Dear Friends,
Things continue to move quickly in the Minnesota House, as the first and second deadline for bills needing to be heard will be next Friday. Because of this, the committee process is in full swing, as everyone wants their bills to move forward this session!
HOW A STATE AGENCY CAN “KILL” A BILL
As a legislator who wants to get things done that will actually work to solve problems and deal with important issues for the people of our state, I want to share with you a very frustrating and unfortunately all too common experience in the legislature.
First, the good news. A DFL colleague brought a bill before the House Education Policy Committee, of which I am co-chair, concerning anonymous threat reporting systems for schools which is a system that will aid in preventing suicides and violent acts. Our GOP committee members supported the concept, but the heavy mandate upon schools in the bill was a no-go for us. Instead of just saying “no,” both DFL and GOP representatives agreed to work together on the bill to come up with a bipartisan solution. Together, we developed a bill which we could all support that would create opportunities and encourage schools to voluntarily adopt an anonymous threat reporting system at low or no cost.
This is what people want to see - legislators working together across the aisle to find areas of agreement and get it done. Every committee member agreed that this is one piece of the puzzle that can help keep our schools and children safe. As co-chair, I scheduled my DFL colleague's final bill to come back before our committee to vote to send it to the floor for a full House vote.
And now the frustrating part. Although this bill had been heard in committee three weeks prior, with plenty of time for feedback from the public and state agencies, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) stepped in the morning of the scheduled committee vote. It announced that the bill had a cost to the agency and requested a fiscal note. As a result, the bill author pulled the bill, and we never had our bipartisan committee vote.
There is a component in the bill that requires MDE to produce a modest report in 2029 with the requirement that the department use existing dollars within MDE to pay for the report. The agency says they need extra funding - above and beyond their operating budget - to produce this report.
We have a saying in the Legislature: "Death by fiscal note." State agencies, under the governor’s jurisdiction, can basically "kill" a bill by insisting that extra funding is needed for the agency to accomplish bill requirements. For the cost of a modest report three years out, this agency has basically killed this bipartisan bill that would help keep kids safer at school.
I understand the need for extra funding when we have bills that would create new programs requiring multiple new staff. However, this is a simple and modest report that should be accomplished within the agency’s current well financed operating budget. It’s their job, and they shouldn’t need extra funding to do their job.
I won’t bore you with the facts like the $63 million per year MDE receives for its operating budget, that they were given an operating increase in last year’s negotiations at the administration’s insistence, and were allowed to carry forward an additional $8 million from the previous year. There’s more. What I will add is that, while the governor’s agency received its operating increase last year, our schools were doled out cuts. It’s one of the reasons I voted against the education omnibus bill last session.
It’s time for legislators to push back on these agency practices, and that’s what I’m doing. The Department should use funding within their more than generous budget to pay for this report. They have a history of moving around their funds to pay for the things they care about, so they should certainly be able to pay for a modest report for a bipartisan bill that will help keep our schools safer.
I hope we can keep this bill alive. I’ll keep you updated!
GOVERNOR’S REVISED BUDGET PLAN INCLUDES MORE EDUCATION CUTS
Governor Walz unveiled a supplemental budget plan this week. While it did contain some proposals that would garner bipartisan support – such as modernizing the technology systems our counties use to implement social services programs – proposed cuts to nursing homes and local schools, along with tax increases, are nonstarters for me.
Schools are set to see a $250 million cut in special education in the 2028-29 biennium according to legislation that was negotiated into the education omnibus bill that passed last of session. This is one of the reasons I voted against that bill despite being an education committee chair and some of my own legislation being included in that bill. Unless a newly created Blue Ribbon Commission can find $250 million in savings, these cuts will soon become a reality for our schools.
Well, Governor Walz has now proposed an additional $50 million cut to special education on top of that, creating a $300 million cut overall if his idea becomes law. We can certainly find better ways to smartly fund education and make sure we take a laser approach and only funding programs that show themselves effective. However, these massive "shotgun approach" cuts are not the way to go, especially at a time when schools are already sinking under the 68+ new unfunded and underfunded mandates that were passed two years ago.
ANTI-GROOMING LEGISLATION CONTINUES MAKING PROGRESS
My legislation that seeks to prevent grooming in Minnesota’s schools continues moving forward. This week the bill received unanimous approval in the House Children’s and Families Finance and Policy Committee and now heads to the House Education Finance Committee for further debate.
The legislation strengthens protection for students against sexual grooming by providing clear field trip supervision rules, improves mandatory reporting and mandated reporter training to include grooming, and creates a new felony penalty for grooming. It allows grooming of children and youth to become a more chargeable and recognizable offense.
LOCAL VISITS
It was such a pleasure and honor to have Pastor Sa Ba Taw of Zion Karen Baptist Church in Albert Lea as our guest chaplain during a House floor session this week.
Pastor Sa gave a powerful and scripture filled prayer. He also brough some guests to St. Paul, and it was good to see them as well. Thank you, Pastor Sa!
Have a good weekend,
Peggy