Legislative Update

This year's legislative session is scheduled to end in five weeks. The process is coming to the "serious negotiations" phase. I anticipate that some of our successes to this point will be at risk unless additional and ongoing communication with our legislators takes place. Since final spending targets will be determined by late April it will be most helpful to initiate those additional conversations, phone calls, letters, e-mail and notes over the next week.

The message is a simple one. Libraries and media centers should be priorities for Minnesota. The additional state funding needed to strengthen them has been recognized during the first part of the session. Please encourage your legislators to keep libraries and media centers important funding priorities as the final omnibus bills are being crafted. Friends, board members and other library advocates can be especially helpful at this time. Please do what you can to encourage their communication with local representatives at this time.

Thanks to everyone who has made legislative advocacy an important part of your "to do lists" this year. We've made much progress. Libraries have been recognized by many committees and individuals at the legislature as needing significant funding increases. With your help, we may be able to keep this need at or near the top of the legislative priority lists as the serious negotiations begin.

Thanks again for your help in making this legislative session a positive and productive one.

Verne Oleksowicz
Chair
MLA Legislative Committee