The following legislative update was written by Elaine Keefe, library lobbyist for the Minnesota Library Association (MLA) and Information Technology Educators of MN (ITEM).

Recieved Tuesday, February 3, 2015 10:07 AM

Telecommunications Equity Aid (TEA) and Regional Library Telecommunications Aid (RLTA):  Our bill to increase TEA to $9.75 million per year and RLTA to $3.3 million per year will be introduced in the House on Thursday.  We have a really excellent, bi-partisan group of authors.  The chief author is Rep. Ron Kresha (R- Little Falls).  Co-authors are Rep. Mary Murphy (DFL – Hermantown), Rep. Sondra Erickson (R – Princeton), Rep. Paul Marquart (DFL – Dilworth) and Rep. Dean Urdahl (R – Grove City).

As I reported last week, Senator Chuck Wiger has agreed to amend SF 78, his bill that increases funding for TEA, to include the increase for RLTA as well.  Co-authors of SF 78 are Senator Alice Johnson (DFL – Spring Lake Park), Senator Matt Schmit (DFL – Red Wing), Senator Vicki Jensen (DFL – Owatonna) and Senator Greg Clausen (DFL – Apple Valley).

Senator Matt Schmit just yesterday introduced SF 437, a bill that provides a one-time increase to $9.75 million for TEA in FY 2016 and a one-time increase to $6.6 million for RLTA in FY 2016.  Both appropriations are available until expended.

If any of the legislators listed above represent you (or your region), please contact them to thank them for supporting TEA and RLTA.

On Wednesday morning Senate DFLers are holding a press conference to showcase their education initiatives.  Among them will be Senator Wiger’s bill to increase funding for TEA and RLTA.

RLBSS and Multi-type Funding:  Rep. Bud Nornes (R – Fergus Falls) has agreed to serve as chief author of our bill to increase funding for RLBSS and the Multi-types.  Rep. Mary Murphy (DFL – Hermantown) and Rep. Sondra Erickson (R – Princeton) have signed on as co-authors.  As I reported last week, our chief author in the Senate is Senator Tom Saxhaug (DFL – Grand Rapids). Co-authors to date are Senator LeRoy Stumpf (DFL – Plummer) and Senator Chuck Wiger (DFL – Maplewood).  I am still hoping to recruit a Republican co-author who sits on the Senate E-12 Budget Division.

School Technology Bills:  A number of bills on school technology have been introduced.  Here is a quick rundown:

SF 18, introduced by Senator Chuck Wiger, establishes special technology revenue, which can be used for the purchase or lease of telecommunications equipment, computers and related hardware and software, assistive technology and new and replacement library media resources or technology.

SF 20, also introduced by Senator Chuck Wiger, reserves future growth in the school endowment fund for school technology and telecommunications.

SF 45, also introduced by Senator Chuck Wiger, increases total operating capital revenue and reserves the increase for the same purposes listed in SF 18 (see above) as well as for the purchase of electronic textbooks.

SF 145, introduced by Senator Matt Schmitt, directs the Commissioner of Education to research existing programs to determine best practices for schools implementing 1:1 device programs and then to issue guidelines for schools.

None of the bills listed above have been introduced in the House.

Border to Border Broadband:   Senator Matt Schmit has introduced two bills on broadband. SF 438 funds the general  operations of the Office of Broadband Development and provides a separate appropriation for statewide broadband availability mapping and data collection.  SF 439 appropriates $100 million to fund broadband grants.  The House companion to SF 439, HF 556,  was introduced by Rep. Sheldon Johnson (DFL – St. Paul).

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

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/p4m2ool, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The following legislative update was written by Elaine Keefe, library lobbyist for the Minnesota Library Association (MLA) and Information Technology Educators of MN (ITEM).

Recieved Tuesday, January 27, 2015 7:09 PM

Governor’s Budget:  Today Governor Dayton released his proposed budget for the FY 16-17 biennium.  There are no changes in funding for any library programs.  All remain at current funding levels.  The Governor is proposing to increase the general education formula by 1% in each year of the biennium, for a total cost of $174.4 million.  The general education formula is the primary source of funding for school library media programs.  The Governor’s budget also  includes $30 million for grants to expand broadband access.

Telecommunications Equity Aid (TEA) and Regional Library Telecommunications Aid (RLTA):  Senator Chuck Wiger (DFL-N. St. Paul), chair of the Senate E-12 Budget Division, introduced SF 78, a bill increasing funding for TEA to $9.75 million per year.  This is the amount requested on the MLA/ITEM platform.  I asked Senator Wiger to amend the bill to include the increase for RLTA to $3.3 million per year as requested on our platform, and he has agreed to do so.  The bill was scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, January 20.  Mary Mehsikomer and I were slated to testify, but the committee ran out of time.  The bill will be brought back at a future hearing.   In the House, Rep. Ron Kresha (R – Little Falls), vice-chair of the House Education Finance Committee, has agreed to introduce a bill to increase funding for both TEA and RLTA.

Regional Library Basic System Support (RLBSS) and Multi-type Funding:  Senator Tom Saxhaug (DFL – Grand Rapids) has agreed to introduce a bill to increase RLBSS to $18.57 million per year and Multi-type funding to $2.6 million per year.  These are the amounts requested on the MLA/ITEM platform.  I hope to have chief author in the House lined up this week.

House Legacy Hearing:  On Monday the House Legacy Committee held its first hearing of the session.  Rep. Dean Urdahl (R- Grove City), chair of the committee, announced that they would follow the same process as in the past, meaning that it is not necessary to have a bill introduced to request Legacy funds.  The Minnesota Historical Society presented its request at this hearing, and Valerie Horton gave excellent testimony about the Minnesota Digital Library, which is funded through the Historical Society’s Legacy appropriation.

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

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/p4m2ool, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The following legislative update was written by Elaine Keefe, library lobbyist for the Minnesota Library Association (MLA) and Information Technology Educators of MN (ITEM). You can also watch Governor Dayton’s press conference here or read his press release here.

Received Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 9:54 am

A brief version of the state economic forecast was released online by Minnesota Management and Budget a few minutes ago.  A surplus of $1.037 billion is projected for the next biennium (FY 2016-17).  http://www.mn.gov/mmb/images/nov-14-forecast-summary-blurb-newsfeed.pdf

The current biennium is now forecasted to end on June 30, 2015 with a surplus of $556 million.  Under a new state law that I referenced at yesterday’s MLA Legislative committee meeting, one-third of any surplus remaining at the end of the biennium will be deposited in the state’s budget reserve.  The rest rolls forward into the next biennium, contributing to the total projected surplus of $1.037 billion.

A more detailed forecast will be released on the MMB website at 11am.

MMB officials, Governor Dayton and legislative leaders will each hold press conferences later today.  Early comments made to the media indicate that legislators have little appetite for new spending.  Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk pointed out that it will cost more the $1 billion to adjust existing spending to cover inflation, raising the possibility that some programs may face budget cuts.  I will send a followup report if anything notable is said in any of the scheduled press conferences today.

Elaine Keefe

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

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/p4m2ool, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0