Legislative Update - March 14, 2014

The 2014 Session continues its quick pace with dozens of committee hearings as we wrap up the third week.

School Lunches

On Thursday we passed HF 2480, a bill increasing state funding for reduced price lunches on a unanimous vote of 130-0.

On February 10, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid released a report that detailed the extent to which Minnesota school districts either turn away kids who cannot afford lunch or provide them with a less nutritious alternative meal. The vast majority of the kids affected are those receiving reduced-price lunches.

HF 2480 tackles this issue by increasing state aid for reduced-price school lunch by 40 cents, which has the effect of making them free lunches. The bill also prohibits a district from charging a lunch fee to a student who is free or reduced-price lunch eligible.

Our students should have access to a nutritious lunch, regardless of family circumstances. We all know that going hungry without a hot lunch not only impacts student health, it negatively impacts a student’s ability to learn. I’m pleased we were able to pass this bill in a bipartisan fashion today.

Unsession

The Governor has instructed his agencies to comb through our state statutes so that we can eliminate outdated or unnecessary laws. This proposal alone would eliminate over 1,000 of those incomprehensible or redundant statutes. Some of them are just plain ridiculous laws that we still have on the books like:

·         Right now it is a misdemeanor to carry fruit in an illegally-sized container.

·         There are more state laws regulating the telegraph industry than laws regulating the   Internet.

·         Since 1937, it has been illegal to drive a car in neutral (despite it being impossible to drive a car in neutral).  

More examples can be found here. We can certainly get these laws off the book and make our state law books more clear and understandable.

Making Government More User-Friendly

Plain Language: Many of the other Unsession proposals are focused on making government more user-friendly for small businesses and families across Minnesota. One of the simplest changes will come through an executive order that requires state agencies to use plain language that everyone can understand. Some of these changes are already underway. For example, it used to take “11 clicks” from the DNR homepage to reserve a campsite online. Now, campers can get a reservation in “2 clicks.”

Several examples are available by clicking here.

Permitting reform: Too often, our small businesses are forced to wait many months to have their permits approved. Right now, 97 percent of environmental permits for economic development projects are issued in less than 150 days. Through these reforms, a majority of permits should be issued in less than 90 days.

Taxes made simpler: By conforming to federal tax deductions, Minnesota’s tax code will be simpler for Minnesotans. The House passed a tax bill that includes this federal tax conformity. Along with making our tax code simpler, it will reduce taxes by $200 million for middle-class Minnesotans. The bill also includes the repeal of the warehouse tax — which I chief authored — and repeals other business-to-business taxes.

Send me your unsession suggestions

I hope as the session continues that we can find broad bipartisan support for these government reforms. Improving our state government shouldn’t be a matter of politics; it should be a matter of progress. These are common sense fixes that help make life easier for everyday Minnesotan’s. I’m happy to see Governor Dayton make this a priority this session.

If you have some ideas for how to improve state government, please don’t hesitate to send them to me.

Homeless Youth Act

As many of you know, $4 million in funding for the Homeless Youth Act was included in the Omnibus Health and Human Services Finance bill signed into law by Governor Dayton. That money is going to grants for organizations are from all over the state and the grants are going to everything from emergency shelters to transitional housing.

This $4 million represents half of the appropriation needed. This was an important step in the right direction, but the need is great. The 2013 Homeless Youth Act was able to fund only 40 percent of the effective programs. These are proven programs, ready to go, they just need funding.

The goal of the Homeless Youth Act is to give today’s homeless young person the opportunity to become a successful adult. With the current budget surplus, I’ve authored a bill for complete funding for this excellent program. That bill passed out of the Housing Committee this week and I’m hopeful we can get it passed this session.

Help for Victims of Sexual Assault

This session, I’m authoring legislation requiring hospitals to provide a written notice or rights and available resources to a victim of sexual assault seeking medical care. Many sexual assault victims are unaware of the resources available to them, both to handle the trauma they’ve experienced and to ensure their assaulter is arrested and charged.

The bill passed through the Public Safety Committee this week and now heads to the Health and Human Services Policy Committee.

As always, please contact me if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas. Thank you for the honor of representing you in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Sincerely,

Laurie Halverson

State Representative

District 51B