Dear Neighbors,
Here is an update with the latest news from the Capitol.
County Audits
In 2015, the Legislature changed the law to allow counties to use private auditors, instead of having their audits done by the State Auditor. However, the law gives the State Auditor the ability to re-do those audits if they think it’s in the public interest. Former Auditor Rebecca Otto opted to re-do many audits. Although I have never questioned Auditor Otto’s authority, I do question her motivation. Counties are now faced with paying the bills for these unjustified audits; in some cases, they’ve been left owing tens of thousands of dollars.
I am going to continue to side with the county officials and taxpayers on this issue and will keep working toward finding a solution that will resolve the issue once and for all. One component of that solution is to develop a process for an independent third party to be used in dispute resolution.
Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee
On Wednesday, the Environment Policy and Natural Resources Policy Committee heard House Files 167 and 133.
HF 167, authored by Rep. Fue Lee (DFL, Dist. 59A) would put into statute something called Public Health Supplemental Environmental Projects (Public Health SEP).
So what is a SEP? In a nutshell, it is a project that a regulated party agrees to undertake in the course of settling an enforcement action with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). The projects are 100 percent voluntary for the regulated party to do, and are supposed to be beneficial to the environment. There are seven different categories of SEPs that the MPCA currently has, one of them being public health. SEPs have been used by the Agency for many years, and are often seen as a more positive tool in the enforcement toolbox because they give a company the option of doing something that will be good for the environment and citizens. Doing a SEP also usually reduces the amount of any assessed penalty.
While I support the use of SEPs as an option for regulated parties, I have serious concerns about the new "Public Health SEP" defined in Rep. Lee's bill. Under his plan, these projects would provide "diagnostic, preventive, or health care treatment related to the actual or potential harm to human health of persons exposed to pollution as a result of a regulated facility's noncompliance." The projects could include things such as collecting blood, fluid or tissue samples, medical examinations, and/or treatment and rehabilitation therapy of people potentially affected by the pollution from the noncompliant facility.
The interesting thing is, his bill turns all this work over to a third party vendor.
The bill includes absolutely no guard rails about privacy, no information about how the data will be collected or stored, no protections to ensure the collection of private health information is voluntary, no language regarding parental notification of minors who may have been tested, and no information about what happens to the data after it has been collected. There's also no mention in the bill of who ultimately owns the data....for all we know the third party could sell it!
We have had many data breaches in state government, which are bad enough. We should not be collecting this type of sensitive information when it’s security and ownership will be up to a completely unaccountable third party.
The second bill, HF 133, has been nicknamed the “No Child Left Inside Bill.” This bill would fund grants to public entities or private nonprofit organizations directed at outdoor education and activities for young people. The bill will reallocate an unspecified amount of money from an existing, but currently undesignated, fund of money within the Department of Natural Resources. The DNR already has a host of activities for kids; I don't believe we need another government program for this, particularly when nothing in the bill ensures any sort of geographic balance.
Pro-Life Press Conference
Recently, New York passed third trimester abortion legislation. Under this new law, abortion is legal up to the moment of birth. The state of Virginia is considering similar legislation, with the support of its governor. Pro-life legislators in Minnesota gathered yesterday to strongly denounce these bills and to reaffirm our commitment to protecting the lives of all children. I will continue to fight against all legislation that would deny anyone their right to life.
Around the Capitol
With the Stromquist Family from Roseau
With Dalene Monsebroten, Don Martodam, Gary Johnson, and Lucas Spaeth of the Northern Municipal Power Agency
Follow me on Facebook!
To stay up-to-date on what’s happening at your State Capitol, feel free to “like” my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/RepDanFabian.
*****
My door is always open to the needs and priorities of our area. Please feel free to let me know if I can be of assistance to you and your family. I am here to serve you!
Dan
**Encourage your neighbors and friends to sign up for my email updates at www.house.mn/01A