Tag Archives: Legislation

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

MNLibLeg: Libraries in Bonding Bill and Update!

This CMLE Update has been provided by Mark Ranum, MLA Legislative Chair

Alice Hausman, Chair of the Capital Investment Committee, asked last week about a library request for the bonding bill being proposed this year.  We have submitted a request for $3M for the public library construction and accessibility grant program.  It’s HF1501 http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/bills/billnum.asp?billnumber=hf1501

All library bills we are pursuing as a part of the library platform have now been introduced.  The other bills are listed below.

2013 Library Legislative Platform Issues Status: Bills, Authors, and Committees

1. Fund Regional Public Library Basic System Support.

  • SF453    Wiger
  • HF630   Marquart

2. Fund Multicounty, Multitype Regional Library System Support.

  • SF453    Wiger
  • HF630   Marquart

3. Fund Telecommunications Equity Aid and Regional Library Telecommunications Aid.

  • SF453    Wiger
  • HF630   Marquart

4. Fund Minitex at $5,631,000 each year of the biennium.

  • SF995     Eken, Clausen
  • HF1150   Winkler, Nornes, Brynaert

5. Fund MnLINK at $400,000 each year of the biennium.

  • SF995     Eken, Clausen
  • HF1150    Winkler, Nornes, Brynaert

6. Fund Electronic Library for Minnesota (ELM) at current levels each year of the biennium

  • SF781      Hoffman, Johnson, Stumpf, Jensen, Nelson
  • HF1145   Brynaert, S. Erickson

7.  Dedicate the entire proceeds of the Permanent School Fund for school technology and library media resources to support Common Core Standards and other initiatives.

  • No action.  Lack of support from the Governor and House/Senate Leadership.

8.  Appropriate $750,000 in the first year and $600,000 in the second year of the biennium to subscribe, implement, and promote free, online homework help for all MN students.

  • SF781       Hoffman, Johnson, Stumpf, Jensen, Nelson
  • HF1145    Brynaert, S. Erickson

9.  Change the Regional Public Library Legacy funding formula by replacing the equalization factor in the formula with a “qualifying system entities” factor.

  • Elaine Keefe and Mark Ranum are working to include this in the appropriation language.
  • No specific lobbying effort is required at this time on this specific issue.

10. Fund Regional Public Library Legacy initiatives at $4,250,000 for each year of the biennium from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

  • No bill number.  The process to request funds does not require a bill.
  • We have testified in the House Legacy Committee on our request.  The Senate Legacy Committee has not met to hear requests from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

11.  Fund the Minnesota Digital Library at $750,000 to expand into a statewide digital preservation initiative from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

  • No bill number.  The process to request funds does not require a bill.

12.  Add data privacy protection for electronic materials and services to MS13.40.

  • SF745      Diedzic, Latz, Nelson
  • HF695     Simon

Mark Ranum, Director
Plum Creek Library System
Box 697
290 S. Lake Street
Worthington, MN 56187
507.376.5803 ext. 1 (office)
612.701.9989 (cell)
mranum@plumcreeklibrary.net

There will also be a Senate companion to HF 1501.  Sen. Alice Johnson has signed on as our chief author.  I hope to get it introduced on Monday. 
Elaine Keefe, Capitol Hill Associates
 
Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

VIRTUAL Legislative Day-March 6th Call or Email!

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MLA LogoThis update is from Mark Ranum, MLA Legislative Chair

March 6 is your day to contact your HOUSE and SENATE members and ADVOCATE FOR LIBRARIES!!!

If you can’t make Legislative Day in person, you can still make a difference by contacting your Representatives and Senators by telephone or email and letting them know that library funding from the state is very important!

You can review the platform and documents on specific issues of interest at http://www.mnlibraryassociation.org/committees/legislative-committee#documents

The bill numbers for each issue will be available on the MLA website under the legislative committee documents link listed above, so you can refer to specific bill numbers in the House and Senate when you contact legislators.  Some of the issues will not have specific bill numbers since they are part of the Governor’s proposed budget.

When you call or email, it’s best to advocate for a specific issue or bill, and particularly if that issue or bill is under consideration in one of the committees where your legislator is a member.

Find your legislators at http://www.gis.leg.mn/OpenLayers/districts/   When your Senator and Representative names are displayed, you can click on their names to find out their committee assignments.

You can pass this email along to all your library board members, friends, and advocates, and library patrons!!  Encourage them to contact their legislators!

Even a call or email expressing general library support on March 6 would be terrific and very helpful in our advocacy efforts.  The more positive energy and impact we have that day, the more positive our conversations about libraries continue at the Capitol.

Mark Ranum, Director Plum Creek Library System
Box 697, 290 S. Lake Street
Worthington, MN 56187
507.376.5803 ext. 1 (office)
612.701.9989 (cell)
mranum@plumcreeklibrary.net

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

MNLibLeg-Legislative Update!

This update is from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Library Legislative Lobbyist

State Economic Forecast:  A new state economic forecast was released today, and it contains good news.  The projected budget deficit for the next biennium has shrunk to $627 million.  This is an improvement of $463 million over the $1.1 billion deficit that was projected in December.

The forecast also contains good news for the current biennium.  The state is now projected to end the current biennium with a positive balance of $295 million.  Under current law, $5 million of that will go into the state’s budget reserve and $290 million will go to repay the education funding shift.

Budget Process:  Governor Dayton is expected to issue a revised budget proposal in about two weeks.  Soon after that, legislative leaders will set budget targets.  House rules require a budget resolution to be adopted no later than March 25, but House leaders have said they hope to do it sooner.  Senate leaders will also set budget targets, but the Senate does not adopt a formal budget resolution in public.

Data Privacy:  Our data privacy bill for public libraries, HF 695/SF 745, will be heard on Friday in the House Data Practices Subcommittee and on Tuesday, March 5 in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Minitex/MnLINK:  Our bill providing a funding increase for Minitex and MnLINK will be introduced in the House this afternoon. Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL – Golden Valley) is the chief author.  Co-authors are Rep. Bud Nornes (R – Fergus Falls) and Rep. Kathy Brynaert (DFL – Mankato).

Elaine Keefe Capitol Hill Associates

525 Park Street, Suite 310
St. Paul, MN 55103
office 651-293-0229
fax 651-293-1709
cell 612-590-1244
elaine@capitolhillassoc.com

MLA Logo

MEMO

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Legislative Update

This update is from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Library Legislative Lobbyist

Data Privacy:  Under current law, records linking public library users to library materials they have searched for or borrowed that are owned by the library are private. HF 695, our bill extending the same protection to electronic data owned by a private vendor and licensed by a public library (e.g., e-books) was introduced last Monday by Rep. Steve Simon (DFL – Hopkins), chair of the House Data Practices Subcommittee.  The companion bill, SF 745, will be introduced on Monday, February 25 by Senator Kari Dzeidzic (DFL – Minneapolis).  Senator Ron Latz (DFL – St. Louis Park), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a co-author.

Homework Help:  Our bill to fund a statewide contract to make a free online homework help service available statewide will be introduced as SF 781 on Monday, February 25.  The chief author is Senator John Hoffman (DFL – Champlin). Co-authors are Sen. Alice Johnson (DFL – Spring Lake Park), Sen. LeRoy Stumpf (DFL – Plummer), Sen. Vicki Jensen (DFL – Owatonna) and Sen. Carla Nelson (R – Rochester).  The House version will be introduced soon.  Rep. Kathy Brynaert (DFL – Mankato) has signed on as the chief author.  If any of these legislators represent you, please write to thank them.

Minitex and MnLINK:  We have secured chief authors in both bodies for our bill to increase funding for Minitex and MnLINK.  Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL – Golden Valley) will carry our bill in the House and Senator Kent Eken (DFL – Twin Valley) will carry our bill in the Senate.  I am currently recruiting co-authors, with the goal of getting the bills introduced no later than Monday, March 4.

Legacy:  Last Wednesday Mark Ranum made a presentation before the House Legacy Committee about what regional public libraries have done with Legacy funding received to date and about our request for funding for the upcoming biennium (FY 14-15).  It was very well received by the committee, resulting in extended remarks by committee members about the benefits of Legacy programs provided by public libraries and of libraries in general.  Reps. Mary Murphy (DFL – Hermantown), Leon Lillie (DFL – N. St. Paul) and John Ward (DFL – Brainerd) were especially effusive.

State Economic Forecast:  The next forecast will be released on Thursday February 28.  It is widely expected that the forecast will show improvement from the forecast released in December that projected a $1.1 million deficit at the conclusion of the FY 14-15 biennium.  It may also show an increase in the forecasted surplus for the current biennium, which would result in a further repayment of the education funding shift.  Governor Dayton will release his revised budget recommendations about two weeks after the forecast is released.

Elaine Keefe
Capitol Hill Associates
525 Park Street, Suite 310
St. Paul, MN 55103
office 651-293-0229
fax 651-293-1709
cell 612-590-1244
elaine@capitolhillassoc.com

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Minnesota Budget-Bite Sized!

logo-mcn-budget-programThe Minnesota Budget Project, an initiative of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN), recently released a snapshot of Governor Dayton’s budget proposal specific to education. This information is broken down into various areas of specialization/interests such Special Ed., MnSCU, Early Childhood Ed., E-12,  Higher Ed., etc. This format makes it a quick, must read to help you stay connected. Click here for more information.

Two additional articles that were mention included  Health Care Reform and Tax Reform.