By Dan Sparks

State Senator, District 27

While serving in the Senate, I have been in the majority and minority, worked with Republican and Democrat-controlled Houses and governors of both parties, and no matter the make-up, each session presents its own challenges to resolving differences and reaching compromise. Elected representatives come to the Capitol with a wide range of priorities that represent starkly different regional and philosophical perspectives.

This year was no different, but the House and Senate came to an agreement and passed a budget. We did not achieve all that I was hoping we would, but we bridged a big divide. Under the agreements we came to, we invested in our schools, families, colleges and universities, and healthcare systems.

The governor still has priorities he wants to address specifically in education. He has stated he will veto the education budget, even though it secured more money for our state’s K-12 schools and early childhood programs; including 1.5 percent and 2 percent funding increases in each of the next two years. He wants to reopen negotiations in an effort to convince the House to fund voluntary universal pre-k programming. It is a commendable goal, but one the House has showed no interest in doing up to this point.

Other appropriation bills will likely be signed soon which will deliver funds across Minnesota and specifically include funding for many rural parts of the state. The Higher Ed bill delivered significant funding to MnSCU campuses to provide tuition relief for students, and increased the number of Minnesota families and students who qualify to receive State Grants. The bill also included a program that provides scholarships for qualifying students pursuing two year degrees in high demand occupations.

Nursing homes will receive a 30 percent increase in funding which will have real, positive effects in many rural communities. The nursing home reimbursement reform in our agreement will allow for a more equitable distribution of these very important funds–helping both our seniors and nursing home workers. The Health and Human Services bill also has a provision I worked on to foster telemedicine efforts. The use of available technology will allow rural hospitals to access better, less expensive patient care.

The jobs bill provides economic development incentives for job training and helps communities deal with housing shortages. The legislature stood by the recommendations of the Rural Task Force and is serious about increasing economic opportunity in rural Minnesota. The Workforce Housing Grants Program will help communities grow and get more market rate housing for middle income families.

I was happy to able to include funding for the Agriculture Research, Education, Extension, and Technology Transfer Grant Program in the Environment and Agriculture Bill. This appropriation funds grants for research, agriculture rapid response for plant and animal diseases, agricultural education programs, and Farm Business Management. There was also a production incentive for new businesses in advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals and biomass thermal energy. These are emerging industries that we want to see develop in our state. Additionally, there is $16.7 million for continued efforts to address the avian flu epidemic. Avian flu has now affected nearly eight million birds in Minnesota, about 8 percent of the state’s annual turkey production. This loss has been devastating to farmers, and there is growing concern that the virus could continue to spread.

As a legislator, I do my best to listen to all sides of an issue and seek middle ground, and this has helped me accomplish things for our district. Voters want legislators that put aside partisan differences to get things done. I believe the Senate did that in making compromises to fund priorities shared by all Minnesotans. We certainly didn’t get everything we wanted in this budget, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the priorities we were able to defend and the good progress that has been made on many topics.

If there are any other issues you’d like to see addressed please feel free to contact my office at 651-296-9248.