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Volume 2, Number 8 May 2, 2014
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Week in Review
Photo of the Week
Senator Franzen and Representative Erhardt discussing their bill proposing a lane expansion for Highway 62.
Greetings,
As we move into the final weeks of the 2014 Legislative Ses-
sion, we are working to finalize a package of key investments
and broad tax cuts along with a robust bonding bill to keep
Minnesota’s economy growing. Joint Senate-House Conference
committees are making significant progress on a number of
bills, including the supplemental budget, E-12 education policy
reforms, the Women’s Economic Security Act and a second tax
cut bill.
One of the biggest issues still outstanding this session is the
bonding bill. Passage of a bonding bill is one of the few ac-
tions in the Legislature that require a three-fifths majority to
pass, which means it must be regionally balanced and earn
bipartisan support. As our state’s economy continues to im-
prove and more Minnesotans return to the workforce, a robust
bonding bill will help boost our growth, create well-paying
jobs and lead to a more prosperous Minnesota.
The Senate began negotiations in the supplemental budget
conference committee at $209 million. The spending proposal
centers on key investments for education, health care and
transportation. The House supplemental budget bill came in at
$321 million, while the Governor proposed a smaller spending
total of $141 million. Legislators and the Governor largely
agree on critical investments in health and human services
and will work out remaining compromise investments in the
coming week anticipating perhaps an early adjournment be-
fore the May 19th deadline.
Thank you,
Around the District Bloomington’s Kennedy High School’s spring series of community engage-
ment events will conclude with a forum on equity and excellence in public schools. Parents, staff, students, and other community members are invited to join professors from the University of St. Thomas School of Law and Bethel Uni-versity and Rosalba Martinez and Dave Heistad of Bloomington Public Schools on Saturday, May 3, from 9 a.m. until noon at Kennedy High School. For more information, contact Radious Guess at 952-681-5031 or [email protected]. To register, go to www.tinyurl.com/equitygap.
The League of Women Voters is holding its annual meeting on Thursday, May 8. The meeting will feature Lee Blons speaking on the topic of youth homelessness in the southwest suburbs. The public is invited to Lee Blons’s ad-dress and to join the Leauge of Women Voters Edina for refreshments. The evening begins at 6:30 at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church. For more information, visit www.lwvedina.org.
Congratulations to Officers Dave Lindman and Joel Moore! These two Edina police officers were recently recognized by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with the Justice Award for their special work in the field. Your hard work is appreci-ated by all of us in the community. Thank you!
A new phase of the Southwest LRT Project has begun. Before moving fur-ther, the project must be approved by each affected city. The Eden Prairie City Council will hold a municipal consent hearing with project staff at the council’s May 20 meeting. Community members are encouraged to attend to provide comments and feedback and to have any questions answered. For more infor-mation or to submit comments, e-mail [email protected].
The Week Ahead The Senate Transportation Committee and the House Transportation Policy and Finance Committees, will take a tour of the Metro Transit LRT Green Line on Monday. The Central Corridor is scheduled to open on June 14, 2014. Learn more here.
Tweet of the Week
Testified before the conference com-mittee on the supplemental appro-
priation for early childhood education scholarships. #mnleg
Highlight Governor Dayton: State of the State
On April 30, Gov. Mark Dayton delivered the State of the
State Address before a joint session of the Minnesota Legis-
lature. The Governor emphasized the significant progress
Minnesota has seen in recent years and committed to re-
main focused on keeping the state’s momentum moving in
the right direction. Minnesota already has more jobs than
ever before and recent investments in economic develop-
ment are creating new jobs across the state. But there is
more work left to do, the Governor said, as he called for fu-
ture investments early education and transportation infra-
structure to keep Minnesota’s workforce and businesses cli-
mate competitive in the 21st century. The Governor pressed
the legislature to pass a second tax cut package, a respon-
sible supplemental budget proposal and an even bigger
bonding bill, saying, “We have to invest in growth, quality,
and effectiveness.” These priorities will guide legislators in
the days ahead as the 2014 Legislative Session draws to a
conclusion. The Governor discussed points on economic de-
velopment, education, transportation, health, and the envi-
ronment. A recording can be watched here.
Around the Capitol
Online Voter Registration Bipartisan legislation to authorize online registration and absen-tee ballot applications passed off the Senate Floor on April 29 by a vote of 41-24. The bill was immediately signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton. The quick action means Minnesotans can continue to access web-based voter registration. Registering to vote online is user friendly, cheaper and more reliable than fill-ing out paper applications.
Advanced Practice Registered Nurse
This legislation updates the licensing process for APRNs and al-lows them to practice without a collaborative agreement in most cases. The new APRN license would include four catego-ries: Certified Nurse Specialist (CNS), Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP) and Certified Regis-tered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). CRNAs, however, would still have to enter into a collaborative agreement to practice anes-thesia and analgesia for pain management. Each of these posi-tions would be required to be licensed under the new law, ei-ther by application or grandfathering, by Jan.1, 2016. (S.F. 511).
