Dear Neighbors, Today marks the legislature’s “second deadline”, the date by which all policy bills are supposed to clear their committees in both the House and the Senate. This coming week, we will move into drafting our finance bills and the broader “Omnibus” policy and finance bills. While I have two bills that have passed all of their committees and are on the floor of the house, most of my dozen or so bills that are still in play will be passed into law as part of one of these larger omnibus bills related to Housing, Healthcare or Transportation. It was a busy week for me. Yesterday, I had five bills heard in two committees. Two bill provisions drawn from my larger Legalizing Affordable Housing Act were advanced by the State Government Committee and a bill which will allow the Bloomington Housing and Redevelopment Agency to add members to its board to increase its diversity was moved to the House floor. Senator Melissa Halvorson Wicklund has also moved its companion bill to the floor of the Senate and this bill will hopefully become law within the next week or so. In the Transportation Committee, yesterday, my bill which would establish a fair and sustainable way of charging electric vehicles a mileage-based charge analogous to the gas tax paid by conventional vehicles to finance road construction and maintenance had a very informative hearing. Chair Frank Hornstein has directed our staff to draft bill language to be included in his transportation Omnibus Bill, creating a special task force to develop an implementation plan that would be introduced as a new bill at the beginning of the next legislative session. As an electric vehicle owner, I want to pay my fair share, but no more; and I want it to be collected in a way that respects my privacy – I don’t want anything to be collected except my odometer mileage! This morning, the State Government Committee heard Representative Dave Pinto’s HF 4497, which would build upon the work of the Governor’s Early Childhood Cabinet to implement a plan that would upgrade and integrate the various information technology systems that are used to deliver the state’s early childhood support programs and to pull together all of the information needed to effectively deliver these services. One of the key components among these systems is a relatively ancient COBOL language membership eligibility system that cannot be maintained because all of the COBOL programmers have retired. During this hearing Representative Kristin Bahner (D – Maple Grove), Representative Jim Nash (R – Waconia), and I all spoke in favor of funding this project. Representatives Bahner, Nash and I, along with Senators Wicklund (D-Bloomington) and Koran (R-North Branch), constitute the legislature’s de facto information technology advisory committee, and we collaborate on a bipartisan and bicameral basis to develop and enact information technology reforms and innovations across state government. Some of my best behind the scenes work has involved the successful transition from MNLARS to the State’s successful new MNDrive Driver and Vehicle Services platform. Keep in TouchDon’t hesitate to reach out if I can provide any assistance. Please follow me on my Facebook page for further updates and invite your friends and family to do so as well. Thanks for the honor of representing you at the Capitol. Sincerely, Steve Elkins
Representative, District 49B
Minnesota House of Representatives |