Tag Archives: recap

2015 Legislative Recap

State CapitolFor your convenience, here is a recap of the last legislative session written by Elaine Keefe, our MLA/MEMO lobbyist representing our library and school media issues at the State Capitol.

Also, the FINAL 2015 LMC Law Summaries have been finalized with post-special session information and are available online: Download the Bookmarked PDF here: www.lmc.org/lawsummaries2015

On July 7, 2015 at 9:38 p.m., Elaine Keefe writes…..


Below is a summary of 2015 legislative action (and inaction) affecting libraries.  Most of this information has appeared in previous reports.

State Budget Overview:  Despite having a nearly $1.9 billion budget surplus, Governor Dayton and legislative leaders were unable to reach a comprehensive budget agreement during the regular legislative session.  After the session ended on May 18, Governor Dayton vetoed three major budget bills — the E-12 Education bill, the Agriculture and Environment bill and the Jobs and Economic Development bill.  Legislators ran out of time and failed to pass the Legacy bill, the bonding bill and the Revisor’s bill (a technical corrections bill).  After intense negotiations conducted largely between Governor Dayton and Speaker Daudt, an agreement was reached to hold a one-day special session to pass new versions of the three budget bills that were vetoed, along with the other three major bills for which time ran out. The special session was held on June 12.  A revolt among Senate DFLers who were opposed to controversial provisions in the Agriculture and Environment bill threatened to derail the special session, but in the end all six bills were passed and Governor Dayton immediately signed them into law.

Library Appropriations in the E-12 Budget:  Current funding levels were maintained for Regional Library Basic System Support (RLBSS), Regional Library Telecommunications Aid (RLTA), Multi-types, the Electronic Library for Minnesota (ELM) and Telecommunications Equity Aid (TEA).  The MLA/ITEM platform called for increases in RLBSS, RLTA, Multi-type funding and TEA.  We had excellent hearings on each of these requests in both the House Education Finance Committee and the Senate E-12 Budget Division, but the low targets set for education in both bodies ($157 million in the House and $365 million in the Senate) made it extremely difficult to get funding increases.  The Senate E-12 education bill did include an increase in RLBSS of $1.5 million per year along with a formula change that increased the base portion and reduced the ANTC  portion.  The Senate bill also included an increase in funding for TEA of $1.5 million per year for the 16-17 biennium only.  Neither of these increases survived the conference committee.  The general education formula and early learning were the top priorities for legislators and the governor, and almost all of the new funding ultimately went to those two areas.

School Technology:  The Senate E-12 education bill included a provision requiring school districts to reserve future increases in revenue from the School Endowment Fund for technology and telecommunications infrastructure, programs and training.  The provision did not survive the conference committee.

After School Funding:  The MLA/ITEM platform endorsed funding for high quality after school programs.  The Senate E-12 education bill provided $500,000 per year for after school programs in the 16-17 biennium only, but this funding did not survive the conference committee.

General Education Formula:  The final E-12 education bill increases the general education formula by 2% in each of the next two years.  The formula allowance is going from $5,831 per pupil to $5,948 in FY 2016 and to $6,067 in FY 2017.  Just over 2/3 of the new spending in E-12 education went to pay for this increase.

RLTA Language:  The final E-12 education bill included language proposed by MDE and supported by MLA that more closely aligns RLTA with the federal e-rate program.

School Technology  Plans:  The final E-12 education bill repealed a requirement that school districts have a technology plan on file with MDE in order to qualify for TEA.  This was proposed by MDE.

1:1 Device Guidelines:  The final E-12 education bill requires MDE to research existing 1:1 device programs in Minnesota and across the country to determine best practices and to issue guidelines no later than February 15, 2016 and submit a report to the Legislature.

Data Privacy:  The final E-12 education bill also includes a provision conforming Minnesota’s law governing student records to conform to recent changes in federal law.  The St. Paul Public Schools initiated this bill to allow them to share student addresses with the St. Paul Public Library so that every student can be issued a public library card at school.  Without this legislation the school district would only be able to share student addresses with the public library if the school district classified the addresses as public information.

Legacy Funding for Regional Public Libraries:  Regional public libraries will receive $2.2 million in legacy funding in each of the next two years.  This is less than the $3 million per year that was allocated for the FY 14-15 biennium.  Legislators in both bodies were adamant that no one had a base budget for Legacy funds, and therefore it was not appropriate to characterize it as a cut or even to complain about receiving less than in the previous biennium.  The House bill provided $1.5 million for FY 16 and $2.5 million in FY 17, while the Senate bill provided $2.95 million each year.  The initial version of the bill that was presented to the public as the conference committee agreement included the House level of funding for regional public libraries.  However, an amendment was made at the last minute to add $400,000 over the biennium.  Thank you to all of you who contacted the conferees.  I do believe you made a difference.

Legacy Funding for the Minnesota Digital Library:  The Minnesota Digital Library will receive $300,000 per year, which is the same level of funding provided over the last two years.  As in the past, the funding is appropriated to the Minnesota Historical Society with a directive to cooperate with Minitex and jointly share the appropriation.

Higher Education:  Funding for Minitex and MnLink will remain at the current level.   MnSCU received an increase of $100 million for tuition relief and the University of Minnesota received an increase of $52 million, which includes $30 million for the medical school and $22 million for tuition relief.   The Minnesota Electronic Health Library was not funded.

Border to Border Broadband Grants:   The final Jobs and Economic Development bill included $10, 838,000 for broadband grants.  This is in contrast to the $20 million provided in the 2014 session and the $30 million proposed by Governor Dayton in his budget.

Seed Library:  Inspired by the seed library at the Duluth Public Library, the final agriculture policy bill included an exemption from seed regulations for “interpersonal sharing of seed for home, educational, charitable or personal non-commercial use.” 

Data Practices Training for Local Government:  The League of Minnesota Cities initiated a bill to provide funding so that the Department of Administration could provide training to local government officials on complying with the Minnesota Data Practices Act. The Senate included $100,000 for this in its State Government Finance bill, but the House provided no funding.  Like so many other things that were funded in the Senate but not the House, this did not survive the conference committee.

Library Construction Grants:  Governor Dayton proposed an unusually large bonding bill for an odd-numbered year, and it included $2 million for Library Construction Grants.  This is the first time that a governor has included funding for this program in his capital budget.  In the end, the governor and legislators agreed on a far more modest bonding bill consisting mainly of urgent items.  In preparation for 2016, we had a bill introduced to provide $10 million for Library Construction Grants (SF 2179/ HF 2353).  Our chief authors are Senator Kent Eken (DFL – Twin Valley) and Rep. Jeff Howe (R – Cold Spring).

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/oddkzbj, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

MLA Conference Recap

better_together_-_smallAs the legion of librarians descended on Mankato, MN for the 2014 MLA conference, there was excitement in the air. Several commented on how they couldn’t quite believe that they had physically disengaged from their workplace, but having done so, felt excited about two days of learning.

The event began with keynote speakers Tiffany Eatman Allen and Susanne Markgren. They focused on simple and painless steps to add professional development into (and change up) library careers. They engaged the audience in live polling, and offered a rich resource list too.

  • Their presentation includes ten professional development action steps along with the results of the live polls.
  • While the presentation is good, they also shared a wonderful pdf authored by Educause titled, Creating a Professional Development Plan, which is enormously helpful in many ways. It includes skills and values assessment check lists, which can help you focus on the type of job you may thrive in! It also includes helpful exercises in forming an action plan for further developing yourself.
  • Got a question you want to ask about your library career? Tiffany and Susanne are part of the Library Career People team, so use their web form to get their advice!
  • Follow them on Twitter: @LibCareerPeople

Other Helpful Conference Links  and Takeaways:

 

Session participants were asked to sum up the 23 Mobile Things program in one word or phrase.

  • “Refreshing, invigorating!”
  • “Much better than a poke in the eye” (spoken by a possible luddite!)
  • “23 Mobile Things keep you 23 steps ahead of your patrons.” That’s the idea folks….

https://twitter.com/valeriehorton/status/519959132242472960

Are you sad that you were unable to register for, or finish the 23 Mobile Things program last year? No worries, due to popular demand, we will be doing a second round of the program beginning in mid-January 2015. Now is a great time to get a strategy for securing  a mobile device so you can easily do the program. Put that smart phone or tablet on your Christmas list soon!

Recap from the Last Legislative Session

Image by bambibabe48. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common's licensing.
Image by bambibabe48. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common’s licensing.

Are you starting to think about the upcoming legislative session and what that will mean for libraries and schools? No? Well, that is probably OK since the next session does not begin until February 25, 2014! This year will be a bonding year rather than a funding year, which usually provides relief from some of the extreme highs and lows that libraries and schools experience around budget issues. For your convenience, here is a recap of the last session written by Elaine Keefe, our MLA/MEMO lobbyist representing our library and school media issues at the State Capitol.

Elaine writes…..below is a summary of the 2013 legislative session.  Most of this information has appeared in previous reports.

State Budget Overview:  The Legislature and Governor Dayton agreed on a budget for the 2014-15 biennium that erases a projected $627 million deficit and provides additional funding for education and local governments.  In order to raise the revenue to accomplish this, income taxes were increased on the top 2% of income tax filers, cigarette taxes were increased by $1.60 per pack and the sales tax was broadened to include some business services.  With DFL majorities in both the House and Senate and a DFL governor, the budget negotiations were far less contentious than they were two years ago when most of state government was shut down for 20 days because Governor Dayton and the Republican-controlled Legislature were unable to agree on a budget.

Here is a summary of legislative action affecting libraries:

Education Payment Shift:  Repayment of the shift has proceeded much more rapidly than many had expected.  Under current law, whenever a state economic forecast projects a budget surplus, the surplus must first be used to replenish the state budget reserve (if necessary) and any remaining surplus must be used to repay the shift until a 90% /10% payment schedule is achieved. Although the November 2012 and February 2013 forecasts both projected a deficit for the 2014-15 biennium, those forecasts also projected surpluses at the close of the current biennium, which ends on June 30.  Hence, the shift was reduced by $1.3 billion after the November forecast and by another $290 million after the February forecast, resulting in a current payment schedule of 86.4% / 13.6%.  Under the budget deal reached by the Governor and Legislature, if there is a surplus after the close of the current biennium, that amount will be used to repay the shift without waiting for the November forecast.  The current estimate is that this will be another $300 million.  This should be sufficient to reach a 90/10 payment schedule.

Library Appropriations in the K-12 Budget:  Current funding was maintained for Regional Library Basic System Support, Regional Library Telecommunications Aid, Multi-types, ELM and Telecommunications Equity Aid. We also succeeded in getting an amendment included in the omnibus education bill changing the terminology for RLBSS and multi-type funding from “grant” to “aid” to better reflect how these programs are administered.

Homework Help:  Our bill to fund an online Homework Help service statewide was introduced in both bodies but did not receive a hearing.  There was heavy emphasis this year on providing additional funding for large existing programs, leaving little room in the budget for new initiatives. Our bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator John Hoffman (DFL – Champlin) and in the House by Rep. Kathy Brynaert (DFL – Mankato).

General Education Formula: The general education formula (which is the main source of funding for school media centers) will increase by 1.5% in each year of the biennium.  It will rise from the current $5,224 per pupil to $5,302 in FY 2014 and to $5,806 in FY 2015.

Total Operating Capital:  MDE included language in its omnibus policy bill that would have prohibited schools from using total operating capital to pay for annual licensing fees for software.  I raised a concern about that language on behalf of MEMO.  After much negotiation, MDE agreed to amend the language to specifically allow the use of total operating capital for software and annual licensing fees.  This passed in the omnibus education bill.

Minitex and MnLINK:  Funding for Minitex and MnLINK was increased by $300,000 per year.  It is the first increase for Minitex and MnLINK since the 2007 session.  Our authors were Senator Kent Eken (DFL – Twin Valley) and Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL – Golden Valley).

Higher Ed Systems:  MnSCU funding was increased by $102 million and the University of Minnesota by $79 million.  Most of these funds are earmarked for freezing undergraduate tuition.

Legacy Funding for Regional Public Libraries:  Regional Public Library Systems received $3 million per year to provide arts and historical programs. This is the same level of funding provided during the current biennium.  The funds will be distributed via a revised formula that replaces the equalization factor with a “qualifying system entities” factor.  We had to fight hard to retain this level of funding after the Senate bill proposed to reduce it to $1 million per year in an effort to maximize the funding for the State Arts Board.  Many thanks to everyone who contacted their senators and the members of the Legacy conference committee to urge them to maintain the current funding level for regional public libraries.  You were definitely heard!

Legacy Funding for the Minnesota Digital Library:  The Minnesota Digital Library received $300,000 per year.  This is an increase over the current $250,000 per year appropriation.  As in the past, this funding is appropriated to the Minnesota Historical Society with a directive to cooperate with Minitex and jointly share the appropriation.

Legacy Percentage to the State Arts Board:  The Senate Legacy bill added a provision in statute requiring that 50% of all future appropriations from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund would be allocated to the State Arts Board.  Senator Cohen insisted that this was the intent when the Legacy Amendment was passed.  The final bill requires that 47% go to the State Arts board in the future.

Data Privacy:  Our bill to extend current data privacy protection for public library patron records to electronic data stored by a vendor was introduced by Senator Kari Dziedzic (DFL – Minneapolis) and Rep. Steve Simon (DFL – St. Louis Park).  It was heard in both bodies and passed out of the House Data Practices Subcommittee before we learned that other provisions in current law already afforded this protection to such data.  Our bill became the vehicle for the omnibus data practices bill, but our provision was deleted after we learned it was unnecessary.

Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants:  Although it was not a traditional bonding year, the Governor and the House were eager to see a large bonding bill pass. We were encouraged to get a bill introduced to fund Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants, and so a bill to provide $3 million was introduced by Rep. Mary Murphy (DFL – Hermantown) and Senator Alice Johnson (DFL – Spring Lake Park).  The House included $1.5 million in the final version of its bonding bill, but the bill failed to get the required supermajority on the House floor.  It needed 81 votes and only got 76 votes.  The Senate never did produce a major bonding bill.  In the end, a very small $176 million bill passed, with most of the funds allocated for renovation of the Capitol.  A major bonding bill will be on the agenda for 2014.

Aid to Cities and Counties:  Aid to cities was increased by $80 million and aid to counties was increased by $40 million.  The trade-off is that levy limits will be in place for 2014.  The limits are relatively generous — the city or county’s aid plus levy for either 2012 or 2013, whichever is greater, plus 3%.

Sales Tax on City and County Purchases:  Cities and counties will no longer have to pay sales tax on their purchases beginning January 1.  The sales tax was imposed on local units of government (except for school districts) in 1992 as a way to solve a budget deficit.  There have been repeated attempts to repeal the tax since then, and despite broad agreement that the tax was bad policy, it was difficult to repeal it because of the loss of revenue to the state. This is a great win for cities and counties.  Public libraries were partially taxed and partially exempted in 1992 when the tax was first passed.  We won a full exemption a few years later, so this will not have a direct effect on public libraries.

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