Greetings from the Floor,
The 2018 legislative session began on Tuesday. House and Senate members were greeted by a Capitol full of citizen advocates. This scene was very exhilarating, and a testament to the power of democracy. Regardless of the issues debated and positions taken at the Capitol, it’s a powerful feeling to know that folks care so much about public policy and our state they take it upon themselves to act. It is the power of democracy, and what will keep democracy strong.
The only bill passed off the House floor this week was funding for the Legislature. This goes back to the end of last session when Gov. Dayton vetoed the Legislature’s budget over disagreements with the 2017 Tax Bill. The bill passed along mostly partisan lines with DFL members voting no. The reason for my no vote was regarding some state employee contracts that were rejected by the Subcommittee on Employee Relations last fall. Attempts were made on the House floor to approve these state employee contracts along with the Legislature’s budget. I feel it’s important for all state employees to receive just compensation for the hard work they do, including legislative staff.
I anticipate other major issues to be taken up by the Legislature this year to include a tax bill, a capital investment bill and fixes to MNLARS. A tax bill must be passed this year to get the state’s tax code in line with the changes made to the federal tax code by Congress. The result of not passing a tax bill this year would mean tax increases for many Minnesotans and a roughly $800 million windfall for the state each biennium.
Major local projects for the capital investment bill include funding for a new Clay County Resource Recovery facility, flood mitigation dollars for some of the annexed areas that were formerly in Oakport Township, planning dollars for an 11th St grade separation in Moorhead and planning dollars to connect the Heartland Trail from Moorhead to Detroit Lakes. Gov. Dayton released his capital investment proposal in January and included renovation dollars for Weld Hall on the Minnesota State University Moorhead campus, but no funding for any other local projects. I was pleased to see the governor’s support for Weld Hall, and all of higher education, in his proposal. I look forward to working with his administration for our other local project funding.
MNLARS is the state’s new Driver and Vehicle Services administration system. It replaced a 30 year legacy system to become computerized and more automated. This is all a good idea; however, the rollout of MNLARS has been a disaster. People have experienced delays in receiving vehicle titles, registrations and license plates for weeks, and even months. Changes were made to MN.IT, (the state’s information technology agency), and the agency has requested $43 million to fix MNLARS. This comes after the state has already invested $98 million and 10 years into MNLARS. However, the option of not acting will only prolong the problems and delay the solutions, and legislators on both sides of the aisle have addressed that starting over is not an option. I introduced a bill to allow the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to issue temporary 6 month permits (currently, people can obtain 21 day permits for vehicle purchases, 60 day permits for registration tabs or license plates and 31 day permits for vehicle sales to non-residents).
I look forward to another session and, as always, communicating from all folks in our district about the issues that matter to them.
Thank You for the Opportunity to Serve,
Ben