Liebling Legislative Update 6-12-07
06/12/2007
Dear Friends,
The days are warm and Rochester is lush from all the rain. I hope you are enjoying the weather! Our daughter graduated from Mayo High School this week so my family has been busy. We are fortunate to live in a community with great schools, and I am grateful to the teachers and school staff who have supported and nurtured my daughter and her classmates. The graduation was a moving experience; a chance to think about where we have been and where we are as a people. The world is changing quickly and our kids will have challenges we never dreamed of. In a very real way, our future is in their hands. It is a privilege to have a role--as we all do--in helping them prepare for that future.
Now a few words about the possibility of a special session. With the governor's veto of the second tax bill, I agree that a special session is needed. We need another bill to cut property taxes, another transportation bill, and another bonding bill. Only the governor can call a special session but once it is called only the legislature can set the agenda and decide when the special session ends. The governor seems to be saying that he will only call a special session if we guarantee that the legislature will do what he wants, in the time frame that he wants. He insists on an agreement beforehand. This concerns me because during the regular session the governor's demands were a moving target right to the end and the bills he vetoed were already compromise bills. His recent public statements give me no reason to think he will compromise now. Our system of government has three independent branches, with legislators elected to represent our constituents not simply to rubber-stamp the governor. I am disappointed that Governor Pawlenty still insists on, "my way or no highway."
My end-of-session update is attached and may be read below. As always, I welcome your comments.
Warm regards,
Tina Liebling
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MN Rep. Tina Liebling
June 11, 2007
Dear Friends,
This year the Legislature adjourned on time for the first time since 1999. We worked hard all session to meet Minnesota's unmet needs from previous state budgets and to make policy changes to improve our state.
Our budget for the next two years gives public schools $800 million in new state funding. Our youngest children will benefit from funding that restores earlier cuts to early childhood programs and from a plan that covers 37,000 uninsured children with health insurance. Other accomplishments of the session include innovative reform measures to begin to control the cost of health care for Minnesotans who are paying for health insurance; safer neighborhoods as a result of the largest public safety investment in Minnesota history; and a groundbreaking renewable energy policy that will help create a new energy economy. With strong support from the legislature, the Mayo-U of M Genomics Partnership can continue its work in Rochester, and workers will stay healthier under the strong Freedom to Breathe Act passed this year.
Unfortunately, there were missed opportunities as well. One of the biggest disappointments of the session were the Governor's veto of a bill to give property tax relief to 90% of Minnesota property tax payers, and his veto of a second tax bill that would have given less, but still significant, property tax relief. Despite these disappointments we have turned Minnesota back in the right direction.
It is a great privilege to serve you in the Minnesota House of Representatives. The session is over for now but I will keep working for you over the summer in Rochester and in St. Paul. Please feel free to contact me with your questions, comments, and concerns.
Warmest regards,
Tina
K-12 Education
Our education bill stabilizes public schools with nearly $800 million of new money from the state—money that does not come from property tax increases. Voluntary all-day kindergarten will be available to more children, and high schools will offer more rigor with new money for Advanced Placement, Gifted and Talented offerings, and other enrichments. For the first time since the 1980s, the state provides money for libraries.
School funding for the next two years will be distributed partly based on costs for special education. While Rochester certainly has high costs for special education, they are not nearly as high a percentage of our total funding as in some other districts. This year's funding attempts to improve fairness by making up for the excessive special education costs experienced by all school districts but falling much more heavily on some. The Rochester district's overall 5% increase for the next two years should keep the school district’s budget balanced.
Early Childhood
We restored budgets for Head Start, School Readiness and Early Childhood Family Education that were cut in previous years. Investing in our youngest learners is the best way to help close the academic achievement gap.
Higher Education
The Higher Education bill has been called the best in a decade. It will allow state colleges and universities, including the University of Minnesota, to hold down tuition increases to 4% or less, unlike the last five years where tuition increases over 10% a year have overloaded students with debt. While I and other legislators wanted no tuition increase at all, we are happy to end the era of huge tuition increases.
Energy and Environment
Minnesota passed groundbreaking energy policy this year. We are preparing for the future by changing how we harness and use energy and opening economic opportunities in the new energy economy. The Renewable Energy Standard leads the nation for requiring utilities to produce and use renewable energy. Our omnibus energy bill focuses on three key areas: Energy Efficiency and Conservation, Community-Based Energy Development, and Global Warming Mitigation.
The Environment Bill starts cleaning up Minnesota's polluted waterways, addresses critical issues of water quality, and provides protection against invasive species and preservation of native prairies. We also passed the strongest law in the nation requiring manufacturers to help people recycle outdated electronics responsibly and more easily, so we'll soon be able to get rid of those old computer parts that clutter our basements and garages.
Health Care for More Minnesotans
Our health care bill covers 37,000 children and 20,000 adults who are uninsured. Mental health care initiatives got new money to improve how mental health care is provided and innovative reforms will begin to slow the rising cost of health care for Minnesotans who are paying for health insurance. Funding for nursing homes and their employees, while higher than the Governor's initial proposal, was disappointing this year. With our growing population of older people and people with disabilities we must continue to look for cost-effective ways to provide care.
Consumers
New laws will protect consumers from predatory and fraudulent mortgage practices, ban expiration dates and service fees for gift cards, and require car dealers to tell you how much each add-on item (including rustproofing, anti-theft devices and service contracts) adds to the cost of your car and how it will affect your monthly loan payment.
Public Safety
I had the privilege of serving on the Public Safety/Judiciary conference committee this year. Our bill will put more police on the streets, more investigators at the BCA and more judges on the bench. It also restores funding for battered women's shelters, sexual assault programs and proven crime prevention and intervention programs.
Property Taxes and Transportation
Perhaps the biggest disappointments of the session were the Governor's veto of a bill that would have cut property taxes for 90% of Minnesota property tax payers, and his veto of the revised tax bill that cost Rochester at least $800,000.
The Governor vetoed the second bill because it required state budget forecast to consider that expenses increase over time. Every other state recognizes this fact of life, as Minnesota did until 2004. We should return to honest budget forecasts so Minnesotans can see an honest financial picture before each budget is crafted. The forecast does not mean we will increase funding or keep particular programs, but we should know what it would take to keep the same programs and services from year to year. It's difficult to reach a final agreement when we don't start with honest numbers.