Public Policy Issues Archive (04.12.05)

This legislative update published April 12, 2005

“Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.” – Sitting Bull

1. Public Assistance (MFIP) Bill to Help Victims of Family Violence

2. Homelessness to Spike from Section 8 Bill – Act Now!

3. Housing and Homelessness Bills Move Forward

4. Child Support Reform Compromise Bill Passes Senate Committee

5. $12 Million for Permanent Supportive Housing Passes

6. Strangulation Bill Approved by Senate Committee

7. Violence Against Women Act

8. Child Witnesses to Violence Featured on TPT Channel 17

9. Budget Cuts Cause Real Pain for Real People

10. Contact Us

1. Public Assistance (MFIP) Bill to Help Victims of Family Violence

People receiving public assistance from the Minnesota Family Investment Program are required to work 20 hours a week and attend school to stay in the program.  A bill introduced by Rep. Karen Clark (DFL-Minneapolis) is designed to help single parents better move towards economic empowerment.  By cutting work requirement hours in half, single parents will have more realistic expectations to successfully accomplish work, educational goals and parenting.

The bill HF1894 was heard by the House Jobs and Economic Opportunity Policy and Finance Committee and held over for possible inclusion in the committee’s omnibus bill.  Clark said the work requirements, plus the demands placed on single parents by children, often force individuals to work three jobs at a time thereby hurting their education and their relationship with their children.

A companion bill SF1817, sponsored by Sen. Linda Berglin (DFL-Minneapolis), awaits action in the Senate Finance Committee.

Public assistance resources provide a crucial safety net for families building violence-free lives.  As many as 50 percent of all women receiving public assistance have been victims of family violence.  This bill would allow these families the freedom and flexibility needed to move beyond crises and realize their goals of financial independence, peaceful, loving households and quality parent/child relationships.

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2. Homelessness to Spike from Section 8 Bill – Act Now!

If enacted by Congress, proposed changes to the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program would change how the program works and who it serves.  These measures would make it more difficult for homeless Americans to access housing vouchers.

Current law helps safeguard Section 8 resources for those in our communities who need them most, by requiring that the vast majority of Section 8 housing vouchers go to households with an “extremely low income.”  The Administration’s proposal raises the income limits, which would enable housing authorities to adjust to future funding cuts by declining to serve homeless people and those whose incomes make them most at risk for homelessness.

The Section 8 Program has helped countless women and children escape the cycle of family violence, leading to self-sufficiency and empowerment for some of our community’s most vulnerable citizens.  Forty percent of women sampled at a Minneapolis homeless shelter gave family violence as a major reason for seeking shelter.  According to the Wilder Research Center, the single most common reason women seek temporary shelter in Minnesota is to flee an abusive partner. 

Homeless people on average have incomes of 15 percent of their area’s median income. The Administration’s proposal targets people at or below 60 percent of the median income.  Current law requires that 75 percent of vouchers newly issued each year go to households who have incomes below 30 percent of the median income at the time they first receive the voucher.  The law as it stands now is set up to fight homelessness and aid those in the most extreme need, and proposed changes would take the focus away from combating homelessness.

Congress needs to hear from you, even before legislation is introduced, that Section 8 is an important issue for you and your community.  Let them know that this proposal would abandon a commitment to the poorest Americans and hurt efforts to end homelessness and combat family violence.

Click on links below for contact info for Minnesota’s U.S. Senators:

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN)
Sen. Mark Dayton (D-MN)

Find your Representative at:  www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/Districtfinder.asp or call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

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3. Housing and Homelessness Bills Move Forward

Last week, several measures dealing with housing were heard by the Senate Jobs, Energy and Community Development subcommittee.   The subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis), passed all bills onto full Senate Committees.

For families creating violence-free lives—in the wake of abuse—access to affordable, safe housing is paramount.  Without sufficient housing resources, families face a return to an abusive household, substandard living conditions or even life on the street.   

A bill aimed at preventing homelessness establishes a program to stabilize housing for children attending elementary or secondary school. Chief author Sen. Steve Kelley (DFL-Hopkins) said the bill, SF 1646, is an attempt to achieve an educational goal through non-education means.  The goal of the program is to eliminate or reduce change of residence of a student so that both the student's home and the school of attendance remain stable. Under the measure, families must contribute up to 25 percent of their income toward housing, and the responsible adult must make a commitment to remain in the residence until the end of a school year.

SF 1953, sponsored by Sen. Richard Cohen (DFL-St. Paul), increases the deed tax and appropriates part of the increase to the housing development fund to be used for rental housing assistance and for the economic development and housing challenge program.

SF 1671, authored by Sen. Mee Moua (DFL-St. Paul), provides a corporate and individual income tax credit for contributions to qualifying affordable housing.

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4. Child Support Reform Compromise Bill Passes Senate Committee

Last Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Don Betzold (DFL-Fridley), discussed proposed reforms to Minnesota’s child support laws.  Sen. Linda Berglin (DFL-Minneapolis) and Sen. Thomas Neuville (R-Northfield), both authors of different child support reform bills, had found compromises between their two bills.  Changes were incorporated into Sen. Neuville’s bill SF 630, including a number of amendments from Sen. Berglin’s original bill SF 1900.

Sen. Linda Berglin said “This bill comes as close as possible to coming in between the two bills."

The bill SF 630 now travels to the Senate Health Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Berglin.  The House companion bill, authored by Rep. Steve Smith (R-Mound) awaits a hearing in the House Public Safety Finance Committee.

The following is a report from the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to further explain the child support bill:

Sen. Thomas Neuville (R-Northfield), whose bill the committee plans to move forward, said he and Sen. Linda Berglin (DFL-Minneapolis) have worked to resolve the discrepancies between their two bills. He offered an amendment to his bill containing the compromises he and Berglin reached.

First, said Neuville, the amendment changes the definition of gross income in relation to child care payments to include alimony, spousal maintenance, self-employment and spousal income. “We want to calculate payments based on true income, not taxable income,” said Neuville. Second, the amendment modifies the definition of parenting time to include overnight visits as well as significant periods of time spent with a child, even if they are not overnight, he said. Third, Neuville said the amendment articulates five factors a court may consider to determine whether or not a parent who stays at home with a child is voluntarily unemployed.

Another provision in the amendment limits the credit for non-joint children, children that share only one parent, to two, said Neuville. He said the provision is intended to prevent parents from having serial children. Another part of the amendment provides for a child to receive MinnesotaCare if the child does not have health insurance and the child’s non-custodial parent is on or is eligible for the program. Under the amendment, the custodial parent must pay a subsidized premium for the coverage. Neuville said the amendment also limits a section in his original bill allowing for child care rates to be determined by market rates. 

The amendment also changes the phrase for time a non-custodial parent spends with a child from “parenting time credit” to “parenting expense adjustment.” Neuville said the amendment also allows a parent to receive the expense adjustment if the parent contributes at least 10 percent up to equal time of the parenting responsibilities. “We want to de-link time and money” said Neuville, who added that the provision will eliminate the disincentive for custodial parents to allow their children more time with the non-custodial parent. The provision also reduces the expense adjustment from 18 to 12 percent. A final provision in the amendment, said Neuville, ties evaluation of whether non-custodial parents ability to support themselves to the Minnesota Famiy Investment Program (MFIP) index instead of the federal poverty guidelines.

Neuville said the portions of his original bill that are not changed by the amendment include the basic child support guideline, the marginal cost housing guideline and child care tax benefits as an offset to child care costs.

Berglin said the bill reflects compromises on many issues and said she supports the bill with the amendment. She added that the amendment also alleviates many of the concerns various groups had about the original bill.  The Committee adopted the amendment. 

Sen. Satveer Chaudhary (DFL-Fridley) asked how much the measure will reduce child support. Neuville said it depends on the scenario, but added that, in general, individuals in a one-child situation would see a decrease in support while individuals in a two or more child situation will likely see an increase in support. Neuville also said the parenting expense allowance provision will affect the child support costs. Chaudhary also asked if enforcement measures remained the same under the bill. Neuville responded that they did. Finally, Chaudhary said he thought the bill is large and makes a lot of changes. He said he wished the proposed legislation would first take place as a pilot program in one or a few counties. "Just because it's a compromise doesn't mean that it's going to run well," said Chaudhary. "In fact, if it's a mesh of two different proposals there could be problems in terms of how the bill will operate," he said.

Neuville answered that it would be difficult to run a pilot program because of high mobility in the child support and custody system. He added that because the bill does not take effect for one and a half years, there is time for affected parties to study and train for the legislation.

Pamela Waggoner, legislative chair, Minnesota State Bar Association Family Law Section, said the amendment helps to bring the bill more into conformity recommendations made by a statewide Task Force which studied this issue from 1999-2001.

However, Molly Olson, Center for Parental Responsibility, said it is unconscionable that the bill increases support payments for individuals supporting two or more children.

Jim Huntsman said the bill would be better if it calculated the payments based on net income instead of gross income.

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5. $12 Million for Permanent Supportive Housing Passes

The “Bonding Bill” was approved by both the full Senate and the House and is expected to be signed by the Governor this week.  Highlights include:

• $12 million for permanent supportive housing loans
• $213.6 million for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
• $108.4 million for the University of Minnesota
• $98.7 million for the Department of Corrections
• $94 million for transportation, including $37.5 million for the Northstar commuter rail
• $22 million for a Minneapolis planetarium

Nearly 1,400 homeless women and children fleeing abuse called Tubman Family Alliance shelters home last year alone.  For these families, housing often becomes a primary goal and a key to escaping the cycle of abuse.  This $12 million earmarked for permanent supportive housing will finance building or repair for up to 4,000 housing units for homelessness relating to mental health, chemical dependency and family violence.  The money will be pooled with funds from state, federal government and nonprofits to create several housing projects around the state. 

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6.  Strangulation Bill Approved by Senate Committee

The domestic abuse “strangulation bill” SF 934 authored by Sen. Jane Ranum (DFL-Minneapolis) was approved by the Senate Finance Committee last week.  Sen. Ranum commented that the bill's cost is justified because it will reduce the cycle of 911 calls associated with serious domestic abuse.  Also, strangulation is a strong predictor of domestic homicide.  By allowing law enforcement to better intervene in incidents of non-fatal strangulation, this law is intended to prevent homicide, averting the high costs of incarcerating an offender for life for murder of family members.

The bill makes it a felony to assault a family or household member by strangulation. Currently it is typical to charge an offender who uses strangulation with assault in the fifth degree, a misdemeanor.

The house companion bill HF 963 authored by Rep. Steve Smith (R-Mound) is waiting to be heard in the House Ways and Means Committee.

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7.  Violence Against Women Act

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is set to expire this September.  VAWA is the first federal legislation to address domestic and sexual violence as a crime that causes tremendous harm to our society.  Congress has a unique opportunity to continue successful and vital programs and to expand on 10 years of progress to further safety and stability in the lives of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking survivors. 

Act quickly to let your U.S. Senators and Representatives know that it is important to reauthorize and strengthen this critical legislation.

Easy and Quick Ways to Take Action to Support the Violence Against Women Act:

• Click here to send an email to your U.S. Senators and Representative (using the Family Violence Prevention Fund website.)

• Call your Members of Congress. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senators and Representative.
  
• Meet with your Members of Congress.  It is surprising how easy it is to visit your Senators and Representative in-person.  A great time to set up a meeting with your legislators is during a Congressional recess when Senators and Representatives come back to their home districts. Call your legislator’s local office and schedule a visit for the next recess. The upcoming recesses are scheduled for May 30 – June 3 and July 4 – 8.

For more information on how you can support the Violence Against Women Act, download the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s How to Be an Advocate on the Violence Against Women Act.

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8.  Child Witnesses to Violence Featured on TPT Channel 17

Tune in to TPT’s Minnesota Channel 17 this Sunday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m., for “Family Matters: Breaking the Generational Cycle.”    This 30-minute broadcast features the Minnesota Child Response Initiative (MCRI), a groundbreaking collaborative reaching the forgotten victims of domestic abuse: children who witness the violence.  MCRI involves twelve Twin Cities child-serving agencies, all coming together to help intervene with children traumatized by violence.  MCRI teams of Minneapolis police officers, children’s mental health clinicians and family violence advocates respond to children and their families with on-scene support in the immediate aftermath of violence.

Family Matters: Breaking the Generational Cycle will be shown on Minnesota Channel 17 twice this spring:

• Sunday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, May 28 at 8:00 p.m.

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9.  Budget Cuts Cause Real Pain for Real People
Come to a meeting with Sen. Richard Cohen (DFL-St Paul) to discuss hopes and concerns about what is happening at the state legislature.  The intent of this forum is to urge Senator Cohen to act to stop the real cuts causing real pain for real people, and to support a state budget that meets Minnesota’s priorities and keeps our state a great place to live and work. 

Minnesota is Watching Meeting
Tuesday, April 12, 7 –  8:30 p.m.

Saint Mark’s Parish Center, 1976 Dayton Ave., St. Paul

This meeting is being sponsored by Minnesota is Watching, a coalition of nonprofit, labor, community and faith organizations united by common concern for Minnesota’s economic future and quality of life.

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10.  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@tubmanfamilyialliance.org.

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This Public Policy Update Published April 12, 2005.
Editor: Randy Schubring

Writers: Margaret Ostrander