By Rep. Paul Anderson
The road to passage of Real ID legislation became a bit more rocky last week after the Senate defeated the proposal. Their bill, similar to but not the same as the House version, would have provided a two-track system for residents to either opt for the new driver's license that will be necessary to board commercial aircraft next year or keep their current licenses.
Another controversial topic, that of granting drivers licenses to undocumented residents, has become part of the conversation. It has come up the past few years but never gained any traction. The situation is somewhat unclear as it's believed by some that current rule making allows to governor to grant the privilege of drivers licenses to those who aren't citizens. Language in the House Real ID bill clears that up by saying licenses would only be available to citizens. Opponents of that want this bill, in addition to dealing with the topic of Real ID, to grant authority for licenses to be granted to residents who are not citizens.
And that’s where we sit today. With some legislators wanting to deal with both issues in the same bill, it's unclear if progress can be made. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking toward next January when the Real ID or a passport will be required to board a plane at the airport. It would make sense to deal with each issue separately on it own merit, and not combine the two into one bill. Each of them is controversial on its own, and to put them together will make it even more difficult to pass.
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A flurry of action last week marked the first deadline for bills to be heard in policy committees. In Ag. Policy, we marked up the omnibus bill on Tuesday, received amendments on Wednesday, and passed the bill out of committee Thursday afternoon. It now awaits floor action.
This week will also be busy as the second deadline approaches. Bills that had hearings in the other legislative chamber can still be heard this week, but they must make it through all policy committees by Friday. Spending targets will be released soon, probably sometime this week, as finance committees begin their job of assembling the bills that will finance state government for the next two years. It's amazing to realize that even if we didn't increase spending at all in some areas, such as pre K-12 education or Health and Human Services, those budgets would still go up by millions of dollars in the new biennium. That’s because of automatic spending increases for some programs and, in the case of education, more students expected in our schools next year. And since funding is based on the number of students, an increase in the pupil count means more state aid to schools.
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Talk of an early spring has subsided as winter made another appearance over the weekend. Roads were slick in the metro area as several inches of snow fell Sunday afternoon. Cold temps have stalled what may have been the earliest ice-out dates on record. Lake Minnewaska was open on the north side over the weekend as strong winds pushed the ice several hundred yards out. According to DNR records, going back over 100 years, the earliest ice-out for the state's 11th largest lake is March 21. Unless spring returns quickly, beating that date looks to be difficult.
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