Legislative Update - Happy Fourth of July!

Summer continues to fly by! The Fourth of July is already here and I hope you and your family get a chance to stop by Eagan’s July 4 FunFest and celebrate our great nation.

DataBank planning $50 million Eagan data center

Last week we received some good news: DataBank is turning the former Taystee Foods building into a data center to serve the region! This data center will serve as a space for companies to deploy servers and other data equipment. This data center will help bring additional businesses and jobs to our region.

Eagan and the state have been working for a few years to attract data centers. Last year, the Legislature expanded tax exemption for data centers looking to expand in Minnesota.

New Laws Take Effect

On July 1, a number of new laws passed during the 2014 Session went into effect. Some of the major new laws are posted below.

E-Cigarettes: A ban on the use of electronic cigarettes applies to daycares, hospitals, clinics and other health care facilities, some facilities licensed by the Health and Human Services departments, as well as buildings owned or operated by the following: state, county, city, township, charter, school district, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and the University of Minnesota. The new law also allows local governments to regulate e-cigarettes; and makes selling e-cigarettes to minors a misdemeanor crime.

Effective Aug. 1, 2014, or Jan. 1, 2015, depending on contract dates, e-cigarettes will also not be sold at kiosks. The liquid for use in e-cigarette devices must come in child-resistant packaging beginning Jan. 1, 2015. I was the chief author of much of this legislation in the House. These provisions are solely aimed at keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of Minnesota’s children. While e-cigarettes may not have the dangerous smoke that regular cigarettes have, the vapor does contain formaldehyde and other dangerous chemicals. E-cigarettes also come in candy flavors that appeal to children — a tactic the tobacco industry has historically used to target kids.

Women’s Economic Security Act: This legislation aims to address issues like the gender pay gap, workplace protections for pregnant and new moms and the creation of employment opportunities for women in high-wage, high-demand professions.

Budget Reserve: Minnesota Management and Budget announced the addition of $150 million to our state budget reserve. This action was taken by the legislature this year as a way to improve the fiscal health of our state and our economy. As a result our reserves are at a record high. Increasing our budget reserves provides greater long term stability for our state and increases our ratings by bond rating agencies.

E-12 Education: Out of $54 million in new money allotted for E-12 education, $23 million will go to a $25-per-pupil increase in the basic education formula. The formula increase is ongoing.  Thanks to additional investments, the cap on early learning scholarships will be removed and funding for those scholarships, as well early childhood family education scholarships, will be increased by $4.7 million each. The law also provides $3.5 million for school lunch and food storage and provides $569,000 so that all kindergartners’ can have a school breakfast.

Health and Human Services: Because of action by the legislature, home- and community-based service providers will receive a 5 percent rate increase. The supplemental budget also included additional funding for the Homeless Youth Act, which I was proud to chief author.

For more details on the new laws that are now in effect, click on this link: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/newlaws2014-0.asp.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for the honor of serving you in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Sincerely,

Laurie Halverson

State Representative

District 51B