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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Laurie Halverson (DFL)

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Legislative Update - March 14, 2013

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Dear Neighbors,

Activity at the legislature continues to pick up as we are approaching our first committee deadline. To continue to move through the legislative process, a bill must have passed through committee in the House or Senate by Friday.

Safe Routes to School

I’m a co-author on HF 797, legislation that would fund our state’s Safe Routes to School program (SRTS). The bill would help develop, create and improve infrastructure such as sidewalks, trails, street crossings and bike paths to make it safer for students to walk and bike to school.

The Minnesota program was created in 2012 because the existing federal SRTS Program does not adequately fund the safety needs of Minnesota’s school students. In the last federal funding cycle, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), which administers the federal grant program in Minnesota, received 82 applications from local schools requesting $23 million but only $3.8 million was available and awarded to 16 applicants. In addition, under the federal program, high schools aren’t eligible for funding.

To make matters even more challenging for Minnesota schools that want to make it safer for students to walk or bike to school, the 2012 federal transportation bill cut funding for the federal SRTS program by one-third, further reducing available grants.

Nationally in 2009, more than 23,000 children (ages 5 to 15) were injured and 250 killed by cars or trucks when they were struck while walking or bicycling. This represents 25 percent of all children’s traffic fatalities and 15 percent of all children’s traffic injuries.

The members of the 2012 legislature recognized both the importance of the SRTS program to Minnesota’s students and the financial shortfalls of the existing federal program. As a result, they established a Minnesota-based program but, due to extreme budget shortfalls and disagreement over the size of a bonding bill, did not fund it.

A wide range of Minnesota school, community, safety and health-based organizations support the establishment and funding of a Minnesota-based SRTS Program. Those organizations include the American Heart Association, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota in Eagan, Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Minnesota School Boards Association, Allina Health, American Cancer Society, Minnesota PTA, Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, and many others.

This is a great program with the endorsement of so many organizations and strong bipartisan support. I’m hopeful we can get this done this session.

Minimum Wage

HF 92, a bill to raise the minimum wage, continues to move through the legislative process. The bill as initially proposed would raise our minimum wage from $6.15 — which is lower than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 — to $10.55. I offered an amendment to change the minimum wage to $9.95 with two percent inflation indexing. This is on par with the procedure the legislature first passed on the minimum wage in 1973. My amendment was accepted with unanimous, bipartisan support.

According to statistics from the Minnesota Jobs Now Coalition, at the current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, a couple with two children would have to work 155 hours a week to meet basic needs. Most of the people on public assistance programs have jobs and are getting paid the minimum wage, with many of them in the service, health care, and retail industries. By increasing the minimum wage, these families will have more money in their pockets and can hopefully get off public assistance, saving the state money.

This is a good piece of legislation and I’m hopeful we will pass it off the House floor soon — and hopefully with bipartisan support.

Town Hall Meeting Update

I wanted to provide a short update for those of you unable to attend my February 21 town hall meeting. 45 people attended, with 20 offering questions.

Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Showalter provided a 15 minute overview and background of the Minnesota budget process. He discussed the evolution of several successive budgets, and what goals are driving the long-term vision of the governor's budget. Questions focused mainly on responsible use of state tax dollars, increasing the minimum wage, and continuing to find ways to improve government efficiency and areas to cut spending.

It was a great discussion and I thank those who attended for taking time out of their day to attend the town hall meeting.

Homeless Youth Act Update

Today, Governor Dayton released his supplemental budget proposal which contained $5 million in new money to fund portions of the Homeless Youth Act. This is great news for those of us working on this issue, and I thank Governor Dayton for his commitment to ending the problem of youth homelessness in Minnesota.

I am also pleased to report that the Dakota County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to support the Homeless Youth Act. Thanks to the board for their leadership in support of our county's youth!

As always, please feel free to contact me with your ideas, questions, or concerns on any legislative issue. You can reach me by phone at 651-296-4128, or by email at rep.laurie.halverson@house.mn. You can also follow me on Twitter for updates.

Sincerely,

Laurie Halverson

State Representative

District 51B