Week of April 22, 2007: Smoking Ban, E-Waste, Taxes

After a grueling week last week passing all our finance bills, I got some sleep and we went back at it on Monday. We had a floor session on Monday, including an address by the Swedish Ambassador Gunnar Lund, and a caucus meeting. Conference committees have started meeting to work out differences between the House and Senate. I have been monitoring the Public Safety conference committee because my scrap metal bill is included in the House omnibus bill. I have been discussing the differences between the House and Senate versions with Senator Linda Higgins (DFL-Minneapolis), who is the Senate author of the scrap metal bill. This is a very interesting process and I hope to update you on it soon.

On Tuesday we passed a bill that I've worked on or followed for several years. The bill, HF854, is a bill to create a comprehensive recycling infrastructure for residential electronic waste. The bill's author, Rep. Brita Sailer (DFL-Park Rapids), and I have worked together in recycling since 1997. The bill asks manufacturers to take a role in covering the cost of recycling electronics. We have a good set of private electronics recyclers in the state, but a lot of Minnesotans are not taking their old TV sets and computers to a recycling center because they usually have to pay a hefty fee. Over time, recycling of these items from your house will eventually be free so that we keep this material--which contains a lot of heavy metals--out of the ditches and the garbage. I spoke on the floor several times on some of the logistical issues surrounding the bill, and I was the "whip" with DFLers on the bill. That means I spoke to my colleagues to answer any questions about the intent of the bill and any amendments. In the end the bill passed by a whopping 112 to 21, with all DFLers voting for it and more than half of the Republicans voting for it.

I would like to note that Rep. Dennis Ozment (R-Rosemount) has led the fight for this bill in previous sessions, sometimes against the wishes of his colleagues and leadership.

The bill took about four hours to debate. We also had a caucus meeting and I taped a cable TV program updating constituents about the legislature's progress. Later in the afternoon, I sat in for a while on the game and fish division to hear testimony on the proposed constitutional amendment to increase the sales tax by 3/8% for clean water, habitat, and the arts.

On Wednesday, we had two caucus meetings and a floor session of a few hours. We took up several relatively uncontroversial bills on the floor and we considered the majority and minority reports from the House Taxes Committee. It is rare (I'm told) to see minority reports from the minority party presented on the floor. If we vote to accept the minority report, then we reject the majority's bill passed out of a committee. In this case, we were voting on which version of the House Tax Committee report to send to the Ways & Means Committee. The minority report includes the Governor's tax proposal, which to most of us would lead to another increase in property taxes. The majority report includes an increase in the income tax (but provide about $500 million in property tax cuts) and it will most assuredly lead to a Gubernatorial veto. I voted against both of them. I felt the minority report included a lot of gimmicks on taxes that we've seen in recent years, and the majority report is headed to a veto. Constituents have told me that they are tired of gimmicks and tired of game-playing with the budget process with vetoes and so on--they just want us to work with the Governor to get things done, and on time. So my vote was made to show that some of us are trying to push the different sides to a successful negotiation.

On Thursday, we took up the the tax committee majority and minority reports that came from the Ways & Means Committee. Again, I voted against both of them.

Our major bill for the day was the smoking ban. The constituent feedback was so overwhelming in favor of this bill. The amendments of interest that I supported included S0238A11 (restricts smoking in bars only to a smoking room where workers cannot enter--suggested by author--passed 81-52); HDA-341 (would add casinos to the smoking ban--it failed 60-71); S0238A6 (extends ban to tribal land--it failed 57-73); and A07-0845 (exempted retail tobacco products shops--it passed 74-58). I received ONE constituent contact this session asking for a specific exemption--the one on smoke shops listed above. I received a few e-mails during the session opposing the ban on the basis of property rights. The rest of the contacts--several dozen by e-mail, phone, letters, and in person--were in favor of a smoking ban without exemptions for bars and so on. The bill passed 85 to 45 and I voted for it.

On Friday, we considered the House Omnibus Tax bill. I outlined the main features of this bill in an April 1st blog entry. I thought that Rep. Ann Lenczewski, the House Tax Committee Chair, and Rep. Paul Marquart, the Chair of the Property Tax Division, did a very good job of putting this together. Rep. Marquart got a lot of great input from citizens around the state about property taxes. Rep. Lenczewski is also not interested in putting a lot of subsidies in the tax bills like big tax breaks for the Mall of America expansion or Thomson West in Eagan. As you might imagine, the controversial part of the bill was a boost in the income tax, which would go directly to property tax relief. Nothing helps raise voices in the House chamber like taxes!

While I thought that this bill was well thought out and has some merit, I and 10 other DFLers, mostly from the suburbs, voted against this bill, but it passed 73-60. (I think that vote total is correct--I wrote it down but can't find it right now.) Why did I vote against this bill? Because I am getting increasingly frustrated that we are just engaging in game-playing on this budget. The governor has shown absolutely no flexibility on the income tax issue and therefore this bill would be vetoed. To override a veto, the House needs 90 votes, and those votes are not there. During the campaign, constituents consistently asked me to not engage in a lot of politicking and to get the job done. I know that the leaders of the House and Senate are meeting with the Governor now on various budget issues, and I wish them luck. But until we get closer to a final resolution, I am not going to fool around on a topic that my constituents take very seriously.

Constituent contacts: Two Shoreview residents seeking 3.25% salary supplement for state employees; Shoreview resident against good faith insurance provision in omnibus commerce finance bill; North Oaks resident supporting an exemption for smoke shops in the smoking ban bill; Shoreview resident against the good faith provision; Lino Lakes resident supporting searchable state grant and contract database; Circle Pines resident supporting strong smoking ban; Lino Lakes resident against use of public money for foot bath facilities at Minneapolis Community & Technical College; Anoka County lobbyist about a trail bonding proposal; North Oaks resident about groundwater quality; Lino Lakes resident supporting better teacher compensation; Shoreview resident supporting a strong smoking ban; Lino Lakes resident supporting a strong smoking ban; Shoreview resident against taxes; Shoreview pediatrician supporting a strong smoking ban; Shoreview resident against taxes and increase in per diem; Circle Pines resident against taxes and supporting a strong smoking ban; unidentified resident supporting an exemption for smoke shops in the smoking ban bill; two Shoreview resident supporting more funding for the arts; residents from Shoreview (4), Lino Lakes (1), and Blaine (1) in support of HF1442, the Compassionate Care for Sexual Assault Victims Act; Lexington resident supporting a strong smoking ban; Shoreview resident supporting a strong smoking ban; Blaine resident supporting puppy mill bill; Shoreview resident supporting a gas tax increase, health coverage for all kids, and more affordable higher education; Shoreview resident supporting strong family planning language in the health bill; Shoreview resident supporting payment card industry data security standards; Shoreview resident supporting a strong smoking ban, against public subsidies for a Vikings stadium, and against a new income tax bracket; City of Lexington and North Suburban Communications Commission with comments about HF2351, a bill to promote video competition; North Oaks resident supporting progressive tax policy, universal health care, education, and environmental caucuses; Lino Lakes resident supporting an increase in the income tax; Lino Lakes resident supporting education funding and against public subsidies for a Vikings stadium; Shoreview resident against taxes; Lino Lakes residents against new taxes; unidentified constituent supporting the Dream Act; Shoreview resident supporting good faith provision; Lino Lakes resident supporting education funding; Lino Lakes resident seeking less violence on cable television; two Shoreview residents against child support enforcement grants; Shoreview resident seeking a 3.25% salary supplement for public employees; Lino Lakes? resident supporting education funding; Shoreview resident seeking education funding; Shoreview resident supporting education funding; Lino Lakes resident seeking education funding; North Oaks resident seeking education funding; Shoreview resident against good faith provision; Lino Lakes resident seeking education funding; Shoreview resident seeking education funding; Lexington resident seeking education funding; Shoreview resident seeking education funding; Lino Lakes resident seeking education funding; Shoreview resident seeking education funding; Circle Pines resident seeking education funding; Lino Lakes resident seeking education funding; Shoreview resident against further gun restrictions; Shoreview dentist against a tax on cosmetic surgery; Lino Lakes resident seeking education funding; Shoreview resident resident seeking education funding; Shoreview resident seeking special education funding; Lino Lakes resident seeking education funding; Lino Lakes resident seeking education funding; Shoreview resident against good faith provision; North Oaks resident seeking education funding; Lino Lakes resident seeking education funding; Shoreview resident supporting strong funding and policy language for family planning; Circle Pines resident against good faith provision; Shoreview resident seeking education funding; Shoreview resident supporting a constituent amendment to ban gay marriage; unidentified resident supporting special education funding; Lino Lakes resident seeking education funding; Lino Lakes resident supporting statewide health insurance pool for educators; Lino Lakes resident seeking education funding; Shoreview resident supporting tax increases for education; Shoreview resident seeking education funding; Circle Pines resident supporting special education funding; Circle Pines resident seeking education funding; Lino Lakes resident seeking education funding; Lino Lakes resident seeking education funding and voluntary full-day kindergarten; North Oaks MD seeking an active oversight committee for the Health Care Access Fund; North Oaks business owner against further gun regulation; Shoreview resident seeking education funding; Lino Lakes resident against good faith provision; Lino Lakes resident against regulation of mortgage lenders; Shoreview resident against good faith provision; Lino Lakes resident against good faith provision; Blaine resident against further gun regulation; Lino Lakes resident against good faith provision; Circle Pines resident supporting a gas tax increase and against more investment in E85; Shoreview resident against the good faith provision; Shoreview resident supporting strong family planning language and funding; Lino Lakes resident supporting an income tax increase; Circle Pines resident supporting strong family planning language and funding; Shoreview resident seeking tax cuts; Shoreview resident supporting family planning language and funding; Shoreview resident supporting family planning language and funding; Lino Lakes resident against good faith provision; Shoreview resident supporting clean water funding; North Oaks couple supporting global warming bill; Lino Lakes resident supporting clean water funding; Circle Pines resident against good faith provision; Shoreview resident against good faith provision; unidentified resident against new taxes and spending; Lino Lakes resident supporting wetlands provisions in environmental finance bill; Shoreview resident supporting clean water funding; North Oaks resident supporting E85; North Oaks resident supporting a litter education campaign; Lino Lakes resident supporting the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act; Shoreview resident seeking income tax exemption for federal retirees