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Legislative Update - April 25, 2016
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K-12 and higher education bill heads to House floor
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The House will hear
HF2749 - Omnibus Higher Education and Education Finance bill in floor session beginning at 4:00 p.m. As of Friday afternoon, more than 20 amendments are cued up for the discussion. The session will be streamed live.
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The 2016 committee deadlines have come and gone, meaning much of the action between now and the May 23 constitutional deadline for adjournment will happen on the House Floor and, presumably, in conference committees.
So where do we stand with a month to go?
The House Ways and Means Committee consolidated eight supplemental budget bills into three this past week, HF2749 (education and higher education); HF3931 (agriculture, environment, and jobs); and HF3467 (human services, state government finance, and public safety). The Senate Finance Committee passed its all-encompassing budget bill (SF2356) Thursday, with floor action scheduled for April 28. See that spreadsheet.
Nothing has been posted about the tax or transportation conference committees getting together, and there still has been no public word about a House capital investment proposal.
A controversial bill that would ratify several contracts with state employees became somewhat less contentious last Thursday when the House Government Operations and Elections Policy Committee amended HF3585 to remove several policy provisions.
Sponsored by Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa), HF3585 would ratify contracts that had been negotiated with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees and the Minnesota Nurses Association, among others. But it also contained a number of provisions union employees objected to including language that prohibited members from using paid time off for political purposes, and retroactive wage increases in future contracts.
Many of the provisions were removed by an amendment put forward by Drazkowski before the committee approved the bill on a 7-4 roll call vote and referred it to the House State Government Finance Committee.
However, the amended bill still includes what Drazkowski called a “paycheck protection” provision that would prohibit unions from spending dues collected for political purposes. Instead, unions would need to set up a separate political fund for contributions made specifically to that account, and money could not be transferred between the two.
Sponsored by Rep. Knoblach (R-St. Cloud) , HF3255 would ratify labor agreements and compensation plans which includes the three MnSCU faculty agreements. The bill was amended to also include the MnSCU Administrator Plan on Thursday in State Government Finance.
On Wednesday, Senate Finance will hear SF2626, sponsored by Senator Metzen (DFLSouth Saint Paul) that ratifies labor agreements and compensation plans.
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Dual-training grant requirements clarified in bill on its way to Governor
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Employers seeking dual-training education for employees could have an easier time securing state reimbursement for certified programs.
Passed 93-36 by the House Thursday, the bill now goes to the governor. It was passed 57-4 by the Senate March 30.
“This will expand dual-training programs, and develop talent we desperately need,” O’Neill said.
Notable clarifications include that employers would need to have an agreement with an educational institution approved by the Office of Higher Education and Department of Labor and Industry prior to a grant being awarded, and the application would need to include the number of projected high school graduates the program would serve as well as total training costs.
Grant criteria changes would specify that grant awards must be offered to high school graduates unless there are not enough eligible applicants, and that an equal dollar amount must be distributed between both the Twin Cities metropolitan area and Greater Minnesota.
Grants may not exceed $6,000 per year, per employee and would be paid only after an employer has presented satisfactory evidence of a certified degree or certificate of completion.
“I am very hopeful that these grants will help,” said Rep. Kim Norton (DFL-Rochester). “I think these changes are necessary, and we will be glad we provided them in the long run.”
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Monday, April 25
11:00 a.m. Senate in Session
Special Orders:
H.F. 2613--Wiklund: STEMI (ST- segment elevation myocardial infarction) receiving center hospital designation authorization and transport protocols requirement; emergency medical services regulatory board audit changes
S.F. 3085--Hoffman: Veterans brokers' examination licensing experience waiver requirement
S.F. 2539--Lourey: Nursing facility payment language recodification
S.F. 2498--Hayden: Co-occurring mental health and chemical dependency disorders screening modification
S.F. 2227--Latz: Fourth degree assault against a peace officer clarification
S.F. 2869--Dahle: Debt settlement services tax debt inclusion authorization
S.F. 2791--Latz: Commerce fraud bureau search warrants authority clarification
S.F. 2542--Hoffman: Military personnel on active duty retake of failed road test authorization
H.F. 2956--Clausen: Dakota county community development agency membership modification
H.F. 1586--Dziedzic: Bad faith assertions of patent infringement prohibition
4:00 p.m.
House in Session
HF2749 (Knoblach) Omnibus Higher Education and Education Finance bill.
AMENDMENTS: HF2749
Loon moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A11 -
Dettmer moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A14 -
Hornstein moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A16 -
Erickson moves to amend the H2749A16 amendment. Amendment coded H2749A40-1 -
Ward moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A17 -
Isaacson moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A19 -
Erickson moves to amend the H2749A19 amendment. Amendment coded H2749A37 -
Murphy, E. moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A21 -
Loon moves to amend the H2749A21 amendment. Amendment coded H2749A38 -
Davnie moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A22-2 -
Davnie moves to amend the H2749A22-2 amendment. Amendment coded H2749A23-3 -
Hausman moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A24-1 -
Loon moves to amend the H2749A24-1 amendment. Amendment coded H2749A39 -
Erickson moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A28 -
Drazkowski moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A3 -
Mariani moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A30 -
Selcer moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A31 -
Hortman moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A32 -
Hortman moves to amend the H2749A32 amendment. Amendment coded H2749A43 -
Murphy, E. moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A33 -
Murphy, E. moves to amend the H2749A33 amendment. Amendment coded H2749A35 -
Murphy, E. moves to amend the H2749A33 amendment. Amendment coded H2749A45 -
Isaacson moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A34-1 -
Norton moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A4 -
Yarusso moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A5 -
Mariani moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A6 -
Mariani moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A7 -
O'Neill moves to amend the H2749A7 amendment. Amendment coded H2749A41 -
Isaacson moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A8 -
Hortman moves to amend the H2749A8 amendment. Amendment coded H2749A15 -
Applebaum moves to amend the H2749A8 amendment. Amendment coded H2749A25 -
Dettmer moves to amend. Amendment coded H2749A9 -
Tuesday, April 26
8:30 a.m.
Senate Taxes
Room: 1100 Minnesota Senate Building
Chair: Sen. Rod Skoe
Agenda:
S.F. 2558-Sieben: Family and medical leave benefit insurance program establishment; wage tax imposition; rulemaking; account creation; appropriation.
S.F. XXXX-Abeler: Providing for supplemental county program aid payment.
S.F. 3573-Reinert: Duluth Central high school private development sales and use tax exemption authorization.
S.F. 3360-Bakk: Iron range resources and rehabilitation board (IRRRB) employee early separation incentive program authorization.
S.F. 3582-Bakk: Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) approval authority transfer to Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation (IRRRB) chair.
S.F. 3540-Sparks: Township board officer local appeal and equalization course training waiver authorization.
11:00 a.m.
Senate in Session
4:00 p.m.
House in Session
Wednesday, April 27
8:30 a.m.
Senate Finance
Room: 1200 Minnesota Senate Building
Chair: Sen. Richard Cohen Agenda:
SF3122 (Limmer) Identity theft crimes statute of limitations extension
SF1075 (Saxhaug) Hunting and fishing licenses online applications for anatonimcal gifts donation
SF2527 (Saxhaug) Outdoor heritage fund appropriations, evaluation provisions modification, prior appropriations modification and appropriating money
SF2963 (Dziedzic) Environment and natural resources trust fund appropriation and certain fund money use requirements establishment.
SF2745 (Wiklund) Barber examiners board provisions modifications
SF3323 (Wiklund) City and town historical societies city and town expenditures authorization
SF2626 (Metzen) Labor agreements and compensation plans ratification; retirement agency directors salary increase ratification; statewide pension plan directors salaries establishment by appointed boards authorization
SF3140 (Kent) Driving instructor license applicants criminal history background checks requirement.
SF2555 (Hoffman) Temporary family health care dwellings zoning regulation; temporary dwelling permits establishment
SF2802 (Ingebrigtsen) Eyelash extension services regulation and appropriation
SF82 (Dahms) Criminal vehicular homicide enhanced penalty authorization
10:15 a.m.
House Government Operations and Elections Policy
Room: Basement Hearing Room
Chair: Rep. Tim Sanders
Agenda: HF2213 (Anderson) Agency project tracking list required, small agency assistance provisions modified, grant agreement termination specified, audit required, Office of MN.IT Services provisions changed, pari-mutuel horse racing rulemaking authority modified, agency advertising spending limited, report required, and Minnesota Film and TV Board Oversight Task Force established.
11:00 a.m.
Senate in Session
Thursday, April 27
8:15 a.m.
House State Government Finance
Room: Basement hearing room
Chair: Rep. Sarah Anderson
Agenda: HF3585 (Drazkowski): Labor agreements and compensation plans ratified, authority of exclusive representatives to charge fair share fees and for dues deductions repealed, affirmative approval before interim implementation of state employee collective bargaining agreements required, and legislative approval of political subdivision compensation waivers required.
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Important Links:
- Most recent bill introductions related to higher education (compiled by Government Relations team) SPREADSHEET (updated 4/20/16)
- Committee schedules can be found HERE
- Many committee hearings and floor sessions are streamed live via the web or broadcast on television. More information and a schedule can be found HERE
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