Hornstein Dibble 2013 Legislative Report

7/28/2019 Hornstein Dibble 2013 Legislative Report

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Senate District 61 NewsletterRep. Frank Hornstein

Sen. Scott Dibble

D. ScottDibbleState Senator

111 State Capitol75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

St. Paul, MN 55155

651-296-4191

[email protected]/senatordibble

FrankHornstein

State Representative471 State Ofce Building

100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

St. Paul, MN 55155

[email protected]

www.house.mn/61A

Not Printed at Government Expense.

Fair andtransparent

revenue systemAt the same time the wealthiest haveenjoyed leaps in their fortunes, theyhave manipulated the political systemto pay less in taxes and severely cutinvestments in public services that

expand economic competitivenessand shared prosperity.

That began to change this sessionwith an income tax rate increase onthe wealthiest two percent (who payfully two percent less than the rest ofus) that will raise $1.14 billion overthe biennium. There was also a sig-nicant closure of corporate tax loop-holes. Important to these tax reformefforts is $441 million in property taxrelief to Minnesotans a signicantstep in the right direction given that

property taxes have doubled since2003. Reversing Local GovernmentAid cuts, enacting a sales tax exemp-

tion for local governments, increas-ing the Homestead Credit and Rent-ers Credit Refunds, decreasing schoollevies, and enacting levy limits arecomponents of this initiative.

Our legislation to close a tax loop-hole some corporations use to shelterassets in overseas tax havens wasnot included in the nal tax bill. We

believe that corporations should paytheir fair share of taxes and not re-ceive a tax exemption for funds theyhide in the Caribbean, remote Pacicislands and other tax havens.

Dearfriend,

Wow. Whatayear!Wecouldnotbemoreproudofourgreatstate

.

Onceagain,Minnesotanshaveshownthatwecanworkhardtocre

ate

abrighterfutureforeveryone.Marriageforall,abettereducation

for

somany,healthcareforthousandspreviouslyshutout,openingup

job

opportunities,cleanerenergy,preservingandrestoringourenviron

-

ment,andreturningfairnesstoourtaxesarejustafewoftheacco

m-

plishmentsofthislegislativesession.Noneofthiswaspossiblew

ithouttheactive

involvementanddedicationofMinnesotanslikeyou.Frompressi

ngforchange inthe

electionsoflastNovembertoyourstrongpresenceattheCapitolthroughthemany

debatesonimportantpolicies,itisthepeopleofMinnesotathatcr

eatedthisamazing

turnaround,reversingoveradecadesworthofshifting,blaminga

ndbacksliding.We

feellikeMinnesotaisonceagainonthemove,abletotakeitslong

heldplaceas astate

thatworksforeveryone.Ourmessageissimple: Thankyou!

Sincerely,

D.ScottDibble

FrankHornstein

StateSenator, District61StateRepresentative,District61A

Investment in educationWith nearly a billion dollars in newfunding, the legislature made anhistoric investment in education thissession. To better prepare our kids forschool and life, we made free all-daykindergarten available for every childin Minnesota. Thousands of younglearners will also have access tohigh quality early childhood educa-tion with $40 million going to earlylearning scholarships. MinnesotasK-12 education system received a$485 million funding increase, andwe accelerated a plan to pay back the

grants and in-state tuition, expantheir opportunity to become protive Minnesotans as adults.

High-stakes testing has been re-formed in order to better helpstudents become college and carready. Instead of merely failingstudents, diagnostic examinationwill provide targeted remediatiothose who need it, allow the brigest to be promoted, and ensure a

pathway to academic success fostudents.

$2.7 billion the previous legislatureborrowed from our schools by 2014.

Minnesotas college students willnally get some relief after a decade-long trend of skyrocketing tuition.We implemented a two year tuitionfreeze at all public colleges and uni-versities and increased student aid by$46.7 million. Part-time students willnow at long last be able to access aid.Through the Minnesota Prosperity(Dream) Act undocumented studentswho attended high school in Min-nesota will now be eligible for state


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Health Care -- reorm and accessOur session got off to a great start when we were able to pass a signicant expansion to Meicaid, a cornerstone of Obamacare, in which we were able to cover an additional 35,000 ve

low income Minnesotans and save the state $1 billion. Not long thereafter we enacted MNthe states online health care exchange and marketplace where individuals, families and smbusinesses who currently lack access to high quality, affordable health insurance, will be ato easily shop for a plan that suits them best. Individuals who will remain with Minnesotabecause they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid will also see improvements. Minnesoreceived special federal recognition for our innovations and will be able to access federal to transition to a Basic Health Plan which will be even better than MinnesotaCare.

Seniors and others will benet from a ve percent increase for long term care centers andnursing homes the rst increase in four years. The Elderly Waiver Program that allowser Minnesotans to have in-home care services was given an increase of one percent. Incrin dental Medical Assistance reimbursement rates and rural access programs were achievwell.

An additional $10 million is devoted to make mental health services more available forchildren. Medical Assistance coverage is provided for more mental health services for loincome people and their families.

Tobacco taxesMore important than the revenue it will raise, the decision to raise taxes on cigaretthe incredible health benet. We will, at long last, also stop the masquerade of cigrettes being sold cheaply as little cigars to youngsters. Tobacco use, smoking cigrettes especially, costs Minnesota over $3 billion in health care costs every year ($for every single one of us). The pain and misery for victims and their families is imsurable. Raising the cost of cigarettes by $1.60 will prevent 47,700 kids from becosmokers, help 36,600 current smokers quit, save 27,700 Minnesotans from prematdeath and save Minnesota $1.65 billion in long term health care costs.

Ban the BoxWhen an individual has worked hard to overcome a past mistake and would like to takresponsibility, start a career, and become a contributing member of society, it is importhat they be able to at least get a foot in the door. Employers will no longer be able to sa job candidate cold in their tracks if they have a criminal record, because that questionow disallowed on employment applications.

Housing, Contracts or Deed and Homeowner Bill o RightA comprehensive agenda was launched to gain back some of the ground we lost inrecent years to ensure that safe, decent, and affordable housing is available to everyonregardless of age, job status, or disability. We made signicant strides in services that

provide for homelessness assistance and prevention, home ownership, building newaffordable housing, helping folks afford their rent, and assisting with rehabs and energimprovements. The Housing Finance Agency receives a 24 percent increase and Healtand Human Services housing and homelessness services receives a 42 percent increas

Contracts for Deed are an important tool for those looking to purchase a home whowould otherwise not be able. Unfortunately, since the housing collapse, they are alsosubject to tremendous levels of consumer fraud and abuse. Under a new law authored

by Sen. Dibble, those who sell more than four properties per year on contract for deedmust provide full disclosure to buyers of terms and requirements of transactions.

The long sought homeowner bill of rights was passed. Lenders must rst consider loamodications before foreclosing on properties. Homeowners must also be made fullyaware of all their rights to redeem their mortgage from foreclosure upon each commu-nication. Loan servicers are also prohibited from dual tracking starting foreclosur

proceedings on a property while at the same time assessing a homeowners eligibilityfor a loan modication.

Helping Youth SucceedYouth intervention, responding to youngsters at the rst sign that they may havestepped onto the wrong path, is highly successful in helping them do better in schoand succeed in life, with 90% not reoffending while in a program. We were pleasedrestore a signicant portion of funding lost in recent years.


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Homeless and At Risk Youth & Human TrafckingSen. Dibble was proud in 2007 to pass the comprehensive (Runaway and) HomelessYouth Act, which laid out how to successfully respond to young people who areseparated from their families and have no home. Services may include street outreachand drop in programs, supportive and transitional housing, family reunication, healthcare, education, love and belonging. It is exciting to report that, for the rst time,substantial nancial resources have been devoted to supporting community-basedservices across the state for these young people.

A tragedy largely unseen in our midst is that of human trafcking. A number ofinitiatives were passed to eliminate this scourge. When youth are caught in the sex trade,they will now be given help to leave rather than be treated as criminals. Police will betrained, and housing and support services will be funded to assist them.

Child Victims ActMinnesotans who were sexually abused as children will, for the next three years, be ableto bring civil lawsuits against their abuser or the institution that facilitated the abuse,rather than seeing the window of justice close once they turn 24.

Underage Drinking Medical AmnestyMany young people, fearing legal consequences, are afraid to call for help when a friendis experiencing a dire health problem from drinking too much. A new law will givecover so that action can be taken to assist them without fear of reprisal.

The ArtsThe availability and enriching experience of the arts are part of the bedrock of ourquality of life in Minnesota. The arts make our state a wonderful place to live and giveus a great advantage nationally and internationally in attracting and keeping peopleand businesses. $115 million will go to the arts from ourstates constitutionally dedicated Legacy Funds over thenext biennium, with 46% to the State Arts Board thatfunds programming via Regional Arts Councils. TheMinnesota Humanities Center will receive an increase of$750,000 over the biennium. The Minnesota HistoricalSociety will receive almost $28 million for a varietyof projects. In the Economic Development bill, theMinnesota Film and TV Board will get $10 million tocreate production jobs across the state.

Labor Rights or Child Care andPersonal Care workers

Our labor force has undergone dramatic changes, withmore people providing crucial services but receivinglow wages and no benets, outside of the traditionalemployer/employee setting. It is unconscionable thatwe ask people, most of them women, to care for ourchildren and seniors, but dont value what they do. Thiscan only harm the recipients of those services our mostvulnerable. This year we allowed those workers to theright to decide for themselves whether they would liketo come together for the purpose of providing better careand better work circumstances.

Freedom to MarryIt is hard to express in words how happy and proud we are of Minnesota, taking this longdreamed of step afrming the values we share: goodness of love, commitment, responsibility,strong families, freedom for everyone and the ability for all of our families to live in dignity.

Wed like to share our foor speeches with you:

Sen. Dibble: http://tinyurl.com/SenDibbleMarriageSenateFloor

Rep. Hornstein: http://tinyurl.com/RepHornsteinMarriageHouseFloor


4/6

Park Dedication FeeWe succeeded this session in securing an additional funding source for Minneapolis Parks. Aseveral years of hard work by the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Park and RecreatBoard, we passed legislation enabling Minneapolis to assess a fee on new developments to fu

parks in growing areas of the city. Our bill is estimated to bring in an estimated additional $5million for our park system.

Environment and Clean WaterThe legislatures environmental efforts focused on clean water and curbing invasive aquaticspecies. Legislation was passed to strengthen the states ability to monitor groundwater and

surface water supplies. In addition, new steps were taken to fund public awareness, assessmeresearch and inspections to prevent the spread of invasive plants and species.

The legislature also passed a bill to allocate nearly $500 million dollars from the constitutiondedicated sales tax for outdoors and arts projects. This Legacy bill funded prairie restorationforest preservation, wetlands conservation efforts, habitat enhancement, clean water protectio

parks and trails and the arts.

We were disappointed that an additional legislative allocation of $6 million for metro parks wline-item vetoed by the Governor Dayton. The Governor argued that this portion of the bill feoutside the recommendations of a citizens panel empowered to disburse the funds.

Frac SandThe explosion of mining for sand in the southeastern corner of the state for natural gas and odrilling presents very serious environmental threats. Local units of government are ill-equippto respond and the threats affect areas well beyond their boundaries. In response, the legislat

authorized the development of model local ordinances and gave the Pollution Control Agencauthority to issue permits within one mile of sensitive trout streams. Much more remains to bdone.

BPA/Formaldehyde Ban and Toxic Chemicals in Childrens ProduBisphenol A (BPA) and formaldehyde, both shown to cause serious health problems, will be

prohibited for sale in specied childrens products and food containers. Another bill requirindistributors and manufacturers of childrens products that contain harmful chemicals to reporinformation to the Pollution Control Agency did not pass.

GMO labelingA bill to allow for labeling and disclosure of whether our food contains genetically modiedorganisms was not given a hearing. In any case, food labeling is generally controlled by the

federal government and so it is uncertain whether states can require more stringent disclosureHowever, we are fortunate to have access to community supported agriculture, food cooperatand numerous neighborhood farmers markets so widely available.

Crat Beer GrowlersSmall craft brewers of beer with a production over 3,500 barrels, but less than 20,000 barrelsnow be able to sell up to 500 barrels in the form of growlers, glass jugs or bottles that folks catake home.

Clean Energy, Saving EnergyMinnesotas new solar energy standard will create new jobs andgive us cleaner air and water. It will require utilities to provide1.5% of their electric energy from the sun by 2020, and create astatewide goal of 10% by 2030. Additionally, we were successfulin offering legislation to allow use of industrial waste heat to becounted as energy efciency and advance other initiatives to expandour states conservation and efciency efforts. Unfortunately, wewere not able to increase our renewable energy standard to 40% by2030, choosing instead to study this idea.


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Product RecyclingA multi-year effort to pass a bill to establish a container recycling refund pro(bottle deposit) that can achieve an 80 percent recycling rate was modied torequirement that the Pollution Control Agency advise the legislature in Janu2014 on how to set one up.

A new law was enacted requiring paint manufacturers to take responsibility disposal or reuse of their product at the end of its useful life, incenting themmanufacture paint so it is easier to process into new products or dispose of saA similar provision for batteries and carpet did not pass.

Work let undoneDespite this truly historic legislative session, much

remains to be done.

TransportationTransportation remains a piece of unnished business. As chairsof our respective Senate and House transportation nancecommittees, we worked hard to develop a balanced bill that

would raise new revenue for roads and bridges through a modestgas tax increase. Our plan for an additional 1/2 cent sales tax inthe metro area was designed to increase dedicated funding forlocal bus service, while signicantly expanding development ofadditional light rail and express bus corridors.

The nal bill, negotiated by the House Speaker, Governor,and Senate Majority Leader contained a new $300 million

bonding appropriation for commercial corridors and a newone-time appropriation to cover short-term costs associated withimplementing the Southwest Corridor Light Rail Project. The

bill also maintained current funding levels for Metro Transitoperations.

The tax bill did, however, include our legislation to start a pilotproject to fund development of street cars in Minneapolis.

While we are disappointed that the nal bill fell well short of our

expectations, we will re-double our efforts to increase revenueto support vital transportation projects across the state when thelegislature reconvenes in February 2014.

BullyingIn one of the most cynical moves either of us has ever witnessed,in the nal days of the session, the Senate Republican minority

began what they promised to be a lengthy libuster sufcientto kill our anti-bullying legislation. This, despite the fact thatyoung people report devastating consequences of bullying, andthe fact that every criticism leveled by the opposition had either

been addressed or was atly untrue. The bill remains active andSen. Dibble has vowed to pass it in the rst weeks of the 2014session. Meanwhile, youngsters are forced to endure anotheryear without the assurance that they can attend a safe and

supportive school.

GunsIt is almost inconceivable that in the aftermath of the Newtownand Accent Signage tragedies, the National Rie Associationis still able to dominate and thwart any progress to make sureguns are not sold to criminals and dangerous people, and newoversight on the availability of guns designed only to kill asmany people as quickly as possible. Even a modest package ofideas proposed by Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freemanwas defeated: keeping guns away from domestic violence and

juvenile offenders, stopping the knowing transfer of guns tocriminals, keeping ammunition away from criminals and closingshortcomings in keeping them out of the hands of people withmental illness. A citizen led movement, with real power forchange, and real consequences for inaction, is the only response

that will break the stranglehold the NRA has on the politicalsystem.

The legislature did provide funding to help ll gaps in recordsthat are used to conduct background checks prior to gun

purchases, particularly mental health civil commitment data.

Minimum WageWe supported and voted for legislation to increase the minimumwage. The House and Senate passed differing levels forthe wage increase. The conference committee charged withresolving those differences did not come to an agreement prior tolegislative adjournment, so the matter will likely be resolved in2014.

Capital Investment (Bonding)Another issue that will need to be addressed in 2014 is a larger bonding biThe Capital Investment Bill pays for a wide range of state infrastructure

projects ranging from rehabilitating and constructing university and commcollege buildings, affordable housing projects, wastewater treatment faciliroads, bridges and transit systems, museums and cultural venues, and othe

public assets.The House bonding bill failed to garner a super-majority neefor passage. The effort fell ve votes short with all DFLers and only threeRepublicans supporting the measure. The nal House-Senate version whicwas passed and signed into law contained an appropriation for needed repfor the State Capitol and State Ofce Building, along with a few smaller

projects around the state.

The nal bill did not contain two provisions we introduced that were incluin the original House bill: funding for upgrades to the Walker Sculpture Gaand support for a new transit station at Lake Street and I-35W.


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Airport NoiseWe continue to play an active role in addressing issues related to airport noise.We introduced legislation requesting that the Metropolitan Airports Commissionconduct full environmental impact statement on the proposed MSP expansion,changes to takeoffs, landings and air trafc volumes. We also sent a letter to theMAC demanding an EIS. We succeeded in compelling the MAC to also holdmeetings of signicant public interest outside of the airport security barrier. All

citizens previously had to pass through airport security in order to attend all MACpublic meetings and hearings.

Elections and Campaign ReormVoters will be able to vote early or absentee without providing an excuse, whichwill make voting easier and efcient for more people. Electronic poll books will be

piloted in some places, making it easier to identify voters and ensure theyre votingin the right place. Several measures did not pass: holding primaries in June, training

polling place challengers on Minnesota laws and acceptable conduct, and easingthe ability of local governments to switch to ranked choice (instant runoff) voting.

Citizens United Federal Constitutional AmendmentThe Senate voted to send an ofcial resolution to Congress calling on them to enact

an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would, in effect, reverse the CitizensUnited Supreme Court decision that opened the oodgates of corporate money inelections. If 34 states adopt similar resolutions, Congress will be required to adopta constitutional amendment that claries that Constitutional rights are reserved onlyfor natural persons and not corporations. If Congress fails to adopt an amendment insix months then they would be required to convene a Constitutional Convention. Weare hopeful the House will act next year and pass the resolution on to Congress.

Animal ProtectionIt was not a good year for animals at the legislature.

A multiyear effort to require animal breeders (puppy mills) to actresponsibly and to eliminate deplorable harm and suffering for dogsyet again thwarted. Only a unied, energized and broad based grassrcampaign can overcome strong opposition, particularly from those ithose in the agriculture and hunting communities, who feel threatenits provisions.

Another bill, authored by Senator Dibble, would allow dogs andcats being retired from experimentation at public higher educationlaboratories to be adopted into homes rather than being destroyed foreason. Unfortunately, the bill was defeated because of opposition fthe University of Minnesota.

Requiring sufcient study into the advisability of allowing the huntiwolves was also defeated by opposition from hunting interest group

The Minnesota Companion Animal ProtectiAct, establishing best practices for animaladoption and care in shelters was not permihearing.

A bill to limit the needless death and injury dogs from body gripping game-hunting trapalso did not advance.

Drivers Licenses or AllEasing restrictions on drivers licenses for nU.S. citizens, whether or not documented, pthe Senate but did not come up for a vote inHouse. This legislation will make our roadscommunities safer by ensuring that more drhave had a chance to learn Minnesota trafclaws, pass a driving test, carry auto insurancand not be needlessly fearful of the police.

Hornstein Dibble 2013 Legislative Report

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