House sets budget targets
Earlier today, House DFL Caucus Leadership announced the House budget targets for the next biennium. For higher education, the target in the House is
$304.9 million
in new funding.
House DFL leaders held a press conference regarding their $47.8 billion budget. House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said the budget will improve education opportunities. “We are investing in the people of Minnesota because everyone deserves the opportunity to succeed,” Hortman said. The budget invests $900 million in new funding for E-12 education as well as the $304.9 million in new funding for higher education.
Chair of the House Higher Education Finance and Policy committee Rep. Connie Bernardy, DFL-New Brighton, said the higher education budget proposal makes tuition a priority and funds a tuition freeze at all public institutions in Minnesota.
In regards to the capital budget, Speaker Hortman said House DFLers are proposing a $1.5 billion bonding bill.
Tax Committee Chair, Rep. Paul Marquart, DFL-Dilworth, said the tax bill will provide needed resources for investments that will improve the quality of life for Minnesotans with an emphasis on tax fairness. When asked about raising taxes, Speaker Hortman said, “We only have enough positive balance to cover inflation in some areas. If we want to make new investments and strengthen education, we need new revenue.”
The details of how the House Higher Education Finance and Policy committee spends the $304 million will be worked out in committee in the next few weeks as members put their bill together to meet the April 12 committee deadline for finance bills.
The Senate higher education committee will also receive a target in the coming days, and will also have until April 12 to pass their finance bill.
Hunger Free Campus Act heard in House
The House Higher Education Finance and Policy committee heard
HF 2366
last week, a bill that would create a hunger-free campus designation for the community and technical colleges of the Minnesota State system. The bill would appropriate $77,000 each year of the 2020-2021 biennium for grants to schools to focus on hunger issues on campus, with a maximum grant award of $8,000.
Oballa Oballa, a student at Riverland community college and the vice president of LeadMN, the two-year college student organization, testified in support of the bill, and spoke about food insecurity on college campuses. Oballa explained, “Food insecurity is defined as lacking the money or resources necessary to have consistent and dependable access to food. It is something our students are facing every day on our colleges.”
Oballa shared with committee members that to be food insecure as a college student means even though he is working two jobs while going to school full time, he still doesn’t have enough money to pay for food after paying for school and living expenses. He said the issue of food insecurity isn’t isolated to only himself or Riverland Community College, but it is an issue that impacts colleges across the nation.
Oballa cited last year’s Hope Lab national survey of over 43,000 college students, that two in five students reported being food insecure. He said, “Ten of our colleges have participated in the most recent Hope Lab survey and should be receiving results this spring." He also shared with members that another national survey found that 55 percent of food insecure students could not purchase textbooks, 53 percent missed their courses, and 25 percent dropped courses due to the impact of hunger.
Oballa explained that the “Hunger Free Campus Act” creates a designation for campuses that meet certain criteria, and provides grant funding, with a campus match, for them to achieve this designation and address food insecurity. “We believe that creating this designation will help encourage our colleges to take steps in addressing the challenge of food insecurity on our campuses…and support our campuses that have already taken steps to address the issue of student hunger,” Oballa said.
Also testifying in support of the bill was Brandi Oleson, a student at Ridgewater College and President of the Student Senate at Ridgewater College. She said LeadMN has spent the last year working to address food insecurity on campus. “When we began raising awareness around this issue last fall, we were stunned by how many students have come forward with their own stories and experiences with food insecurity,” Oleson said. Oleson said many campus pantries are struggling to stay afloat due to troubles related to donation sources or staffing.
“I no longer personally deal with food insecurity but I know that others do. I believe that no student should feel the effects of food insecurity, whether it's the child of a college student or the student themselves,” Oleson said.
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This Week at the Capitol
Monday, March 25
9:45 a.m.
House Ways and Means
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Lyndon Carlson
Agenda:
HF 1733 (Poppe) Omnibus Agriculture and Food Policy bill
HF 1974 (Nelson) Outdated budget-related language updated and deleted
HF 1975 (Nelson) State solicitation process best and final offer modified
HF 810 (Heinrich) World War I Minnesota veterans plaque authorized
HF 492 (Dettmer) Traffic violations that cause great bodily harm or death to another misdemeanor established
11:00 a.m.
Senate in Session
1:00 p.m.
Senate Jobs and Economic Growth Finance and Policy
Room: 1150 Senate Building
Chair: Senator Eric Pratt
Agenda:
S.F. 1773-Pratt: Federal research and development support program grant and appropriation.
S.F. 1652-Pratt: Minnesota High Tech Association grant for SciTechsperience appropriation.
S.F. 1740-Franzen: FIRST in Upper Midwest (FUM) competitive robotics team grants appropriation.
3:00 p.m.
Senate E-12 Finance and Policy
Room: 1100 Senate Building
Chair: Sen. Carla J. Nelson
Agenda:
S.F. 1260-Pratt: Surplus computers disposition school board options expansion.
S.F. 929-Anderson, P.: High school league eligibility review process; proposed eligibility bylaws, policies, and procedures public input and access; reporting.
S.F. 1297-Anderson, P.: Textbook definition modification.
S.F. 773-Eichorn: Grand Rapids Children's Discovery Museum grant appropriation.
S.F. 1341-Johnson, M.: Minnesota Children's Museum grants appropriations.
S.F. 918-Nelson: School year start before Labor Day authorization.
S.F. 2212-Nelson: Flexible learning year programs implementation by school boards without approval by education commissioner authorization.
S.F. 1957-Nelson: School safety facility grants appropriation.
S.F. 1993-Jensen, S.: Eastern Carver county schools transportation hub lease levy authorization.
S.F. 629-Rosen: Sunscreen at school possession and use authorization.
S.F. 1745-Anderson, P.: Black Men Teach Twin Cities grants appropriation.
S.F. 1427-Anderson, P.: School breakfast aids provisions modifications and appropriation.
S.F. 1899-Housley: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) grant program establishment and appropriation.
S.F. 735-Nelson: Teacher code of ethics statutory codification and rule repeal; school district ethics complaints procedures requirement.
S.F. 2180-Marty: Early childhood program eligibility modification.
S.F. 2327-Rest: Independent school district #281, Robbinsdale; postemployment benefits irrevocable trust fund to general fund transfer authorization.
3:00 p.m.
Senate Agriculture, Rural Development, and Housing Finance
Room: 1150 Senate Building
Chair: Sen. Torrey N. Westrom
Agenda:
S.F. 255-Johnson, M.: Beginning farmer tax credits eligibility modification.
S.F. 1859-Weber: Agricultural policy and technical provisions modifications for aquaculture, feedlots, pesticides, hemp, food handlers, eggs, milk, cheese, bioincentive and loan programs, and miscellaneous provisions.
S.F. 2192-Weber: Industrial hemp expedited rulemaking authorization.
S.F. 2397-Isaacson: Urban youth agricultural education and urban agriculture community development grants appropriation.
S.F. 1995-Ingebrigtsen: Farmed Cervidae requirements modification and chronic wasting disease test development appropriation
3:30 p.m.
House in Session
Tuesday, March 26
8:00 a.m.
House Jobs and Economic Development Finance
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Tim Mahoney
Agenda:
HF 119
(Sundin) Helmets to Hard hats
HF 975
(Richardson) Commission of the Deaf, Deaf Blind, and Hard of Hearing funding provided
HF 109
1 (Noor) Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Learn to Earn/Teen Teamworks youth employment program funding provide
HF 1860
(Hansen) Meatpacking worker terms clarified, notification in other than English and Spanish languages provided
HF 2151
(Gunther) Entrepreneurial development funding provided, reports required, and money appropriated.
HF 1253
(Stephenson) Barriers to employment for people with mental illness report required, and money appropriated.
HF 5
(Halverson) Paid Family Medical Leave Act
HF 6
(Mahoney) Wage Theft Prohibited
HF 11
(Lesch) Earned Sick and Safe Time
HF 2235 (Mahoney) Minnesota investment fund and job creation fund funded projects' required wage levels modified.
8:00 a.m.
House Capital Investment
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Mary Murphy
Agenda:
HF874 (Wazlawik) White Bear Lake; multiuse trail segments funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF1326 (Fischer) White Bear Lake; pedestrian and bike trail segments funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2172 (Daniels) Northern Links Trail funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF952 (Davids) Root River State Trail funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF849 (Nornes) Otter Tail County; Perham to Pelican Rapids Regional Trail funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2511 (Lippert) Northfield; Mill Towns State Trail connection development funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF95 (Demuth) St. Joseph; East Park amenity development funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF1322 (Demuth) Rocori Trail funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2164 (Bierman) Lakeville; Ames Arena improvements funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF541 (Lillie) Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission for Mighty Ducks grant funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF1812 (Jurgens) Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission Mighty Ducks grant funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF956 (Koegel) Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission Mighty Ducks grant funding provided, and money appropriated.
HF1461 (Claflin) South St. Paul; Doug Woog Arena HVAC improvements funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF214 (Ecklund) St. Louis County; Voyageur Country All-Terrain Vehicle Trail funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2108 (Ecklund) Crane Lake; Voyageurs National Park and Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness access roads and public campground funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2652 (Hansen) South St. Paul; Serbian Center renovation funding provided, and money appropriated.
9:45 a.m.
House Education Finance
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Jim Davnie
Agenda:
HF 824 (Kunesh-Podein) Increase Teachers of Color Act funding provided, seeking to double American Indian teacher and teachers of color, reports required, and money appropriated.
HF 16 (Urdahl) Small school revenue calculation modified.
HF 1148 (Christensen) Energy conservation revolving loan fund established in schools, and money appropriated.
HF 566 (Wazlawik) School safety assessment teams required, and money appropriated.
HF 2195 (Pryor) Early care and education program requirements governed including quality rating and improvement system, implementation outreach, universal identified requirements, and data practices evaluation; early care and education coordination task force established; technical changes made; and money appropriated.
9:45 a.m.
House Government Operations
Room: Basement hearing room State office Building
Chair: Rep. Mike Freiberg
Agenda:
HF3 (Liebling): OneCare Buy-In through MNsure website established, outpatient prescription drug program established, dental administration governing provisions modified, health care governing provisions modified, and studies and reports required.
HF2252 (Koznick): Nonemergency Medical Transportation Advisory Committee membership modified.
HF1516 (Acomb): Home care providers provisions modified.
HF2651 (Pryor): Child care advisory working group
established, child care assistance program requirements modified, commissioner
directions provided, and report required.
HF2602 (Lesch): Legislative Commission on Intelligence
and Technology established.
1:00 p.m.
Senate Higher Education Finance and Policy
Room: 15 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Paul Anderson
Agenda:
S.F. 1472-Eichorn: Minnesota state colleges and universities, K-12 school districts, and local businesses and industry partnerships appropriation.
S.F. 2086-Abeler: Spinal cord and traumatic brain injury research grant program appropriation.
S.F. 2517-Draheim: Higher education low-interest student loan program establishment and appropriation.
1:00 p.m.
Senate State Government Finance and Policy and Elections
Room: 1200 Senate Building
Chair: Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer
Agenda:
S.F. 947-Rarick: Building and construction contracts retainage requirements modification.
S.F. 1038-Benson: Breast cancer screening procedures insurance plan coverage expansion requirement.
S.F. 2489-Jensen, S.: Legislators per diem during special sessions prohibition.
S.F. 149-Hoffman, J.: Governor's council on developmental disabilities public members compensation and expense reimbursement requirement.
S.F. 2329-Eichorn: Wild Rice Stewardship Council establishment and appropriation.
2:30 p.m.
House Higher Education Finance and Policy
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Connie Bernardy
Agenda:
HF 603 (Claflin): University of Minnesota requested to conduct a review of research related to exposure to pre- and polyfluoralkyl substances, report required, and money appropriated.
Office of Higher Education Presentation of Governor's Budget Recommendations
5:00 p.m.
Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement
Room: G-3 Capitol
Chair: Rep. Mary Murphy
Agenda:
HF2512 (Long); SF2515 (Dziedzic): PERA; Revising the employer supplemental and state contributions to PERA related to the former MERF Division.
HF2387 (Murphy, by request); SF2488 (Rosen): PERA; Extending the 1997 state aid to local governments to fund increased employer contributions to PERA.
Delete-all Amendment H2631-1A to HF2631 (Nelson); SF2621 (Senjem): Local government supplemental plan contribution restriction exemption for union building trades personnel.
HFxxxx; SFxxxx (
Revisor #19-4571
): MnState; Eliminating the expiration of an early retirement incentive; making nonsubstantive style and form changes.
HF2489 (Murphy, by request); SFxxxx: MnState IRAP: Employee contribution rate increase.
HF2671 (Nelson); SF243 (Frentz): MnState IRAP: Employer contribution rate increase.
Wednesday, March 27
9:45 a.m.
House Education Finance
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Jim Davnie
Agenda:
HF 882 (Sandstede) General education basic formula allowance increased by three percentage points per year, general education basic formula allowance future increases linked to rate of inflation, and money appropriated.
HF 1190 (Sandell) Concurrent enrollment program fully funded, and money appropriated.
HF 1969 (Erickson) Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education (STEM) grant program created, report required, and money appropriated.
HF 2110 (Lien) Long-term facilities revenue maximum amount modified for school districts with adjusted square footage.
HF 2325 (Lee) Adult basic education aid calculation modified, and money appropriated.
1:00 p.m.
Senate Jobs and Economic Growth Finance and Policy
Room: 1150 Senate Building
Chair: Sen. Eric R. Pratt
Agenda:
S.F. 2339-Howe, J.: Contractor recovery fund use for statewide consumer awareness campaign project.
S.F. 2182-Howe, J.: Residential building contractor, remodeler, and roofer additional education regarding financial management requirement.
S.F. 1527-Jasinski: Owatonna and Steele county area workforce training appropriation.
S.F. 2163-Jasinski: Airport infrastructure renewal (AIR) grant program establishment and appropriation.
S.F. 1526-Goggin: Minor league baseball players exemption from minimum wage and overtime requirements authorization
2:30 p.m.
House Higher Education Finance and Policy
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Connie Bernardy
Agenda:
Minnesota State Budget Recommendations
University of Minnesota Budget Recommendations
3:00 p.m.
Senate E-12 Finance and Policy
Room: 1100 Senate Building
Chair: Sen. Carla J. Nelson
Agenda:
S.F. 793-Eichorn: Firearms safety, archery, hunting and angling inclusion in school physical education courses grant program establishment and appropriation.
S.F. 709-Chamberlain: Student performance data collection modification.
S.F. 2140-Jasinski: Minnesota State Academies rental income proceeds deposit modification.
S.F. 2158-Relph: United Way of Central Minnesota grant appropriation for Promise Neighborhood of Central Minnesota.
S.F. 2165-Relph: Section 7 of the bill, KINDERGARTEN READINESS ASSESSMENT.
S.F. 33-Wiger: Kindergarten readiness assessment requirement.
S.F. 493-Jasinski: Rice county Nerstrand charter school admission lottery modification.
S.F. 2439-Nelson: Educational stability for students living in foster care appropriation.
S.F. 822-Torres Ray: Collaborative urban educator program appropriation and reporting.
S.F. 2519-Nelson: School safety enhancements long-term facilities maintenance revenue authorization.
S.F. 2030-Dahms: Career and technical education instructors license exemption modification.
S.F. 1198-Simonson: Independent school district #709, Duluth; special education base adjustment; special education formulas modification and appropriations
5:30 p.m.
House Education Finance
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Jim Davnie
Agenda:
HF 1838 (Sandell) School administrator licensure fee modified, special revenue fund administrator licensure account created, and money appropriated.
HF 366 (Kresha) Certification incentive revenue continued through the end of fiscal year 2019.
HF 1735 (Davnie) Postsecondary enrollment; options deadline for making information available to students modified, online course requirements modified, enrolled pupils' transportation aid calculation modified, and money appropriated.
HF 618 (Runbeck) School district equalized referendum levies calculation modified.
HF 1907 (Nornes) Statewide concurrent enrollment teacher training partnership appropriation extended.
6:30 p.m.
Senate Jobs and Economic Growth Finance and Policy
Room: 1150 Senate Building
Chair: Sen. Eric R. Pratt
Agenda: S.F. 2483-Champion: Workforce training and entrepreneurship investments to help close opportunity gaps for Minnesotans of color appropriations
6:30 p.m.
House Capital Investment
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Mary Murphy
Agenda:
HF322 (Garofalo) Randolph; wastewater collection and treatment system funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2416 (Daniels) Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf campus safety corridor funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2417 (Daniels) Minnesota State Academy for the Blind campus residence hall renovation funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2418 (Daniels) Minnesota State Academy asset preservation funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2410 (Haley) Cannon Valley Trail access and storm water infrastructure renovation and improvement funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2504 (Torkelson) Winthrop and Hanley Falls; Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF1446 (Pinto) St. Paul; River Learning Center funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2132 (Lee) Minneapolis; Mississippi River and trail connections access funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF450 (Sauke) Rochester; Cascade Lake Regional Park funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF384 (Sauke) Rochester; Willow Creek Trail funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2568 (Lillie) Ramsey County; Lake Links Trail funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2025 (Kresha) Morrison County; Minnesota Military Museum at Camp Ripley funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2129 (Murphy) Rural Finance Authority funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF829 (Anderson) Rural Finance Authority funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2529 (Murphy) Safe routes to school grant program funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF521 (Davnie) School safety grant funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2576 (Olson) St. Louis County; regional behavioral health crisis facilities funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2354 (Jurgens) Hastings; Trunk Highway 316 improvements funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2607 (McDonald) Annandale; infrastructure improvement funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2626 (Nornes) Fergus Falls; armory improvement funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2655 (Lislegard) Aurora, Biwabik, Hoyt Lakes, and White; East Range Joint Powers Board drinking water infrastructure funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF2028 (Boe) Chanhassen; Lyman Boulevard upgrade funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
Pending referral: HF XXX (Loeffler) Asset Preservation - SOB Hearing Rooms HVAC
Pending referral: HF XXX (Loeffler) Capitol Complex buildings longterm plan
7:00 p.m.
House Jobs and Economic Development Finance
Room: TBD
Chair: Rep. Tim Mahoney
Agenda:
HF 1216 (Schultz) Duluth DMC
HF 905 (Koegel) Getting to work grant program created
HF 2043 (Mahoney) Pathways to prosperity grant program
HF 1507 (Stephenson) Minnesota investment fund grant program limits modified, job training grant program modified, and money appropriated.
HF 2120 (Noor) Cedar Riverside Partnership grant authorized, and money appropriated
HF 2287 (Noor) Information technology grants to increase apprentice numbers funding provided, reports required, and money appropriated.
HF 2413 (Moran) St. Paul; Rondo Community Land Trust grant funding provided, and money appropriated.
HF 878 (Mahoney) Building and construction contract retainage requirements modified.
HF 879 (Sundin) Building and construction contract requirements modified and clarified.
HF 2138 (Mahoney) Minority-owned business development assistance service competitive grant funding provided, reports required, and money appropriated.
HF 2491 (Sundin) Independent contractor definition in trucking and messenger/courier industries modified.
HF1424 (Stephenson):
Establishing a student loan advocate; requiring licensure of student loan servicers
Thursday, March 28
8:00 a.m.
House Jobs and Economic Development Finance
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Tim Mahoney
Agenda:
HF 2567 (Her) Workforce training and entrepreneurship investment to close Minnesotans of color opportunity gaps funding provided
HF 1931 (Moran) Lifetrack job training nonprofit organization grant funding provided
HF 1933 (Moran) Lifetrack nonprofit organization building maintenance grant provided
HF 769 (Carlson, L) Public Employment Relations Board data modified, and money appropriated.
HF 2341 (Mariani) ProStart and Hospitality Tourism Management Program grant funding provided, and money appropriated.
HF 1553 (Poppe) Greater Minnesota community design and economic development statewide resource created, and money appropriated.
HF 2580 (Xiong, T) Nonprofit Assistance Grant Fund funding provided, and money appropriated.
9:45 a.m.
House Education Finance
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Jim Davnie
Agenda:
HF 1979 (Marquart) Lakes Country Service Cooperative federal instructional level 4 program grant authorized, and money appropriated.
HF 1980 (Marquart) Long-term facilities maintenance revenue and capital levies allowed use clarified, and school districts that are cooperative unit members lease levy authority increased.
HF 1204 (Pryor) School sexual harassment and sex discrimination laws compliance required, training required, and money appropriated.
HF 1749 (Urdahl) Civics education program grant funding provided, and money appropriated.
HF 2005 (Lislegard) Elementary grades included under joint powers cooperative facilities program.
9:45 a.m.
House Government Operations
Room: Basement hearing room State office Building
Chair: Rep. Mike Freiberg
Agenda:
HF223
(Sundin)
Pending Referral
: Waste tire facilities financial assurance required.
HF823 (Nelson)
Pending Re-referral
: Nelson Unofficial Engrossment H0823UE1: Private consultants hiring process established.
HF2069 (Bahner)
Pending Referral
: Community Competency Restoration Task Force established, reports required, and money appropriated.
HF1893 (Elkins)
Pending Referral
: Motor vehicle titling and registration provisions modified.
5:30 p.m.
House Education Finance
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Jim Davnie
Agenda:
Pending Referral - HF 2259 (Backer) Independent School District No. 846, Breckenridge; postsecondary enrollment options with higher education institution agreement allowed.
HF 2046 (Pryor) Independent School District No. 270, Hopkins; International Spanish Language Academy program combining authorized, and levy authorized.
HF 1052 (Noor) Students with interrupted formal education participation in early middle college program for one additional year made permanent.
HF 2039 (Moran) Trauma-informed school incentive aid funding provided, and money appropriated.
HF 1056 (Moran) Education partnership program modified, future grant priority established, and money appropriated.
