Capitol Update 14 4/19/2013

I cannot help but begin this Update with words of sorrow and prayer for our fellow Bostonians. Let us join together in an expression of comfort, rejection of hatred and violence, and prayer for peace. May the victims and their families feel our united spirit as we stand in strong opposition to the forces of evil, and for peace and freedom everywhere. In addition, we offer words of prayer for the victims of the horrific tragedy in Texas. Amid these events, we in St. Paul continue our work. With just over a month remaining in the 2013 Legislative Session, the Senate has been taking up some controversial issues on the floor this week. The Omnibus bills that I have been writing about for the past two Updates were on the floor, and while there is much to be proud of, I think there are also many questions on the publics mind as to what we voted on and why. Omnibus bills are unique in that they contain many other bills within them and these bills can be seemingly unrelated. This feature puts us Senators in tough positions. We may support certain provisions of the bill, but be against other provisions. We must then make a value choice as to how to vote on the total package. I struggled with this issue this week and hope that you will allow me the opportunity to share my thinking and ask for yours on a few of my tough votes. Please take the time to complete the survey at the end of the Update.

(VIDEO) Weekly update from Senator Bonoff. Click here to watch

S.F. 1589: State Department and Veterans Omnibus bill This Omnibus bill, which was on the floor on Tuesday, contains many important measures that fund our states Veteran programs. However, this bill also contained the much debated salary pay increase for public officials, as well as significant increases in funding for some departments (i.e. upgrades in technology) that while sorely needed, are tough to swallow in such fragile economic times. The pay increases are important to consider in a broader context. The Legislative and Cabinet level increases do not go into effect until 2015. There are many reasons why these increases are good policy. One of the reasons (and the most important in my mind) is that in order to attract the best and brightest to hold public office, we must offer a salary that allows the members to make ends meet. Each person serving makes significant personal sacrifice and does so willingly for the privilege of serving. As it stands, Legislators make around 30K a year. This salary limits the pool of qualified candidates, who may be able to make 3-4 times that amount in the private sector. The result is that our legislative bodies are filled with many retirees and those who have family circumstances that allow them to flexibly deal with this salary or young people without familial obligations. I believe that we must offer a salary that can attract citizens from a diverse set of backgrounds to serve in public office to better reflect the needs of the average Minnesotan. This increase makes holding office and providing for a family a real option for many who would have otherwise not considered the position. I do support this policy and believe it is overdue; however, I understand the concern with regard to timing. With our economy creeping out of a recession and our state budget finally looking manageable, I believe the citizens of Minnesota view this as a concerning move on behalf of the Legislature. I share that concern and take some comfort in knowing that it does not go into effect until 2015. If our economy declines, we can revisit this policy. The same goes for the other increases to this area of our budget its not that the monies or programs that it will fund are bad, its that we are at a critical juncture in our economic recovery and we have the opportunity to plan for the future by being frugal with our investments. The question then becomes do I vote against an entire Omnibus budget bill that provides base funding for many vital state programs because I do not support some of the provisions, or do I support the many quality policy points and investments at the risk of being misunderstood by the public? On Tuesday, I chose the latter. The reason I did so is that I believe that this issue has not yet come to a close. I do support some of the increases, and yet, not all. I believe the bill can still be crafted into something that Minnesotans will be proud to support.

Senator Bonoff on the Senate floor

S.F. 1236: Higher Education/Workforce Development Omnibus: I will not spend much time describing the bill, but I did want to give an update on the Senate floor session in which this bill was heard. SF 1236 was on the floor this past Wednesday, and passed with strong, bi-partisan support (46-18) and now moves to conference committee. There were more amendments than we had anticipated, but I was pleased with most and accepted several Republican amendments that I believe make the Omnibus a better bill. I look forward to working with my House counterparts to put forth a final bill that will make Higher Education in Minnesota affordable and accessible for our students, as well as provide for tomorrows workforce.

S.F. 1607: Environment, Agriculture, and Jobs Omnibus: This bill was up on the Senate floor Friday afternoon and passed onto conference committee. Within the Omnibus, was one of my bills, S.F. 352 (the Snowbate bill), which offers a tax incentive to Film and T.V. production companies that choose to film in Minnesota. We are all aware of films like Fargo, Grumpy Old Men, and even the Mighty Ducks franchise. What many are unaware of is exactly how much economic revenue these films generated for Minnesota. Minnesota was actually the first state to offer incentives for filming in-state, but since our initial investment, we have fallen behind most every state. We are missing out on opportunities to not only put ourselves on the map, but also to create significant economic opportunities for small town businesses that will support production needs. Every $1.00 invested in Snowbate returns $6.00 in Minnesota economic activity. While I did have reservations on the total spending target of the Omnibus bill, I believe this project is well worth the money we have allocated for it. Another key provision in this bill relates to the workforce development efforts our Higher Education committee tackled. This section calls for a labor market analysis, a study regarding post-secondary offerings in light of market demands, and a pilot project that utilizes our workforce center career professionals to augment career counseling in High School. I have viewed all policy this session through the lens of promoting economic stability and growth, preparing our workforce of tomorrow and providing for the most vulnerable among us. I had strong concerns in the bill with regard to one provision that would have extended unemployment benefits for workers in a lockout for an additional two years. There was an amendment to delete this and it passed by a narrow margin. Deleting this, combined with the inclusion of the pro-jobs initiatives made this an easy vote.

Survey Question:
Omnibus bills are unique in that they contain many other bills within them and these bills can be seemingly unrelated. This feature puts us Senators in tough positions. We may support certain provisions of the bill, but be against other provisions. So now I ask you how would you vote? Click here to respond

We will be in Finance until late tonight and back on the floor tomorrow. Tune in next week for the additional bill reviews- HHS, Transportation, and Taxes.

Stay tuned for further updates and, as always, let me know what you think. Best Regards,

Terri Bonoff