance companies like Geico have made this transition with insurance cards.
There would be some upfront hurdles and costs — the DNR did receive $300,000 in technology funding from the legislature last session — but the end result would help customers, help the DNR with enforcement, and reduce administrative costs and hassles.
Moving the DNR into our new smartphone friendly world would go a long way toward making lives easier for the people who enjoy the great outdoor experiences we have in our beautiful state. During the “Unsession,” I’ll work on these and other issues to make our government more efficient and do a better job of serving taxpayers.
I also encourage constituents, small business owners and leaders in the business community to contact me and let me know how I can help improve and streamline our government to make Minnesota an even better place to live, work, raise a family, or start a business.
You can reach me at rep.rick.hansen@house.mn or at 651-296-6828. Thank you for the honor of serving you in the Minnesota House of Representatives.