Terri Bonoff

Dear Friends,

The 2009 Legislative session has come to a close. We began the session with great apprehension, keenly aware of the looming deficit that demanded our resolve. As we embarked on the challenge to solve the problem, our federal government responded to the broader issue. Most states were confronting the same problem with inadequate resources to solve it.  The federal government stepped in. They provided states with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  While these funds will provide essential services for programs and people who are in the greatest need, they also complicated the legislative problem.  There was less urgency to reach a forward-looking, innovative solution to the Minnesota Structural Deficit problem because emergency funds bridge the gap.

Yet we as leaders have an obligation to accept these funds conditionally. We should not take them unless we are willing to do the real work that is required to restore the economic security of our state and lay the path for future growth. That did not happen. The Governor, the House and the Senate did not accomplish that mission.

It was not an easy mission. 67 Senators, 134 House members plus a Governor are an unwieldy group. Reaching consensus would have been possible only if each member, most importantly the Speaker, the Majority Leader and the Governor, were unequivocally committed to reaching consensus. They were not. I can only hypothesize why that was. I would guess they believe so strongly in the merits of their viewpoint that they believe any consensus would be worse for Minnesotans than deadlock. I heartily disagree.  The arrogance of that view is what is detrimental to Minnesotans.

I began the session talking about using the crisis as an occasion for fundamental structural change. I introduced legislation that would require school districts to explore restructuring the way they deliver the business of running our schools. This legislation stated that most of the savings arising from this change would go back to the classroom. While this initiative was supported by the Senate and introduced as a joint project with the Governor, this proposal was strongly resisted by all of the special interest groups and the House of Representatives.

I was not in favor of a fourth tier tax bracket. I believed it put an undue burden on small business and in the midst of a recession was the wrong approach.  I made my views known loudly and wrote about my thoughts often.  I advocated for compromise and suggested additional ways to obtain revenue. I proposed a tax on clothing with a low-income offset. Some were supportive, yet this was never discussed publicly. I have opposed gambling yet told my colleagues that in the spirit of compromise I would be open to exploring a Racino. At the end of the day, the only revenue increase I was able to vote on was the proposal I favored least. Yet I voted for compromise, funding our schools and not cutting health services for those who need it most.  It is time to demand that kind of compromise from each of our elected officials. None of us has the magic solution.  If we squander the opportunity of the federal stimulus infusion and do not enact meaningful tax, business and spending reform, then we are abdicating the responsibility we have to the people of Minnesota. It is never too late to act. Please demand excellence and results from those you elect as your leaders.

Below you will find a Session Recap of the 2009 Legislative Session. If you have questions or would like additional information regarding legislation this session, feel free to contact my office.

The staff, Senator Murphy and I wish you and your family a wonderful summer.

Pictured here are the Members and Staff of the Capitol office I share with Senator Steve Murphy(Center-Left) of Red Wing. My outstanding assistant is Jon Eichten pictured at far left.

2009 Legislative Session Recap

Education

The 2009 E-12 Education Budget Bill holds school funding flat, using Federal American Resource and Recovery Act (ARRA) dollars to sustain education budgets for the coming biennium. Approximately $500 million of ARRA money is used to bolster the state's education budget and avoid cuts for Minnesota school districts. Ultimately, the 2010-2011 biennial education budget totals $13.89 billion. There is no funding formula increase; base funding for schools remains at $5,124/pupil for the coming two years.

This bill does not use a payment shift to help fill the deficit. The bill contains numerous policy provisions, including charter school reform, mandate reduction, and statewide testing changes. The bill cuts $1.5 million from the Department of Education and uses that money to fund Reading Corps and Math and Science Teacher centers. Though supported by the Senate and Governor, the final negotiated agreement with the House does not include the shared-services provisions I introduced earlier in the session that would have required school districts look at cooperative purchasing and shared business services as way of reducing costs and driving more money into the classroom.

To help ease school district budget woes, districts will be allowed to again transfer $51 per student from capital accounts to General Fund accounts. There is no expansion of QComp, although a grant program is established using unexpended QComp funding to be awarded to school districts in Greater Minnesota that are working to implement QComp programs.

A provision allowing school district residents to either invoke or revoke a school district referendum has been deleted from state law.

Literacy Provisions - A new literacy provision is designed to ensure effective reading strategies for Minnesota students. The new law includes the definitions of the five strands of reading, requires a teacher candidate to successfully complete a reading instruction assessment and to measure the knowledge, skill, and ability of pre-kindergarten and elementary licensure candidates in comprehensive, scientifically-based reading instruction before being granted a license. Higher education institutions are also required to prepare licensure candidates for the reading assessment. In conjunction with the literacy program, the Minnesota Reading Corps program will provide Americorps members with a model of literacy instruction to train local Head Start and pre-kindergarten teachers and school staff to evaluate and teach early literacy skills to children age three to Grade 3.

GRAD Requirement Changes - A House-Senate working group designed legislation

to make changes to the Graduation Required Assessment for Diploma (GRAD) test, giving students more time to become proficient in the math standards and pass the test. The provisions give students a five-year window to graduate without the appropriate passage rate if they participate in remediation, retake the test, and pass all school mathematics requirements.

Early Childhood Quality Rating and Improvement System - The Quality Rating and Improvement System framework is created to ensure all children have access to quality early-learning programs. The voluntary QRIS includes quality opportunities to improve the educational outcomes of children so they are ready for school. The framework shall be based on the Minnesota QRIS rating tool and a common set of child outcome and program standards.

The departments of Human Services and Education will develop a study to determine how to effectively transition basic sliding fee child care, MFIP child care, and child care development grants from the Department of Human Services to the Department of Education; and determine how to create an early learning system with one common set of standards. The departments must report the results of this study to the Legislature by February 15, 2010.

Transportation

A transportation budget, reflecting collaboration with Mn/DOT, the Metropolitan Council, the Department of Public Safety, and the Governor's Office was signed into law. Although most transportation funding comes from dedicated sources of revenue (gas tax, vehicle registration tax, and motor vehicle sales tax), the General Fund portion of the budget was subject to a 7% cut to address the state's budget deficit. This amounted to a nearly $13 million cut from Metro Transit and a $3 million cut from Greater Minnesota Transit.

Primary Seat Belt - After years of successful passage in the Senate, both bodies of the Legislature finally passed a primary seat belt law. All vehicle passengers are required to wear a seatbelt and police are allowed to pull over those in violation. Any passenger over 15 not wearing a seatbelt is subject to a $25 fine (and state surcharge). The vehicle driver is subject to a $25 fine for each violation of the law by the driver and passengers under 15.

The 2009 Legislative Session was the last opportunity for Minnesota to receive federal transportation funding incentives, amounting to $3.4 million, for passing a primary seat belt law. Estimates show that annually, 30 lives could be saved and 400 serious injuries could be prevented if Minnesota had this law in effect.

Ignition Interlock Pilot Program - A law was passed that expands Minnesota's ignition interlock device pilot program. This program has been underway in two counties since July 2007 and will be expanded statewide for the next two years. This program allows DWI offenders to have their driver's license reinstated to operate a vehicle with an installed ignition interlock device. An ignition interlock device prevents a car from starting unless a driver successfully blows into the "breathalyzer" device. This program is supported by law enforcement and the courts, as it is safer to monitor these offenders with these devices than to have them on the roads with suspended licenses.

A provision was also included in the Transportation Omnibus Policy Bill that directs MnDot to include a feasibility study of the Little Crow Transit line(running from downtown Minneapolis through downtown Wayzata and west to Marshall) for possible commuter rail development.

Health and Human Services

A budget for Health and Human Services programming was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Pawlenty. This bill cuts $613 million for the 2010-2011 biennium.

Because of $110 million in federal funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the cuts were reduced to just over $500 million. For 2012-2013, the bill cuts an additional $804 million. Because there is no anticipated federal stimulus dollars available in 2012-2013, there were no additional funds available to mitigate the $804 million cut. Federal stimulus dollars were used to augment child care assistance, food shelves, improve quality in child care settings, invest in homeless-youth programs, and support long-term homelessness-prevention programs. Additional cuts to Health and Human Services are expected as the Governor begins the process of unallotment.

GAMC - The bill did receive a line-item veto of an appropriation to the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program. GAMC is a state-funded health care program for individuals with income below 75% of the federal poverty guideline. This is approximately $675/month. GAMC also provides coverage for hospital-only care for people between 75%-175% of the FPG.

The result of this line-item veto results in the elimination of the program starting in FY 2011. This is a $381 million savings to the General Fund. I am very troubled by the elimination of this program. These are our most vulnerable citizens, many suffering from mental illness and relying on the program for access to needed medications.

Higher Education

With the state's $6.4 billion shortfall, reductions to nearly every aspect of government were needed to balance the budget. Under the budget passed by the Legislature, the higher education General Fund budget is reduced by 6% over the next biennium. It will be left mostly up to the University of Minnesota and MnSCU to decide how to absorb the reduction of funding, but they will be aided by the federal stimulus funding dedicated to Minnesota's higher education system. After federal stimulus funding is included, the University of Minnesota will see a 2% reduction. The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system will see a 1% cut after including stimulus dollars.

Knowing that these reductions would have an impact on students, the Legislature took several steps to keep college affordable, including an increase to students' Living and Miscellaneous Expenses (LME) and a raising of the cap on state grant. The Legislature also accepts the federal Pell Grant increase and keeps all current State Grant funding.

Maximum Tuition Increases. Recognizing that tuition has been on a steady increase for several years and that family budgets are getting smaller due to the poor economy, the Legislature adopted language that will limit tuition increases over the next two years for Minnesota residents. The University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) will use federal money to reduce the amount of the increase that students pay. For the U of M, the amount a student pays will not increase more than $300 each year of the biennium. The amount a student pays at MnSCU will not increase more than 3% each year.

Economic Development Budget

As part of the Legislature's overall budget deficit reduction plan, lawmakers were forced to reduce spending in the Economic Development budget by 7.5%. While many difficult decisions had to be made, House and Senate negotiators were able to use administrative reductions at state agencies to target spending towards job-creating initiatives and job-skills training for Minnesota workers.

The bill includes agency budgets for the Department of Employment and Economic Development, Department of Labor and Industry, Housing Finance Agency, Public Facilities Authority, Minnesota Historical Society, the state's tourism board, and several other boards and commissions.

Notable initiatives funded in the bill include:

• Bioscience business development programs to promote and position the state as a global leader in bioscience business activities.

• The Minnesota Office of Science and Technology, which brings business, academia, and government together as partners to research, develop, and market new products and services.

• Several small business-support services, including a statewide small business growth acceleration program.

• New assistance for businesses impacted by local road construction projects

• Job-skills training for youth, individuals with disabilities, and those facing barriers to employment.

In addition, the bill includes a small fee increase to support the Workforce Development Fund, which supports employment and training programs for workers who have permanently lost their jobs. State officials warn that the fund is already at dangerously-low levels due to the high demand for reemployment assistance, and could be depleted by the end of the year without additional resources.

Public Safety and Judiciary

Friday, May 15, the Public Safety Budget Bill was signed into law. The bill was part of the larger effort by the Legislature to balance the $6.4 billion budget deficit, and it provides funding for the Judiciary Branch, as well as the departments of Corrections and Public Safety for the next two years. It reflects a total base reduction of $99.3 million for the Public Safety and Judiciary budgets. The bill includes a one-time federal appropriation of $38 million allocated to the Department of Corrections to bring the reduction down to $61.3 million. The bill also includes $46.7 million in revenue adjustments - including $38.9 million in fee and surcharge increases to offset reductions to the judiciary.

Solicitation of Children - The Legislature expanded the crime of soliciting children online to include all electronic and communications systems, which would include texting and video/e-mail over cell phones. Currently, the statute only addresses Internet or computer programs and systems.

Human Trafficking - Human trafficking is not new to Minnesota and it affects communities throughout the state - not just the Twin Cities metro area. In many of the known trafficking cases in Minnesota, traffickers bring young women from underdeveloped countries to the United States with promises of a better life. But when they arrive in the states their freedom and movements are restricted; their documents are kept from them; and they are forced to work without pay or forced into the sex industry and prostitution.

The legislation passed this session clarifies and expands on Minnesota's existing laws relating to human trafficking and it gives law enforcement and prosecutors better tools to apprehend traffickers. It enhances penalties for traffickers with aggravating factors like previous trafficking crimes and it redefines trafficking crimes as crimes of violence. The bill authorizes a victim of human trafficking to bring a civil lawsuit against a person or entity that engaged in labor or sex trafficking, and it requires retail and places of accommodation licensees who have been cited as locations for sex trafficking activity to post a sign in a public and conspicuous location that states sex trafficking is a crime.

Additional legislative Accomplishments

I was pleased that Governor Pawlenty signed into law two other important pieces of legislation that I authored this session. Iran Divestment Legislation(Senate File 131) will direct the State Board of Investment to divest all state holdings in companies that do business in the Iranian energy sector. This is part of a larger strategy undertaken by 14 other states to lend added pressure to the Obama Administration's efforts to curb nuclear development in Iran. In addition, legislation, I authored earlier this session was included in the Omnibus State Government Budget bill that directs use of the State Cooperative Purchasing Venture by municipalities and requires consideration of this contract for all purchases exceeding $25,000. My hope is that this initiative is a step down the road of bringing some of the best practices in the private sector to state government.

Once again, please feel free to contact my office by e-mail, (sen.terri.bonoff@senate.mn) or by phone (651-296-4314) if you would like additional information or if there is anything with which we can assist you.