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Legislative Issues (Archive 1.11.05)

This legislative update published on January 11, 2005

"Domestic violence is not a Democrat issue, not a Republican issue.

We must stop violence in Democratic homes and Republican homes."

– Sen. Julianne Ortman (R-Chanhassan)

1. Who Represents Me?

2. Session Line-Up and Hot Topics for 2005

3. Millions of Dollars to Fight Homelessness

4. Stop Bullying in Minnesota Schools

5. Gay Marriage and Other Bills Introduced

6. It’s Time For Minnesota To Return To Fiscal Responsibility

7. Child Care and Early Education Programs Short Changed

8. Contact Us

1. Who Represents Me?

Our elected officials need to hear that family violence prevention is a top priority, especially with Minnesota state budget decisions and the reauthorization of the federal Violence Against Women Act at stake this year. You have the power to let your elected officials know that family violence prevention is important to you and a key to healthy, thriving communities.

To find contact information for your elected officials, go to http://maps.commissions.leg.state.mn.us/website/districts/

Minnesota House: Republican Controlled. The 2005 Minnesota House includes 68 Republicans and 66 Democrats. Rep. Steve Sviggum (R-Kenyon) was re-elected as Speaker of the House by a 67-64 vote last week.

Minnesota Senate: DFL Controlled. The 2005 Minnesota Senate includes: 35 Democrats, 31 Republicans and 1 Independent who has chosen to caucus with the Democrats. Sen. Dean Johnson (DFL-Willmar) will continue as Senate Majority Leader.

On Thursday, January 6, the Senate introduced 154 new bills, and the House introduced 56 new bills.

2005 is particularly important as a “budget year” where the legislature sets the budget for state spending over 2006-2007. Emergency shelter funding for women and children fleeing abuse has been dramatically reduced, resulting in a net loss of $700,000 between 2002 and 2004 for Tubman Family Alliance shelters alone, which house 1,400 women and children annually. Essential services families need in the wake of abuse, like housing advocacy, crisis legal intervention, and transitional housing, have been cut by over $280,000 from 2002-2005 at Tubman alone.

2. Session Line-Up and Hot Topics for 2005

With a $700 million state budget deficit, lawmakers will need to make tough decisions this year about where and how to spend state dollars. We can expect lively debate around several hot topics: education, social services funding, health care, gambling and Casinos, stadiums for professional and college sports, a state-wide smoking ban, same-sex marriage, the North Star light rail extension, and a “bonding bill” for capital projects like highways and buildings.

The Minnesota legislature must work twice as hard this year, to pass both the bonding bill which failed to go through last year AND to work out a balanced budget which is their usual responsibility this “budget year.” State legislative leaders laid out their agendas last Friday at “Session Line-Up” hosted by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

According to Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum (R-Kenyon), “If you take your faith or what you believe and put it into action, you will have success.” With that, he said the Republican Majority Caucus’ priorities for this session are schools and children, the elderly, and the disabled. Sviggum named healthcare reform, job promotion and creation, and education support and reform as secondary priorities. Speaker Sviggum stated that funding for nonprofits and human services would be largely based on demonstrated results, accountability and fiscal responsibility.

House Minority Leader Matt Entenza (DFL-St. Paul), countered the Speaker by opening with, “Prayer is helpful and love is wonderful, but sometimes you also have to have a helping hand.” Rep. Entenza highlighted education, child care and health care with sliding scale options for low-income families as priorities for the House DFL Caucus. He added that focusing on prevention, rather than crisis issues, is less costly to the state and healthier for Minnesota communities.

Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove) placed a strong focus on the need to look at the long-term economic development of Minnesota. He also discussed a need to make Minnesota’s business community the best it can be and to put people back to work. He also emphasized a need “to protect the revenue stream,” stating too much of Minnesota’s state monies are drawn from market-driven taxes and are unstable over the long-term. Limmer added that non-profits are in many ways better at serving the direct social needs of individuals and families because of their economies of scale.

Senate Finance Chair Richard Cohen (DFL-St. Paul) laid out priorities for this legislative session, namely a structured, stable and balanced budget and education, especially the University of Minnesota as a key element of the state’s economy. Sen. Cohen’s priorities also included Minnesota’s transportation system, human services and healthcare with equity between those in positions of privilege and average citizens.

3. Millions of Dollars to Fight Homelessness

Up to $20 million earmarked to combat homelessness in Minnesota was brought forward at the state Capital last week. In Minnesota, at least one-third of all homeless women and their children name family violence as a primary reason for being homeless.

An initiative of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, this funding is intended to fight “chronic homelessness.”

Contained in Bonding Bills introduced last week by both the Senate and the House, the Senate version includes $20 million for the homelessness initiative, with the House version at $10 million. Both bills will be heard in each body’s Capital Investment Committee.

Housing advocates have expressed interest in seeing funding earmarked for supportive, transitional housing needed by many homeless women and children as they fight to rebuild their lives in the wake of family violence.

It is expected that this measure may pass early in the legislative session, at the Governor’s urging. Let your views on this important issue be heard by contacting Committee members listed below, as well as your own representatives in the state Senate and House.

To find contact information for your elected officials, go to http://maps.commissions.leg.state.mn.us/website/districts/

Senate Committee. The longtime Chair of the Senate Capital Investment committee is Sen. Keith Langseth (DFL-Glyndon).

Additional members include:

Linda Berglin

Satveer Chaudhary

Richard J. Cohen

Dennis R. Frederickson

House Committee. The new Chair of the House Capital Investment Committee is Rep. Dan Dorman (R-Albert Lea). Other members include:

Margaret Anderson Kelliher

4. Stop Bullying in Minnesota Schools

Studies show that 25 percent or more of students report bullying at least once a week at school. Bi-partisan measures brought forward in both the House and Senate last week would create a model policy to prohibit bullying in schools to be adopted by School Boards throughout Minnesota. The bill also defines bullying and intimidation, and mandates that school policies outline expected behavior for students and appropriate consequences for bullying. Under this bill, school policies must require school personnel to report student intimidation or bullying incidents and allow anonymous reports. (H.F. 14, S.F. 40 and 41)

5. Gay Marriage and Other Bills Introduced

A bill proposing a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman was introduced in the House. The bill has gone onto the House Civil Law Committee for further review. (H.F. 6)

Over 200 other new bills have already been introduced at the state Capitol since the start of the 2005 legislative session last week, including:

Gopher Stadium. Bipartisan bills for a new Gopher football stadium to be built with partial state funding were brought forward in both the House and Senate. (H.F. 33, S.F. 115)

Methamphetamine Use. Bi-partisan bills would boost penalties for improperly disposing of methamphetamine waste, develop pilot programs for student awareness, study better ways to treat meth addictions and restrict the sale of so-called precursors for meth manufacturing. (H.F. 4, S.F. 49 and 51)

Minimum Wage. A Senate DFL-sponsored bill would increase the minimum wage for most Minnesota workers in two steps from the current $5.15/hour to $6.65 next year. Last year, a similar measure was blocked in the House. (S.F. 3)

Driving with Cell Phones. A DFL proposal, consistently rejected in the past, would require drivers to use hands-free devices for their cell phone conversations on the road. (H.F. 18 and S.F. 152)

President Reagan. A Republican proposal would rename the State Office Building, located across from the state Capitol, in honor of the late President Ronald Reagan. (H.F. 26)

6. It’s Time For Minnesota To Return To Fiscal Responsibility

Recent solutions to state budget deficits relied heavily on one-time measures and damaging cuts to human services and have not put a permanent budget solution in place. The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits calls for a 2006-2007 budget that will:

Make Strategic Investments. The state must recommit to investments needed to build a strong economy and attractive quality of life. Consequences of cutting essential services for Minnesota families include a failing safety net for children and families touched by domestic violence. Budget cuts damage those things that make Minnesota a great place to live, work, raise a family, and do business.

Solve the deficit by returning to fiscal responsibility. Minnesota should return to sound financial principles in the 2005 legislative session by balancing the budget, acknowledging the impact of inflation on spending, maintaining adequate budget reserves and developing a long-term plan to create a budget reserve of five percent of biennial spending, and protecting the state’s credit rating.

Raise adequate revenues to protect Minnesota’s economic future and quality of life. It is time for a realistic discussion of how revenues should best be raised, rather than a piece-meal approach of increased fees, co-payments, and tuition. The legislature needs to consider the income tax to raise adequate revenues while taking into account citizens’ abilities to pay. Tax reform and tax fairness can add stability to the state’s revenue system.

7. Child Care and Early Education Programs Short Changed

U.S. Congress and the administration have approved an Omnibus Appropriations bill for 2005 that incorporates discretionary spending for nine agencies including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor. In order to meet tight spending caps and accommodate the President's priorities, all domestic discretionary programs except defense and homeland security were subject to an across-the-board cut 0.8 percent.

Child Care Funding Falls Short:
The discretionary portion of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the main source of federal support for child care assistance to low- and moderate-income families, received a decrease of $5 million.

Children Lose After-School Services:
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program that funds after-school care received a cut of $8 million; As a result, 40,000 children could lose access to after-school programs.

Head Start Allotment Does Not Cover Inflation:
Head Start is funded at $6.841 billion, about $67 million more than last year, but less than the amount needed to keep pace with inflation and less than the $6.9 billion requested by the President. Approximately 10,000 children could lose Head Start services.

By contacting your elected officials, you can take action on this important issue affecting our nation’s children. It is best use a more personal approach, such as calling or writing to your elected officials. To find contact information for your elected officials, go to http://maps.commissions.leg.state.mn.us/website/districts/

If time does not allow for you to use these methods, emailing or sending a form letter to your elected officials will work as well. To send a form letter, please visit the National Women’s Law Center and click on “Take Action!”

8. Contact Us
This legislative update is produced by Tubman Family Alliance, a pioneer in family violence prevention nationwide. Tubman Family Alliance offers a full range of services for all community members—men, women, and children—with the aim of preventing and ending family violence.

Get involved by volunteering at Tubman Family Alliance, or invite the Tubman Speaker’s Bureau to bring critical violence prevention outreach to your workplace, faith community, civic group or professional association.

For further information on legislative issues and how you can help take action, contact Randy Schubring, Director of Public Affairs at Tubman Family Alliance at 651-770-8544/612-825-3333 or at grassroots@tubmanfamilyalliance.org.

This legislative update published on January 11, 2005.



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