Dear Neighbor,
The House and Senate have spent the last two weeks receiving testimony and conducting discussions to help find agreement on omnibus finance bills for each respective area of the state’s next biennial budget.
While finishing touches remain on the finance packages before they can be considered for re-passage by both bodies, we are approximately three weeks ahead of what is typical in a budget year.
Progress was made today in establishing overall spending totals for each area of the budget by setting joint House/Senate targets which will serve as the spending benchmark for each of the omnibus budget bills. This will allow the various conference committees to really zero in on finished products that ultimately can be sent to the governor for his action. Starting now, to ensure an open and rational solution to the 2018-19 budget (rather than last-minute theatrics), it will be imperative to have the executive branch (the governor and his agencies) engaged in the process of shaping these bills so that we are on the same page as we move forward.
As I said, we are about three weeks ahead of schedule, but that only serves to help us in the end if all three sides (House, Senate, Governor) are fully engaged so that enough agreement is in place when the bills are passed they will also be signed by the governor. If we don't have that three-part concurrence because one or more of the three bodies don't come to the table, from my perspective we will have wasted a rather unique opportunity to put together a thoughtful biennial budget which represents the best use of the taxpayer dollars, and gives the people and businesses of Minnesota the best value for the taxes they have paid.
The House did take up a number of other stand-alone bills on the floor this week. One I was pleased to see pass with strong bipartisan support would help put an end to unscrupulous lawyers practicing what amounts to extorting businesses with threats of vague lawsuits regarding American Disabilities Act regulations.
These predatory practices can have severe financial impacts on small businesses. I spoke on the floor to explain the public would be much better served if, instead of paying significant settlement fees to lawyers, that money could be used to resolve what are often rather small ADA inadequacies so the real intent of non discriminating access can be provided to all.
The bill which passed the House requires that a notice be sent to the business before a civil action can be filed for violation of the ADA law. It is important to note this bill does not preclude a lawsuit, it simply provides honest business owners with a fair chance to determine if an ADA complaint is valid and, if so, how it can best be resolved.
The bill also mandates specificity in the complaint. In the past, the filings were so vague they could easily cause confusion on the part of property owners as to what the problem was. Now they will have details and can, for example, run a tape measure over to a doorway to check for compliance themselves.
It was good to see this bill receive such broad, bipartisan support. The small business our family operates has been the target of one of these extortion attempts, and I've talked to other small family businesses who were also targeted. Any of us who were targets can say from experience the potential legal action was not about providing people access, it was rather to send money to an attorney so they would drop the case. I continue to believe the vast majority of main street businesses are trying to do the right thing with ADA compliance and, if they aren’t, they will gladly fix things if given the chance. This bill helps them do that.
Look for more from the Capitol soon, particularly as movement happens with budget bills. My hope, as I sure is yours as well, is that the 3 week advantage we have this year, compared to the first budget process I participated in in 2015, will not be squandered, and we will have a budget that Minnesota taxpayers can both appreciate and afford.
Sincerely,
Bob