By MMBA Lobbyist Sarah J. Psick
The Legislature was back at the Capitol for a full week of work after taking a break the previous week for members to attend precinct caucuses in their districts.
State of the State Address: Governor Dayton delivered his second State of the State address to a joint convention of the Legislature on Wednesday, February 15. He emphasized three key points in his address: (1) Invest in more jobs; (2) Invest in a stronger education system; and (3) Invest in reform of government services.
To invest in more jobs, the Governor urged the Legislature to pass a bonding bill in the near future, to pass a bill to build a Vikings stadium, and to adopt his "Jobs Now" tax credit proposal. The "Jobs Now" tax credit would encourage businesses to hire unemployed Minnesotans, Veterans and recent college graduate.
On education and government reform, Governor Dayton pointed to the collaboration of the 2011 legislative session with passage of the Alternative Teacher Licensure and the environmental permitting and streamlining bills. He urges any reforms put forward by the Legislature this year to be developed in cooperation with the parties involved.
Governor Dayton also highlighted the structural needs of the Capitol building. He talked about the fact that the building is over 100 years old and is in structural disrepair and in need of improvements. In one final request to the Legislature, Governor Dayton asked them to make the sacrifice to move out of the Capitol building for the next four years in order to make the necessary improvements. This, of course, is easier said than done.
Voter ID Constitutional Amendment: In the first step to placing a proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution on the November ballot, the bill to require voters to show a photo ID when voting moved out of the Senate Local Government Committee this week. The bill was passed along party lines after a lengthy debate about the Constitutionality of the issue and other opposition. The bill now moves to the Senate State Government Finance committee.
Teacher Reform "Last In/First Out": A key initiative in the Republican Reform agenda was passed by the House Floor on Thursday this week. The bill addresses the current method of teacher layoffs and the policy of "last in/first out" or LIFO. The bill seeks to eliminate the state policy that when a school district is forced to lay off teachers, the most recently hired teachers tend to be the first to be laid off.
The proponents of the bill and those wanting to change the current system point to young teachers whose students show high academic achievement and that is not considered when layoffs occur. If the bill becomes law, Minnesota would join about 18 other states that have moved toward performance-based decisions in recent years.
Opponents of the bill argue that the bill would push school districts to lay off more senior, higher paid teachers. The State's largest teacher union, Education Minnesota, is the main opponent of the bill.
Next Week: All Legislators are looking forward to next Tuesday, February 21 at approximately 1:00 p.m. when the courts will release the newly redistricted legislative maps to the public. The new districts will guide the next election for the Minnesota House and Senate. The new maps will show where current legislators are put in the same district to face each other in the election and where newly created districts will exist.
