Here is the latest update from the MLA’s (and yours!) library lobbyist firm:
Session Closure
While the Governor’s line-item veto of the legislature’s operating budget means the people’s business isn’t quite finished, it is for our practical purposes.
- The final Bonding bill, signed into law, appropriates $2 million for library construction and renovation projects.
- The final Legacy bill, signed into law, appropriates $2.5 million for library legacy programming for the next two years.
- The final E-12 bill, signed into law, doesn’t appropriate new funding for regional library programs.
If the courts decide against the legislature’s forthcoming lawsuit over the line-item veto, it’s the Governor’s desire to revisit several items in the Tax bill. Those items are related to commercial-industrial property taxes paid to the state, tobacco taxes and changes to the estate tax. He’s also indicated a desire to revisit the teacher licensure reform package passed in the E-12 bill.
The 2018 session begins at noon on Tuesday, February 20th.
Sam
Samuel P. Walseth
Capitol Hill Associates
525 Park Street, Suite 255
St. Paul, MN 55103″