Minnesota legislature: New faces, more money

01/02/2007

The 2007 session's top issues will be mostly familiar, but with DFL dominance of both houses and more money available, the final results could be different.


Star Tribune
Last update: January 01, 2007 – 10:19 PM


The 2007 Legislature will begin work today on a list of mostly familiar issues. But that could be where the similarity ends between this session and those of recent years. The reasons: more DFLers and more money.
The November election swept dominant DFL majorities into office in both legislative chambers, pitting GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty against a nearly veto-proof opposition. But the policymakers start their labors with about $2 billion in projected surplus funds, a pleasing contrast to the shortfalls and lean times that for years have bedeviled the search for compromise.

More action and more spending are likely on a number of fronts, especially education, property tax relief and transportation. The main social issue likely to stir controversy is a statewide smoking ban.

On A6: A roundup of the year's top agenda items.

CLEAN WATER

The issue: Minnesota has thousands of polluted lakes and river segments. A diverse group of business, farm, environmental and other interests agrees that it will take $100 million a year for the next decade to plan and implement cleanups. The 2006 Legislature passed the Clean Water Legacy Act and provided $25 million in startup funds.

The outlook: The Legislature has struggled to find a source of long-term funding before and is likely to do so again. Short-term funding for the next biennium is a good bet, but how much and from what and where is anyone's guess.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

The issue: About half of Minnesota children entering kindergarten are not as ready as they should be for school, experts say. Results include a widening gap in student achievement, costly remediation programs and too many young adults who are poorly prepared for the workforce.

The outlook: A broad coalition, including business leaders and liberal child-advocacy groups, is pushing plans to spend as much as $200 million more per year to increase special programs focused on poor and at-risk children and improve day-care subsidies and programs. Rep. Nora Slawik, DFL-Maplewood, who will be chairwoman of a newly created committee on the issue, said that she sees the state "moving toward a big change in early childhood," but that in any one session "most changes are incremental."

HIGHER EDUCATION

The issue: It's coming through loud and clear: college costs too much for Minnesota parents and children. Annual increases have been reined in recently, but with tuition more than doubling at Minnesota's public institutions of higher learning over the past decade, students are being saddled with college debt as never before.

The outlook: More money for Minnesota's two public higher education systems, the University of Minnesota and MnSCU (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities), would allow them to ease up on student costs. Or the Legislature could decide to pour more money into student aid. Pawlenty's plan to give the best and the brightest high school seniors free tuition to a public institution for at least two years could clash with DFLers' desire to give more aid to poor kids. But one way or another, or both, relief could well be on the way.

K-12 EDUCATION

The issue: Money, what else? Schools say they don't have enough. Special education costs for disabled students soar. Insurance cost increases outpace inflation. Class sizes are rising. And last November, voters turned down most school district requests for more property tax funds.

The outlook: With a budget surplus on the table, DFLers will be looking to lavish money on schools. Probable targets: all-day, every-day kindergarten for anyone who wants it; special education aid, and the basic funding formula, the biggest pot of school money. Closing the achievement gap between poor minority students and better-off white students, and a bigger emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses, will get some attention too.

ENERGY

The issue: Dwindling fossil fuels, energy inefficiency and global warming have gotten little attention from Minnesota legislators since mid-1990s initiatives gave a boost to wind power and ethanol fuel. But the state's chilly, remote location could make it vulnerable to new energy shocks.

The outlook: With new converts Pawlenty and business interests leading the way, expect DFL legislators to gladly enact tougher standards and richer incentives for renewable energy, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and energy conservation.

HEALTH CARE

The issue: Minnesota still has the lowest rate of uninsured in the country, but its numbers are trending upward, and at least 80,000 children now lack insurance in the state. Premiums are continuing to climb, and even large employers are struggling to maintain benefits for their workers.

The outlook: After several years of budget cuts, health care is due for some cash and another overhaul, if Pawlenty has his way. Some early common ground: Pawlenty wants universal coverage, starting with the state's children, and the DFL-controlled Legislature agrees. Stickier points: how much money to spend on it and how to rein in soaring medical costs while boosting quality.

OUTDOORS AMENDMENT

The issue: The percentage of general-fund money provided for Minnesota's conservation and environmental programs is at a 30-year low, despite a growing population that is putting additional stress on parks, waters, wildlife habitat and wetlands. For the past eight years, outdoors groups have lobbied unsuccessfully for a bill that would allow voters to decide whether to dedicate a percentage of the sales tax for wildlife habitat and water quality improvement.

The outlook: Legislators will need to resolve a dispute that has been divisive in the past: Should a constitutional dedication of funds come from the current sales tax, or would it be added to the sales tax? Conservation leaders are optimistic because of new committee leadership, the state budget surplus and last year's success of the transportation funding amendment. However, because an outdoors amendment could not be on the ballot until 2008, legislators may be tempted to postpone the issue.

SMOKING BAN

The issue: Some sort of statewide smoking ban is clearly on the agenda, particularly as more local and county governments adopt ordinances supporting bans. Hutchinson recently became the 11th city in Minnesota to pass a smoke-free ordinance. Advocates are pushing for a complete ban in bars and restaurants, but the liquor and restaurant industries have always resisted. They've been successful in the past, particularly among legislators from outstate Minnesota, where smoky mom-and-pop taverns and VFW halls are a mainstay of small-town life.

The outlook: Even opponents of a ban are acknowledging that some kind of statewide ban will be enacted. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has said he would sign a bill. The extent of it would be hammered out in the legislative process, and venues such as American Legion and VFW halls are effective in packing a hearing room with constituents who vote. Even so, conventional wisdom says no one wins or loses an election over a vote on a smoking ban.

TAXES

The issue: With a $2 billion projected surplus, there may seem little need for a tax increase, but the pent-up desire to spend after years of red ink is huge. Pawlenty is no longer bound by his no-new-taxes pledge, but says he is "determined not to raise taxes" in the session. DFLers say they don't want to raise taxes, but spending proposals on both sides are likely to outstrip available revenue.

The outlook: Don't look for tax rebate checks out of this session, despite the projected surplus. Pawlenty said he will recommend against it, opting for some permanent tax relief, probably on property taxes. DFLers may be willing to trade.

TRANSPORTATION

The issue: Voters in November passed a state constitutional amendment to dedicate all motor vehicle sales taxes to transit and roads, but shrinking revenue from that source plus a five-year phase-in mean that only a fraction of the state's transportation funding gap -- some say it's $2 billion a year or more -- will be bridged. Meanwhile, highways are congested and deteriorating, major road projects are delayed and Twin Cities transit development lags behind that of comparable regions.

The outlook: "We're going to have to look at additional revenue," said Rep. Bernie Lieder, DFL-Crookston, incoming chairman of the House Transportation Committee. That could mean increasing the gasoline tax or vehicle registration fees, initiatives that might draw a Pawlenty veto. But both Lieder and the governor's office are interested in exploring new revenue sources such as a road-use fee based on miles driven and vehicle weights.

VIKINGS STADIUM

The issue: While the Twins and the Gophers football team got new stadiums out of the 2006 session, Minnesota's NFL franchise not only was shut out, but also lost its Anoka County partner when it began eyeing a new location in Minneapolis. The clock keeps ticking on the Vikings' Metrodome lease expiration in 2011.

The outlook: Legislators are disinclined to tackle this in a budget-setting year, especially in the absence of a specific proposal from the Vikings. Sen. Don Betzold, DFL-Fridley, who sponsored the team's Blaine proposal in 2006, said state funding is off the table, and other sources haven't emerged. Vikings lobbyist Lester Bagley said the team will decide its next step after a Metrodome site plan is completed Feb. 1, but "our general intention is to have a serious discussion at the Legislature this year."

- MARK BRUNSWICK, CONRAD DEFIEBRE, NORMAN DRAPER, PATRICIA LOPEZ, TOM MEERSMAN, DANE SMITH