Greetings,
A Quick Overview of this Week’s Events
As we finish another week of session, the Legislature continues to move forward on the business of Minnesota.
Conference committees have been appointed to resolve the differences in various House and Senate bills, including proposed supplemental budget adjustments.
It is not uncommon for the Legislature to do budget adjustments during a current budget cycle and this budget cycle is no exception. It’s important to remember that these adjustments need to be agreed upon between the House and Senate and the final bill will also need Gov. Dayton’s signature as well.
Along with the supplemental budgets, the House remains committed to passing funding to improve and replace Minnesota’s aging roads and bridges and pass a bonding bill that will help meet other infrastructure needs in our state.
Just yesterday, the Senate took up their $1.8 billion bonding proposal, which failed to get the required votes needed for passage. The House will be releasing its proposal soon. There will no doubt be negotiations needed between the House and Senate to arrive on an acceptable plan.
REAL ID – Update
As I noted last week, the House has been working to pass legislation that will help implement a personal identification system that will be compliant with federal requirements, which will allow Minnesotans to continue to board airplanes and gain access to certain federal facilities.
Yesterday, the Minnesota House Transportation Committee moved us one step closer to making this a reality by passing the bill out of committee.
The House version of the bill requires the implementation of a federally approved identification to begin being issued in October 2016. However, the current Senate bill delays implementation until 2018.
Since Minnesota driver's licenses are issued on a four-year cycle, the House version would avoid confusion and extra expense for Minnesotans who need these new identification cards.
Either way, the federal law requirements need to be fully implemented by 2020.
Meeting Minnesota’s Transportation Needs
The conference committee that was from the House and Senate to help reconcile the differences between the two different transportation bills has been meeting as well. They continue to explore how to meet Minnesota’s road and bridge and transit needs. There will be more on this in the coming days.
Assisting Nonprofits
Recently, the governor signed a bill I coauthored, HF1003, into law. The legislation gives a county, city, or town the authority to donate certain equipment to a nonprofit organization of their choosing. This allows local governments to help our neighborhood charitable groups to receive equipment that the government entity will no longer use. The bill passed with bipartisan support, and I look forward to this change helping our local nonprofits.
Chaplain of the Day
Each day at the Minnesota House, a chaplain leads the chamber in an opening prayer. On Monday of this week, Fr. Tim Baltes of the Church of St. Francis Xavier in Sartell led us in prayer. It was an honor to have a central Minnesota pastor offer the opening prayer and I was pleased to be presiding that day in my role as speaker pro tem of the House.
National Day of Prayer
Thursday marked the occasion of the National Day of Prayer, a chance for Americans to take a few moments out of their day to thank and honor their creator. I joined several legislators at legislative events marking this day. Many of our country’s early presidents set an example of observing such a day. In 1988, federal law established the current National Day of Prayer, which is held annually on the first Thursday of May.
Don’t Forget the High School Page Program
I’d like to once again encourage high school students to look into our High School Page Program at the Capitol. This is a great educational and civic experience for high school juniors. During their time with us, students experience and learn more about their state government as observers of the legislative process. This program continues to get rave reviews from students who have participated in it. If you know a student who will be a junior in high school next fall, please click here to learn more about this opportunity.
Fun Fact:
This week’s question: This year marks the 100 year anniversary of our country's National Park system. Do you know which park was our state’s first state park? ANSWER: Itasca State Park
Please Contact Me
The legislature will adjourn for the biennium in just over two weeks. With the clock winding down, it’s more important than ever for you to contact me and share your opinion. Your feedback is helpful in learning how to better represent our area. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me at 651-296-7808 or rep.tim.odriscoll@house.mn.
Enjoy your weekend,
Tim