Friends,
It was great meeting so many of you at the Dodge County Expo this past Saturday. It was a large & enthusiastic crowd, full of local businesses and organizations.
Have an enjoyable Easter & Passover with your family and friends this weekend.
MNLARS Update
The conference committee created early last week to resolve differences between the House & Senate MNLARS fixes came back with a solution that passed both chambers and was signed by the Governor. The bill will use the agreed upon special fund to pay the immediate $10 million and a special MNLARS Steering Committee will be established to oversee the progress made to fix MNLARS. Any further disbursement would also be overseen by this steering committee.
Also included in the bill was a provision requiring a request for information to determine whether a private vendor is a better option. This is an important step since it has been made abundantly clear that the governmental bodies that initially developed this system failed badly.
It also requires the Governor’s administration to seek an extension from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for REAL ID. While the Governor had agreed to do this, we felt it was important to make clear this was something that must be done for Minnesotans.
I was disappointed that the final MNLARS bill came back stripped of some of the reforms and legislative oversight that originally had passed the House, which is why I voted against the bill. It is long past time we impose stronger quality control on Minnesota IT projects that continue to flounder. I hope the fix that passed will work and I will continue to monitor the progress made to restore our DMV closely.
My Bills Heard in Committee
This week, three of my bills had hearings in various committees:
- HF 2780: Will provide better notification, clarity, and information for daycare providers in regard to the new background checks process. It also details the restriction and deletion of personal data.
- HF1933: This bill increases flexibility by allowing for local airport-specific design of zoning regulations as an alternative to using the standards contained in state rule.
- HF 3292: This bill eliminates the tax on items needed to operate durable medical equipment, such as replaceable tubing and other supplies. It was heard this week in the Taxes Committee and will hopefully fix this lingering problem.
Meetings Since My Last Update
Since my last update, I had the great opportunity to meet with so many people and groups interested in what is going on at the legislature. A few of them include a group of nurses from Rochester, Kim Price from TMI Coatings, Nathan Loy and Jakob Kujath from Kasson studying Health Science, Hamlin Child Protection Clinic, Education Minnesota of Rochester, Thief River Falls Chamber, IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers), Farm Bureau, Dr. Jeffrey Boyd the President-Designate of Rochester Tech. & Community College, Albert Lea Save Our Hospital. Dodge County, Cities of Kasson and Oronoco on Economic Development projects, and Clean Energy Business Day groups.
Please continue to stay in touch to share your thoughts and ideas on issues important to you. You can schedule a time to meet with me in my office anytime by calling (651) 296-9236, or share your thoughts via email by emailing me at rep.duane.quam@house.mn
Have a great Passover & Easter Celebration,
Duane