Updates from the Government Relations team are sent periodically during the legislative session.                                                  
Legislative Update - May 19, 2017
Little talking - No negotiating

Thursday was a very quiet day at the Capitol. Governor Dayton and leaders did not meet. Instead, Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans and Revenue Commissioner Cynthia Bauerly held an afternoon press conference.

Commissioner Frans said Republicans have to come closer to the governor’s numbers.

“He really went to the 50-yard line, and we’re waiting for the Legislature to come to the 50-yard line. So, we’re at an impasse. I’m not saying we’re not going to do anything differently in the future. Right now though, we made an offer to meet halfway and we haven’t been met halfway, and that’s why we’re at an impasse right now.”

Republicans contend that Dayton’s so-called halfway offer is a miscalculation and a mischaracterization.

Rep. Jim Knoblach (R-St. Cloud) the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the governor didn’t start calculating the midpoint until he set aside $83 million for the state court system and $45 million for cyber security improvements. Knoblach said Dayton also is taking $350 million from a special health care fund and not counting it against his midpoint.

“It’s not half. It’s nowhere close to half. This isn’t a halfway budget. If we’re going to consider a halfway budget we’ve got to consider all the spending. We’ve got to consider all the funds that are being talked about. All I can say to my friend Commissioner Frans is, nice try.”

Commissioners Frans and Bauerly press conference (video)

Rep. Knoblach comments (video)

As of late Thursday evening, an early Friday morning meeting was possible.

Governor vetoes teacher licensure reform bill

After the House and Senate passed the teacher licensure reform bill earlier this week, Governor Dayton vetoed the legislation and asked lawmakers to improve their proposal.

The move came as a shock to Republicans who argued the bill was a bipartisan improvement to the often-criticized current system. “We’ve been blindsided by this veto and that’s very disappointing after the thousand hours we spent working on this,” said Sondra Erickson (R-Princeton) who was chief sponsor of the bill in the House.

Erickson said Dayton didn’t recognize a compromise and instead was bending to the will of Education Minnesota, the state teachers union, and the state’s teacher colleges rather than the needs of school officials across the state.

Eric Pratt, R-Prior Lake, who was chief sponsor in the Senate, said the bill had broad support from the majority of the state’s education advocates.

“We gave him a very nonpartisan bill that he vetoed for very partisan reasons,” Pratt said.

Dayton’s veto letter said the legislation disappointed him. He said the bill should include the estimated $3.5 million in funding needed to implement the changes and that the new system needed more rigorous standards for licensing.

“We all share the goal of ensuring that every child in every classroom is taught by a
high quality professional teacher, and that our efforts to attract and retain those professionals are aided by a clear and easy-to-navigate licensing system,” Dayton’s letter said, urging lawmakers to send him an updated version of the bill before the end of the legislative session.

Important Links:

  • Most recent bill introductions related to higher education (compiled by Government Relations team) can be found HERE (updated 5/17/17)
  • 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

Government Relations team:

Jaime Simonsen – Jaime.simonsen@minnstate,edu
Bernie Omann – Bernie.omann@minnstate,edu
Jim Grathwol – jim.grathwol@minnstate.edu