News from the Capital

There are some new developments regarding both the capital investment bill to borrow $1 billion to fund projects all across Minnesota, and an effort to change the way we provide medical assistance to those on state programs.

Here’s the latest:

The House and Senate both passed their versions of the $1 billion borrowing bill and then a conference committee met to reconcile differences between the two. The conference committee met through the weekend and completed its work at 1 a.m. Monday. The bill then was presented to the Legislature for re-passage Monday evening.

Before the bill reached the House for debate and a vote, Governor Tim Pawlenty made an unusual move by sending a letter to legislators indicating he would veto the bill because it is over budget and lacks priorities. The House majority went ahead and rammed the bill through anyway and it appeared as if the Senate would do the same, sending the bill to the Governor’s desk where he would veto the bill altogether as promised.

But then the Senate had a revelation of sorts and decided against sending the bill to the Governor for a veto formality. The Senate held the bill back and now, apparently, some real negotiating is underway. Indications are much of the fluff – like sculpture gardens in Minneapolis – will be struck from the bill. That would leave us with a model much closer to the governor’s $685 million proposal, funding the essentials like flood mitigation in the Red River Valley, state building repair/replacement, transportation, veterans and public safety upgrades.

At the request of several city councils in the district, McLeod and Meeker County Commissioners, area hospital boards, and citizens groups, Senator Dille and I introduced a bonding bill request for paving of the Luce Line Trail from Winsted to Cedar Mills. A total of $2.37 million
for the Luce Line Trail was included in the bill coming out of the original conference committee, but may be subject to the further negotiations trying to pare down the size of the total bill to meet the Governor's target of $685 million of necessary and essential capital investments. Several residents of the district have advised me of their opposition to paving the trail through phone calls, e-mails, surveys, and town hall meetings. Many have voiced their concerns for taking care of our higher priorities in education, healthcare, transportation, and not increasing taxes. I respect and appreciate
their concerns. Other trails are developing near our area and we should look at a more comprehensive design to meet future connections and alternative funding resources as our economy recovers. The Luce Line Trail concerns many residents of District 18A and will continue to be a topic for discussion and refinement.

When the entire bonding bill is revised, we will have an opportunity to vote on it once more. Many folks feel we should not be doing a bonding bill at all during this economic downturn, but at least it looks like the new version would be smaller, more affordable, within our budget guidelines, and focused on priorities.

As for the medical assistance, the Governor vetoed a bill to extend the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) bill soon after its passage because he wants an uncompensated medical care fix to be included in a broader budget agreement.

I respect his decision and will uphold his veto if the majority moves on an override attempt. Minnesota is the only state in the country with this GAMC program and we need to enact real reform because the current system has grown to the point it is unsustainable.

A number of GAMC participants are eligible for other existing programs and we need to find a way of making sure our citizens – like veterans – are covered by the appropriate “umbrella.” Discussions continue in order to make the bill worthy of bipartisan support. My goal is to see that genuine needs of our citizens are taken care of, but that job can be done more efficiently by eliminating duplication and bureaucracy. I look forward to working with the Governor and other legislators to craft a bill with greater reform and cost containment.

Things are constantly changing with both of these bills, but I will keep you posted as things evolve.

Sincerely,
Ron

State Rep. Ron Shimanski
District 18A
227 State Office Building
St. Paul, MN 55155
651-296-1534