During the state legislative session I receive email everyday from advocates for many different causes updating me on bills, amendments and the general status of things at the State Legislature.
For today's post, I thought I'd share a sample of what one of these updates looks like. This one is from the League of Minnesota Cities. It's a long one, but it's a typical example. Enjoy:
House Tax Committee passes controversial transportation package
On the heels of a marathon Thursday meeting that failed to yield a tax bill, the House Tax Committee this morning passed a transportation bill containing a gas tax increase. The transportation package, HF 3761 (Holberg, R-Lakeville), arrived in the committee containing the governor’s proposal to fund transportation projects by bonding for $2.5 billion–contingent on passage of the constitutional amendment phasing in dedication of 100 percent of the motor vehicle sales tax (MVST)—as well as language that would change the MVST ballot question and statutorily dedicate the proceeds on a 60/40 split between roads and transit. It was heard and then tabled by the House Tax Committee over two weeks ago. Insiders thought the prospects for passage were bleak at best. Over the course of this morning’s hearing, the committee added a provision offered by Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) that increases the gas tax by three cents per gallon beginning June 30, 2006 and another three cents per gallon beginning June 30, 2007. The committee rejected an amendment that would have allowed counties to impose a wheelage tax on vehicles. An amendment that would have changed the proposed MVST constitutional amendment by dedicating the proceeds on a 60/40 split between roads and transit in the constitutional language was offered and then withdrawn by Rep. Morrie Lanning (R-Moorhead). The Lanning amendment would also have provided that legal challenges to the legislature’s authority to change the ballot question or constitutional language must be filed within thirty days of the end of this year’s session and must be immediately considered by the Minnesota Supreme Court. The fact that the gas tax amendment prevailed and the House Tax Committee passed the bill as amended suggest that bipartisan support may still exist in the House for a comprehensive transportation funding package. Still, final passage of the bill in its current form is a long shot. The bill’s author reminded members that the bill has stops to make in the Ways and Means and Rules Committees, and that the governor would not hesitate to veto the bill as he did with the $8.2 billion transportation package passed by the legislature in 2005.
Seven hours of work and nothing to show for it
At this point in the session, you can always count on the legislature for drama—as was the case Thursday afternoon and evening in the House Tax Committee. At 3:00 p.m., the committee convened to process an omnibus tax bill. After more than seven hours of testimony, debate and amendments, the House Tax Committee defeated the bill on a 12-15 vote. Unfortunately, for cities and counties, the base bill chosen to begin the omnibus tax bill markup was HF 2457, which contained permanent, strict levy limits for cities and counties. Chair, Rep. Phil Krinkie (R-Lino Lakes) offered a delete-everything amendment that contained a broad array of tax initiatives including levy limits, a $400 million income tax reduction, a scaled-back version of last year’s taxpayer satisfaction survey, increased LGA funding tied to a failure of the constitutional dedication of the motor vehicle sales tax and a few of the local option sales tax requests that have been introduced this year. During the hearing, the stack of amendments seemed to grow faster than the committee could process them and at one point there were rumors of more than 60 drafted amendments. Before the night was over, the committee actually processed approximately thirty of those amendments. For cities, the committee ultimately adopted several key amendments that eliminated the most onerous provisions of the bill. Before its defeat, the bill included:· Full funding of LGA in the next biennium with an increase of $58 million in 2008 and $60 million in 2009, without the funding contingency based on the defeat of MVST constitutional dedication. This amendment was offered by Rep. Paul Marquart (DFL-Dilworth).· Restoration of $16.7 million in 2006 MVHC reimbursement, but not until 2007. This amendment was offered by Rep. Ann Lenczewski (DFL-Bloomington).· A general statutory authorization for cities and counties to impose local sales taxes with local voter approval with a requirement for revenue sharing with adjacent cities and townships. The sales tax authorization was offered by Rep. Ann Lenczewski (DFL-Bloomington) but the revenue sharing amendment was offered by Rep. Ray Vandeveer (R-Forest Lake)· No levy limits. Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis) successfully offered the amendment to strip levy limits from the bill. Without a House version of a tax bill, the next steps for the legislature are unclear. Tax legislation must originate in the House. The Senate processed their bill several weeks ago, but at this point they do not have a House tax bill to use as a vehicle. There are a few different scenarios that might play out before the legislature adjourns, including the possibility that the House property tax rebate bill that was approved earlier this week could become a vehicle for further tax amendments. An alternative scenario could involve the stadium bill, which currently includes a sales tax. We have also heard rumors that a small, relatively non-controversial tax bill might emerge late in the session and be lobbed over to the Senate. On Friday morning, one other scenario unfolded–there was a move in the House Tax Committee to reconsider the omnibus bill that died the previous evening. However, the committee overwhelmingly defeated this motion.
Eminent domain conference committee to meet next week
The conference committee on HF 2846/SF 2750*, the eminent domain reform legislation, did not meet this week. Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) announced that he would convene the committee early next week to continue work on the unresolved issues in the House and Senate bills. At this meeting we expect the conferees to consider several substantive issues, including the burden of proof for redevelopment takings, environmental contamination standards, payment of attorney fees, and compensation for loss of going concern. The conference committee chairs have also charged Rep. Abrams (R-Minnetonka) and Sen. Ortman (R-Chanhassen) to lead a working group on effective date and transition issues. We expect this working group to meet sometime next week.
Joint powers bill delayed The joint powers liability clarification bill that we expected to be considered on the House floor on Thursday was delayed until next week. The bill, HF 3079, authored by Rep. Ron Abrams (R-Minnetonka) and its Senate companion SF 2648 authored by Sen. Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope) are strongly supported by the League of Minnesota Cities, the Association of Minnesota Counties, the Minnesota School Boards Association and the Minnesota Association of Townships. The bills clarify the application of the state tort liability limits to joint powers arrangements by specifying that a single limit applies regardless of the number of governmental units participating in the joint powers entity or arrangement. The bills have been strongly opposed by the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association. They contend the legislation is unneeded and that units of government will use the clarification to avoid or minimize damage awards to injured parties. They have targeted this bill as one of their highest priorities for the 2006 session. We expect that there will be an amendment offered on the House and Senate floors to significantly increase the tort liability limits that apply to the state and local units of government. The amendment might also include a provision that would double the tort caps for incidents involving joint powers entities. The League is concerned about unreasonable increases in the tort limits and the cost implications for insurance coverage. In the past, we have periodically agreed to increases in the limits in order to prevent a legal challenge to their validity. The last adjustment to the tort caps was enacted during the 1997 legislative session. If an amendment is offered to the joint powers bill, the League will be working to ensure that any adjustment is reasonable. Please contact your representatives to indicate your support for this bill. If the legislature considers adjustments to the tort caps, the adjustments must be reasonable.
House Ways & Means Committee approves bill requiring photo ID and proof of citizenship to vote On a divided vote on Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee voted 18-14 on a heavily partisan basis to approve and pass HF 1443, authored by Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Delano), to the House floor for final action. The bill (which was featured in the Cities Bulletin on April 19) proposes far-reaching changes to voter registration and balloting procedures beginning July 1, 2007. The Senate Elections Committee voted down the companion bill, SF 923, sponsored by Sen. Michele Bachmann (R-Stillwater), when it was heard earlier this session. The League and the Minnesota Clerks & Finance Officers Association (MCFOA) presented testimony during the House committee hearing outlining concerns about: increased chances that persons qualified to vote may be denied the opportunity to do so; the difficulty of adding more duties and responsibilities for election judges to carry out on election day; and the unfunded increased costs for storage, added polling place materials and security required by the new provisions imposed at the local level. Local election officials also raised questions about how new requirements, particularly those imposing “unverified ballot” procedures, are to be carried out, citing the prospects of increased concerns for candidates and voters who are more likely to express objections to delays in reporting of final election vote totals as a result of new restrictions. Rep. Emmer, and other members of the committee who supported the legislation, emphasized the need to verify that persons registering to vote meet the eligibility criteria of U.S. citizenship and that incidents of voter fraud must be prevented by requiring voters whose names and addresses already appear on precinct voter rosters to also provide photo ID prior to casting their ballots. In the case of already registered voters, Rep. Emmer maintained that current procedures do not provide sufficient confirmation of the identity of registered voters. If the bill does come up for final House action on the floor, observers expect strong objections to be voiced as they were during the lengthy and emotional debate that took place in the House Ways & Means Committee.
Bonding bill conference committee underway In a sure sign that the end of the legislative session is near, the bonding conference committee, appointed to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bonding bill, has now traded initial offers. The early exchanges contain mostly non-controversial items that are included in both versions of the bill. Early agreement has formed around several items of priority for cities, including wastewater infrastructure projects (total of $62.1 million to WIF-grant and State Revolving Loan programs), local bridges ($55 million), flood hazard mitigation grants ($25 million), and the Northstar Commuter Rail project ($60 million). Local road funding is close to agreement as well ($15-20 million). The final bill’s total target has not been established yet, but will likely include more than $950 million worth of projects financed by state general obligation bonds. That means, however, that over $300 million of projects that were in one bill or the other will not be included in the final package. A side-by-side comparison of the House and Senate bonding bills is available online at Bonding Bill Side-by-Side
Town hall meetings Town hall meetings are a great chance to meet with your legislators and tell your city-story close to home. Upcoming meetings in a city near you include: May 6 in Park Rapids (Energy Forum at Park Rapids High School Auditorium, 301 Huntsinger Ave, 10am) with Rep. Brita Sailer May 8 in New Ulm; Staff representatives of U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman tour southwest Minnesota to discuss gas prices with local residents and businesses May 9 in Lake Crystal; Staff representatives of U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman tour southwest Minnesota to discuss gas prices with local residents and businesses May 27 – June 4 is the congressional district work period. Members of Congress will be in Minnesota meeting with constituents. City officials who have a city-story to share with our Federal elected officials should take advantage of this time to schedule a meeting! Check your local newspaper or radio station for additional dates. To receive e-mail notice of upcoming town hall meetings near you, subscribe online at http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/maillist/mailinglist.asp and http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/schedule/listserv.htm
