A sense of urgency can be felt at the State Capitol with an early adjournment date set by the House Speaker for April 30. This date, well before the constitutional deadline of May 21st, is quickly approaching and there are several key issues that need to be addressed.

Statewide bonding bill

A major task of the Legislature this year is to invest in public works projects or infrastructure — a process commonly known as bonding. Bonding includes construction and repairs of roads and bridges, flood prevention and mitigation, buildings on college campuses, veterans’ homes, correctional facilities, wastewater treatment plants, and public facilities with regional or statewide significance. A comprehensive bonding bill can stretch taxpayer dollars further by taking advantage of record low interest rates and discounted building costs for materials and labor. Bonding provides work for thousands of unemployed construction workers, contractors, engineers, architects and others and it creates long-term private sector jobs.

It is of utmost importance to get a robust and balanced bonding package passed this year. Currently, funding for the Hormel Institute expansion project is contained in the House and Senate bonding bills. The project would have a huge economic benefit to the city of Austin, southern Minnesota and the entire state of Minnesota. Unfortunately, the statewide bonding bills have yet to be taken up on either the House or Senate Floor. The Hormel project has had strong bi-partisan support and will create 120 new long-term jobs. It is exactly the type of shovel-ready infrastructure investment the state should be making to sustain and enhance our economic recovery.

Vikings stadium

A number of Vikings stadium proposals have swirled about this session. The funding source for each proposal has varied and there has been a great deal of media attention given to this issue. Many people do not want the Vikings to leave Minnesota but to date there has not been a single, clear proposal brought forth that is comprehensive enough to build bipartisan consensus.

Governor Mark Dayton said in his State of the State Address that a new Vikings stadium was one of his top priorities for the 2012 legislative session. He continues to work to develop a financing package to support the project. He regularly meets with House and Senate leadership to keep the ball in play regarding the stadium debate.

Child restraint bill signed

On a positive note, a new category of felony when “demonstrable” bodily harm is apparent in parental child restraint cases was signed into law by Governor Dayton this week. The bill was in response to the sentencing of a couple from Dexter convicted of chaining their now 6-year-old son to his crib from bedtime until morning every night over a six-month period and withholding food and bathroom access to him and his 8-year-old brother. Because prosecutors could not demonstrate that “substantial” bodily harm was caused to these boys their parents could only be charged with a gross misdemeanor instead of a felony. The new law allows for felony sentencing for such cases with a penalty of up to 2 years and/or a fine of up to $4,000.

Minn. Teacher Licensure Exam

A bill to address unintended consequences of the recently-enacted law requiring teacher candidates to pass the Minnesota Teacher Licensure Exam is moving through the legislative process. Not long after this law took effect, legislators began to hear concerns from individuals within their communities about unintentional impacts for some districts and for teachers. Overall, the law could have an adverse effect on nearly 400 current classroom teachers and another 1,100 with licenses pending, causing significant staffing issues statewide. The education policy conference committee has just adopted language giving teachers additional time to pass the tests. The conference committee report will now go to each legislative body to be passed and then will be sent to the Governor for his signature.

Rep. Jeanne Poppe
651-296-4193, rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn
291 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155