Dear Friends and Neighbors,
As of Friday, we have made it through the third and last committee deadline at the Legislature. It was a busy week of finalizing or "marking up" the "omnibus" bills in each committee.
I really dislike this "omnibus" process and hope to be able to eventually change it. There are numerous, non-controversial issues that have bipartisan support in each committee, but they get lumped into the larger "omnibus" bills (think "kitchen sink") and we don't have the chance to vote on them separately.
I hope we can eventually get to a place where we can do two committee bills: one that contains the provisions with bipartisan support so they can move forward, and then do the controversial, partisan issues separately so we can debate them and vote up or down. I am happy to have rigorous debates and vote against things I think are not good policy for Minnesota, but I'd like to see some of the non-controversial items get through. Of course, the ideal would be to have votes on individual bills, but they say that won't work with the Committee budget targets. The Minnesota Constitution requires that we vote on "single-subject" bills, but it seems the titles are left vague enough to encompass a variety of issues in one bill. I will continue to try to change the system!
Another surprising aspect of this omnibus process is how little time we actually have to see the numbers on what we are voting on! I serve on two finance committees and in both cases, we got the spreadsheets with the actual budget amounts for various line-items just a day or two before the vote.
More concerning, is that the budget spreadsheets only gave us numbers of what the cost would be in the upcoming 2020-2021 biennium. There were NO numbers of what was currently being spent on these programs, so we had no way to tell if the budget was proposing an increase or decrease or what the percentage change would be.
I have run three non-profits and served on several boards and this would never be an acceptable way to present a budget in the private sector!
I asked the staff to add a column with the current expenditures but got it the day of the vote. All of the budgets were proposing huge increases so I voted against them but it was frustrating not to be able to see the year-over-year increases!
A personal victory - a clean desk before the break!
Hands-Free Bill
With a bipartisan vote of 107-19, the Minnesota House approved the compromise legislation with the Senate that would improve safety on our roads by reducing distracted driving. The Hands-Free Bill, which I supported, would allow drivers to use cell phones only if they are using voice-activation, one-touch or headsets.
The Conference Committee version of the bill was an improvement over bills originally passed in the House and Senate. The final bill, which is expected to be signed by Governor Walz, eliminates provisions that would have required law enforcement to conduct a profiling study and would have specified that holding a phone to one's ear with a hijab would be considered "hands-free." The final version also allows exceptions for: 1) operating a GPS navigation system, or listening to audio content, if the device is not hand-held and the driver is not typing or scrolling on the device; 2) emergency calls involving life or safety; and 3) two-way radio, citizens band radio or amateur radio equipment.
The final bill, which was signed by Gov. Walz last week, was supported by the Minnesota State Patrol. The seventeen other states which have enacted similar laws have seen a significant reduction in accidents caused by distracted driving. I am hopeful Minnesota will see similar decreases in accidents once the bill takes effect on August 1, 2019.
Green New Deal
House Democrats have one-upped the governor by introducing their own version of the Green New Deal, proposing to mandate Minnesota utilities be 100% on renewable sources by 2030.
This, like Governor Walz's proposal only on an even faster timetable, will increase the prices Minnesota consumers pay for electricity, which are already above the national average and will decrease the reliability of the regional electrical grid, especially during times of extreme weather. This winter some areas of our state, not far from our district, lost power due to the extreme cold. If the current power mix couldn't keep up, it seems unlikely that complete reliance on "clean" energy would provide enough stable power to meet demand, particularly in peak times.
Renewable energy is an important part of our energy portfolio and, as storage and other technologies improve, I would expect and support greater use of renewable sources to meet our needs. However, energy experts I have spoken to say the grid can currently remain stable with only about 40% of the load coming from renewable sources. This transition must be done as capacity builds, not by fiat. These mandates will drive up costs and threaten the reliability of our energy grid especially during polar vortexes and heat waves. We need an 'all-of-the-above' strategy that ensures energy bills are affordable and our energy grid is reliable.
Area Bonding Proposals Moved Forward
Thanks to the hard, collaborative work of our city leaders, Rep. Kristin Bahner (34B), and myself, all 3 of 34A's priorities were included in the bonding bill: completion of 610/County Rd. 30 in Maple Grove; expansion of North Metro Gun Range in Maple Grove; and the pedestrian bridge over I-94 in Rogers.
The bonding bill is enormous ($1.2 billion) so I am not sure I will vote for it and I'm not sure all 3 projects will stay in; there currently is no Senate companion and it is unclear if the Senate will do a bonding bill; I was the lead author of the Rogers project and 2nd author on the other two.
There is currently no Senate companion for the bonding bill, so I am not sure a bonding bill will happen at all this year. It is significant that all three projects made it into the House bill, however, and it will help keep them on the radar of Legislative leaders.
Things to Know
Serving on the Jobs and Economic Development Committee, I have learned a lot about the many resources your tax dollars pay for to help small businesses start and expand in Minnesota.
The Dept. of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) provides free consultations at every stage of business development - from initial concept to start-up to financing and a host of other small business issues.
If you are thinking of starting a business or already have one but have questions, please check out their consulting services and other great resources.
Photos from the Week
A few photos from some of the constituent meetings I had this week! Meeting with people from our district is always the highlight of my week!
Great to meet with teachers from our district when Education Minnesota was at the Capitol!
Rep. Robbins and fellow Freshman Rep. Lisa Demuth at a hot rod car show on the Capitol grounds.
Both of their first jobs were as car hops at local drive-in restaurants!
Rep. Robbins and a friend from high school who was at the Capitol lobbying for social workers.
Please Contact Me
Next week we will be on Easter/Passover Recess, so I will not be sending out a newsletter. I will be doing multiple meetings in the district, however, so I hope to run into some of you! 
I wish you and your families a very joyful Easter and Passover!
Kristin
Like and follow my Facebook Page for updates throughout the week: Facebook.com/RepKristinRobbins