Week of January 11, 2009

DTV conversion: Our telecommunications committee heard from experts about the impending conversion to digital television signals. There is a ton of information available about what you may need to do on-line.

My transportation project for the session: Senator Dibble and I are working on an initiative to find efficiencies for community based transit (CBT). CBT is transit that serves seniors and the disabled. Because of all the "silos" of money from the federal government that fund different programs, many of the vans and buses for these services are idle when they could be serving additional people. CBT is expensive--dial-a-ride service is often $20-$25 per ride one-way, although riders usually only pay a few dollars so that they can afford it. This is three or four times as expensive as mass transit. State agencies have been working on this so we have an opportunity to save money and improve service. More to come!

State of the state: The Governor gave his State of the State address on Thursday. During the last speech I heard from Tim Pawlenty at the Chamber of Commerce two weeks ago, I agreed with 95% of what he said about the need to get smarter with state and local government spending. Another time in the last month or so he suggested that a fiscal crisis can bring people together and the barriers that we put up to good ideas will be lowered out of necessity. Another good speech that focused on problem solving. However, I was pretty confused with the State of the State. The Governor said that taxes are out of the question (no surprise) and talked about removing a lot of costly state mandates for local governments. But then he outlined a bunch of new mandates for school districts, additional spending for K-12 schools, and a cap on tuition for higher education. I look forward to seeing how are we going to pay for these new projects and mandates in about two weeks when his budget is released.

Per diem: WCCO did what seems like an annual story about legislative per diem. Yours truly is third from the bottom out of 201 legislators.

Suburban DFL co-chair: At a meeting of the DFL Suburban Caucus on Monday, I was elected co-chair along with Rep. Bev Scalze and Rep. Mike Obermuller. There are 39 Democrats from the suburbs out of 87 members.

Revenues down for last two months of 2008: We received an update from Minnesota Management & Budget (the old Department of Finance) that shows that tax revenues in the last two months of 2008 were below forecast, or more than $100 million, or down 4.5% percent overall, with sales tax down 4.4%, corporate tax down 42%, and income tax down 3.3%. That means that there could be additional budget cuts before the end of the current fiscal year that ends June 30th.

Budget trends commission: The Budget Trends Study Commission issued its recommendations this week. The legislature asked a group of former finance commissioners and other experts to help figure out how to even out Minnesota's tax revenue over time. Their report covered a variety of issues including: the impact of Minnesota's changing demographics on the budget; revenue volatility; trend growth rates; current spending pressures; long term revenue forecasts; and projected expenditure obligations. The recommendations included boosting our budget reserves so that the state can weather a major deficit without cutting major services or raising taxes excessively; taking note of a long-term demographic shift to an older population with fewer taxpaying workers; and reining in health care costs. The Commission noted that it will be hard to change the tax system to provide more even revenue flows and even then the volatility will not go away. The U of M has commented more on this on-line.

One Minnesota Conference: All legislators were invited to attend a conference on Wednesday to hear about global and economic trends that affect what we do at the state. One of the better speakers talked about how states and regions have done well economically when they figure out what they are good at and then create "clusters" of businesses and industries that feed into that strength. Other speakers talked about how states can boost economic development of these clusters--like "green jobs"--with tax credits, grants, and investment in higher education institutions. So I had to ask a question, "In a time of fiscal austerity, how can the state boost the green economy without tax credits, grants, and investment in higher education?" The audience burst out laughing, mostly because it correctly characterized our fiscal situation and lack of options. Dark humor I guess. The panelist responded that even without funding, government can set rules of the game for the market.

Blaine airport public meeting: A citizen group called Concerned Citizens of the North Metro Area is having a meeting regarding the possible expansion of the Anoka County Airport in Blaine. The meeting is Thursday, January 29th from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Mounds View Community Center. Blog readers will recall that citizens were not happy about Anoka County trying to push for expansion at the legislature without much public input.

Schedule: Monday included a meeting of the DFL Suburban Caucus, a short floor session, a meeting of the Tax Committee, and a meeting with local Education MN members; Tuesday included meetings of the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, the Tax Committee, and Health Care & Human Services Policy, plus meetings with Healthy Legacy about their legislative platform and DFLers on the Environmental Policy Committee. On Wednesday, I was at the Humphrey Institute for the OneMinnesota Conference. Thursday included meetings of the Environmental Finance Committee, the DFL House Caucus, Health Care & Human Services Policy, and Environmental Policy, plus a floor session for the State of the State address and a meeting of the Ramsey County legislative delegation. Friday included a meeting of the Telecommunications Regulation and Infrastructure Division, and a training for committee chairs and vice-chairs.

Visitors: Representative of Parks & Trails Council of MN; representatives of bio-degradable plastics industry about compost issues; DNR staff about drinking water legislation follow-up; lobbyist for Coalition of Greater MN Cities about local government aid; lobbyist for MN Paratransit Association about legislation; former district resident about internship; staff from Chief Clerk's office about tracking legislation in omnibus bills; House Research staff about legislation I'm working on

Constituent contacts: Lino Lakes resident pleased that I'm third from the bottom in per diem; Shoreview resident who liked the Governor's speech; district resident about workers comp issue; North Oaks resident against allowing the school year to start before Labor Day; Shoreview resident against higher per diem; Shoreview resident against cuts to K-12 education; Shoreview resident against tighter licensing of interior designers; Lino Lakes resident against requiring private homes to have sprinklers (the Pioneer Press ran a story about some experts proposing this); Lino Lakes resident commenting about the $700 billion bailout and how it should go to regular people instead of banks; Shoreview resident suggesting that property taxes should be replaced with a 2% income tax to local governments; Shoreview resident about internship; Shoreview resident against Rep. Rukavina's idea of an income tax surcharge; Lexington resident with ten suggestions for balancing the budget; Lino Lakes resident wanting the state to get subsidies back from Northwest Airlines and against per diem; Shoreview resident about a matter with drivers and vehicle services; Shoreview and North Oaks residents sending cards with legislative platform of MN Utility Investors

Early August 2008

Energy interview: About two weeks ago I was interviewed by Senate Media Services for their weekly Capitol Report show. It appears on Saturday nights at 9:00 p.m. so I know you all watched it! (Ha, ha.) My segment was eight minutes and it was part of a 30 minute show about the energy situation generally. You can watch it on-line.

Test your citizenship knowledge: As an amateur genealogist, I got a newsletter from the Ellis Island Foundation. They have a Citizenship Knowledge Test on-line. I thought you might want to try it out! There are five quizzes of 20 questions each. (I got 98 out of 100.)

Per diem: The recent letter to the editor dialogue that I am having with one of my opponents, John Kappler, has raised the issue of per diem for legislators. A 2007 blog post discusses this in detail and you'll see that I have one of the lowest per diems in the state legislature.

Vanishing Graduates & Minnesota's Future: I received a DVD from the President of the Chamber of Commerce and the head of Growth & Justice about how we are going to be short of college graduates as the baby boomers retire. It was a 30-minute video produced with Twin Cities Public Television that you can watch on-line. There is a companion web site that has lots of background information. Currently only 25 percent of ninth graders in Minnesota will end up completing a college degree, and even that is one of the highest rates in the country.

Rice Creek Chain of Lakes: One of the hidden gems in the north metro (and my district) is the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Park Reserve in Lino Lakes. My family just went camping for two nights there, and what a deal! We almost had the run of the place because there were very few people there. Anoka County does a great job maintaining the facility.

Schedule: On Tuesday, August 5th, I attended a National Night Out "lunch" at Scandia Shores, a senior apartment building in Shoreview. (I don't think that they stay up late enough to have an evening event!) I had the chance to meet quite a few of the residents, but I'm afraid I was not as popular as the fire department when their truck pulled up. Oh, well! I also met with a group of about five constituents from the Centennial School District to hear their thoughts about education policy and finance, and met with about half a dozen constituents about environmental issues.

On Friday, August 8th, I attended the second meeting of the Legislative Coordinating Commission Working Group on Ethnic Heritage & New Americans. I'm the House DFL Caucus member on the group and Rep. Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) is the Republican House Caucus member. The purpose of this group is to propose ways to fully integrate new Americans into Minnesota, including into the work force. All the data show that we will be desperately short of labor within a decade. Members of the business community, academia, and nonprofit organizations are members. We had a productive discussion about how to accomplish our mission, and I will be heading up a subcommittee dealing with ethnic heritage along with Senator Patricia Torres-Ray (originally from Columbia) and John Poupart of the American Indian Affairs Council. Immigration will be a major issue in this group. Dr. Bruce Corrie of Concordia University, a member of the working group, has his own blog on the issue of "ethnic trends" that I am reviewing now.

Constituent contacts: Shoreview constituent concerned about drunk drivers; two Shoreview constituents and Circle Pines resident asking for investigation of out-of-state welfare spending; Shoreview resident supporting commitment to education to help Minnesota compete globally; Shoreview resident asking that the federal government re-open the 9/11 Commission report; Lino Lakes about transferability of college credits from one MnSCU campus to another; Shoreview resident pleased with my per diem rate; Shoreview resident about veterans' benefits

Week of January 6, 2007

Additional Town Hall Meeting Scheduled: In addition to the Town Hall meeting that Senator Rummel and I will hold on January 23rd at 7:00 p.m. in Lino Lakes, we will also hold a meeting on January 30th at 7:00 p.m. at Shoreview City Hall.

Per Diem: I understand that KSTP-TV did a report on legislators' per diem and how high it is. In a previous post when all the per diem rates were decided, you will see that I voted during a rules debate to force the full House of Representatives to vote on the per diem increase to $77 per day. My own per diem is $35 per day, which is the lowest of any legislator who accepts per diem. So I'm #199 out of 201 current legislators. (#200 is a member who just won a special election, so he hasn't received any regular session per diem yet.)

Postage Returned to State: In 2007, the House alloted $1968.00 in postage for my office. (I suppose it is the same amount for other representatives.) By December 31st, I used just $820.22, which means that $1,147.78 goes back to the state treasury. I still have a bunch of stamps left over too. Anyway, it's not a huge amount, but I saved some for the taxpayer!

Income Growth Report: The U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis just reported that Minnesota was number 50 (dead last) in "seasonally adjusted personal income growth" from the second to the third quarter in 2007. You can see a press release and accompanying tables on-line.

Vikings Stadium Talk?: A constituent called me the other night reporting on activities of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission related to a possible new Vikings Stadium. While the chances for a taxpayer-funded stadium in Blaine across the highway from my district seem to have passed (FYI, I was against the stadium and supported a referendum on any proposed Anoka-County only sales tax increase), the team is looking at the possibility of tearing down the Metrodome and building a new stadium. The MSFC is touting a recently completed McGladrey Report showing the economic benefits of sports stadiums. I don't buy it and cannot support taxpayer funding for a football stadium when we have so many other needs right now. There will be an open house and public meeting in Minneapolis on January 16th at 6:30 p.m. Here's a story on the economics of the Twins stadium that will give you a flavor for any future stadium discussion.

Schedule: On Monday, I met with Senator Rummel on issues of mutual interest. In the afternoon, I attended a joint hearing of the House Environmental Finance Committee and the Senate Environment & Natural Resources Finance Committee on wastewater. Speakers included the U of M on its onsite sewage treatment program; the U of M on using phosphorus and nitrogen from wastewater treatment to create algae for biofuels; the U of M on endocrine disruptors and pharmaceuticals in wastewater; and the MPCA on wastewater project financing. In the evening, I attended a meeting and presentation by Education Minnesota members from the Mounds View and Centennial School Districts. The presentation was on their legislative agenda for 2008. Major priorities include a statewide health insurance pool for teachers and the Rule of 90 retirement rules.

On Tuesday, I participated as a Project Citizen judge at Irondale High School in New Brighton. Rep. Knuth, former Rep. Steve Dehler, and I listened to 9th grader presentations on six different issues and how those students would solve a problem. Projects included arsenic in playground equipment, phosphorus in Long Lake, E-waste recycling, the Hennepin County waste incinerator, juvenile detention alternatives, and the Mounds View Community Center. The kids did a good job, although for the rest of the day I found myself using the words "like" and "whatever" a bit too much! During mid-day, I met in St. Paul with a staffer for a Congressional campaign. In the afternoon, I spoke to a group of canvassers for Clean Water Action in Minneapolis about the work of my Drinking Water Source Protection Subcommittee. Later I met by phone with some of my House colleagues about some potential legislation on consumer issues.

On Wednesday, I visited two power plants with members and staff for the House and Senate energy committees. The first was Xcel's Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant. This is one of two nuclear power plants in Minnesota and it generates about 600 megawatts. The second was Xcel's Sherburne County Plant (Sherco) in Becker. This is the largest coal burning power plant in the state at 2,400 megawatts. (Xcel's power plants in MN generate about 15,000 megawatts by comparison, or roughly half the state's electrical capacity.) The comparison was interesting. At the nuclear plant, security was very tight. I don't want to reveal that much about it, but let's just say that security knows where you are at any moment as a visitor and the guards are heavily armed with automatic or semi-automatic weapons! The plant is upgrading so that it can produce about another 90 megawatts over the next few years. Nuclear plants make people nervous because of the possibility of an accident, but the physical footprint of the plant was quite small and the fuel rods are good for about 22 months. The Sherco plant by contrast is a sprawling site with a coal ash landfill and a huge pile of coal (about 400 tons burned an hour), it's dirty, and it is probably the biggest emitter of greenhouse gas gases--mostly carbon dioxide--in the state. As a member of the energy committee, I do the math about our electrical supply. We've set the nation's most aggressive renewable energy goal. We've passed aggressive conservation and efficiency goals. We're investing in alternative technologies. But that still won't replace big existing power plants yet because renewables and conservation won't add up to 100% of our current supply. So the question arises--if carbon emissions from coal plants are now considered really bad, and nuclear power is considered undesirable, what public policy tradeoffs will there be?

On Thursday morning, I attended a meeting in Blaine where Anoka County presented its 2008 legislative agenda. The 2007 one is on-line so perhaps the new one will be on-line soon. Later in the day, I attended a presentation of "checks" to two arts groups in our area that came from the Metro Regional Arts Council. One of the recipients was the City of Shoreview, which got a $1,600 grant for the summer concert series at its pavillion. In the evening, I attended a reception for legislators at a joint meeting of the Metro North, Anoka, and Twin Cities North Chambers of Commerce. I was sort of expecting the chambers to tell us (there were about 15 legislators present) what their platform is but they wanted us to talk.

On Friday, Senator Rummel and I attended a legislative breakfast with the Centennial School District board, administration, and parent advocacy groups. Our education budget in 2007 included a significant down payment on special education mandates for school districts, so Centennial received some much needed funding that way this year. Two other legislators in attendance brought out the issue of "equity", saying that the formula dollars currently allocated should be shuffled differently among school districts without consideration for the number of special education students or those with language issues. Respectfully, this is just code for "I don't want to put in any more money into education," and I've seen these statements before! The most compelling argument for education funding reform is from a groups called P.S. Minnesota, which is suggesting that we need to figure out what it actually costs to educate a child and work backwards from there in the budget process. The Centennial Legislative Action Committee also has a platform available on-line.

Later in the morning, I attended a joint House-Senate hearing on the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group (MCCAG), which is recommending policy options for the 2008 legislation on how to combat global warming. The MCCAG gave us tables showing us dozens of ways (no till agricultural crop management, urban forestry, lowering the speed limit, better appliance standards, etc.) to reduce carbon emissions through 2025 and the cost per ton of those reductions. Of particular interest to me are the components that involve recycling, solid waste, and composting. (Recycling gives an extremely big bang for the buck on carbon emission reductions, FYI.) The MCCAG will complete their recommendations by the end of the month.

In the afternoon, I attended another joint House-Senate hearing on state parks and trails from the DNR. The DNR showed us a list of $143,640 in projects that have not been completed due to lack of funding. They include things like facility protection, campground renovation, and the like. In addition, the agency is discussing the possibility of acquiring a new state park on Lake Vermillion for roughly $40 from U.S. Steel, which would otherwise sell the land to developers. Much discussion ensued as to whether we have the money to secure the land and meet the needs of other state parks.

Constituent contacts: North Oaks resident supporting treatment for adolescent depression and school violence; Lexington resident supporting legalization of marijuana for medical purposes; Lino Lakes resident supporting use of lottery proceeds for additional purposes; Lino Lakes resident and Shoreview resident supporting a ban on hunting of mourning doves; four Lino Lakes residents against a ban on hunting mourning doves; Lino Lakes resident supporting the Governor's latest initiative against illegal immigration; North Oaks resident about buckthorn; Lino Lakes resident asking about Met Council rules and procedures; five constituents sending form letter e-mails asking for crackdown on illegal immigration; Lino Lakes resident against taxpayer funding for a Vikings Stadium; Blaine resident about crime issues in her area; Shoreview resident regarding MN Board of Medical Practice; Lino Lakes resident supporting dedicating funding bill for the outdoors