Legislative Update

Education Funding Bill: Despite optimistic reports yesterday that a budget agreement between the Governor and legislative leaders was imminent, talks broke down in the early evening. Later in the evening, the House and Senate passed HF 6, the education funding bill (see my report from yesterday for details of that bill). Governor Pawlenty has said he will veto the bill. The question is whether a veto might be overridden. The bill passed last night by wide margins in both bodies, receiving 97 votes in the House (where 90 votes are needed for an override) and 55 votes in the Senate (where 45 votes are needed for an override). Typically, there will be some legislators, especially those of the same party as the Governor, who will vote for a bill but are not willing to vote to override a veto.

Real ID: Last night the House and Senate also passed another bill prohibiting Minnesota from complying with the federal Real ID Act. The American Library Association opposes Real ID, as do many other organizations. This bill, HF 3807, is also expected to be vetoed. The bill passed the Senate with 50 votes and the House with 103 votes, so a veto override is possible.

Levy Limits: Governor Pawlenty is insisting on very strict levy limits on cities and counties as part of the overall budget agreement. Although we do not have a formal position on levy limits, public libraries could be adversely affected by levy limits. You may want to contact your legislator about this issue.

Education Policy Bill Vetoed: As expected, the Governor vetoed the omnibus education policy bill yesterday. You can access his veto message.

Legislative Update

We are in the final week of the legislative session. Legislators must adjourn no later than Monday, May 19 and they are prohibited from passing any bills on the day of adjournment. This means that the last day for passing bills will be either Saturday or Sunday. Sunday floor sessions are not prohibited, but they are generally avoided.

The Governor and legislative leaders have not reached a budget agreement. Negotiations are continuing. The key issue is levy limits for cities and counties. The omnibus tax bill that was agreed upon over the weekend by the House and Senate includes levy limits, but the Governor has said that they are not strict enough.

The House and Senate have agreed on a tax bill, a budget bill and a separate education funding bill, but have not yet taken these bills up on the floor. If there is an agreement with the Governor, the bills will be amended to reflect that agreement and will then be brought to the floor for passage. If there is not an agreement the bills will be brought to the floor for passage in their present form, and the Governor would veto them. If this happens, the Governor will have the choice of calling a special session or using his authority to unallot spending in order to balance the budget.

Here is a summary of the provisions of interest in the tax and budget bills that have been agreed upon by the Legislature (keep in mind that these may change if there is an agreement with the Governor):

E-12 Education Funding Bill (HF 6): The education funding items that had been part of the omnibus budget bill were moved in to a separate education funding bill over the weekend, but the substance has not changed. This bill raises the general education formula by $51 per pupil on a one-time basis, raises the general education formula by $35 per pupil in future years (through eliminating the permanent fund subtraction), and allows school districts to transfer up to $51 per pupil from total operating capital to their general fund. It also cuts the Department of Education operating budget by 4%. These provisions were all previously included in the agreement reached by the E-12 Working Group nearly a month ago (see my update from April 18).

Omnibus Tax Bill (HF 3149): The bill agreed upon by the tax conference committee over the weekend increase aid to cities by $55 million and to counties by $27 million. It also imposes levy limits on cities and counties beginning in 2009, but only if the increases in aid go into effect. The bill also includes a provision raising the limit on the amount that Anoka County can bond for library buildings.

Omnibus Budget Bill (HF 1812): The bill cuts the general appropriation for MnSCU by $6.6 million per year and cuts the University of Minnesota by $5.2 million in FY 08 and 09 and by $7.7 million per year in the next biennium.

Omnibus Education Policy Bill (SF 3001): The education policy conference committee reached agreement last week, and the bill was passed on the House and Senate floors. The bill was presented to Governor Pawlenty on Friday. He has until midnight tonight to sign or veto the bill. He is expected to veto it. Provisions of interest in the final bill include the establishment of a technology task force that will develop statewide technology standards for schools and a provision changing the name of the Minnesota Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped to the Braille and Talking Book Library and allowing its advisory council to meet electronically. The provision in the Senate version of the bill allowing ELM access to public libraries that are not members of their regional library was not included in the conference committee agreement.

Legislative Update

Aid to Cities and Counties: The House version of the omnibus tax bill was made public yesterday morning. It increases local government aid to cities by $50 million and county program aid by $20 million. Like the Senate's tax bill, it does not include the Governor's proposal to impose levy limits. The House Tax Committee will consider amendments to the tax bill later today and will then pass the bill out of committee.

Omnibus Education Policy Bill (SF 3001): Last night the House passed its version of the omnibus education policy bill after six hours of debate. Much of the controversy centered around a sex education provision that was added to the bill on the floor. The bill will next go to a conference committee. Both the House and Senate versions of the bill include the establishment of a technology task force charged with establishing technology standards for K-12 schools. This would continue the work of a task force convened by the Department of Education whose members include Gary Ganje and Patrick Plant. Both versions of the bill also include a provision changing the name of the Minnesota Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped to the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library and allowing its advisory council to conduct meetings via telephone or other electronic means under certain conditions. The Senate version also allows ELM access for unaffiliated public libraries.

Broadband Task Force (SF 1918): The Governor has signed the bill establishing a task force to make recommendations regarding the creation of a state ultra high-speed broadband goal and a plan to implement that goal. The task force includes representatives of business, state agencies, higher education, K-12 schools and regional public libraries. The task force will be appointed by the Governor.

REAL ID: As expected, Governor Pawlenty has vetoed HF 1351, the omnibus transportation policy bill, because of his objections to a provision prohibiting Minnesota from complying with the federal REAL ID law unless the federal government funds at least 95% of the cost of compliance. The American Library Association is opposed to REAL ID. You can access the governor's veto message via this link:
http://www.governor.state.mn.us/stellent/groups/public/documents/web_content/prod008848.pdf

Legislative Update

This afternoon Governor Pawlenty line-item vetoed $208 million from the bonding bill that was passed by the Legislature last week. A total of 52 projects were vetoed. The good news is that no library projects were vetoed. Because the MLA legislative listserv was down last week, my update on the bonding bill bounced. It did go through on the MEMO listserv. For those who did not receive that update, the bonding bill included the following amounts for library projects:

Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants: $1.5 million
Northland Community and Technical College: $7.8 million
Minnesota State Community and Technical College - Moorhead: $2.5 million
Hennepin Technical College: $2.4 million
Minnesota State University Moorhead: $400,000

Legislative Update

This week a number of the major budget bills have been rolled out. Earlier in the week I reported on the House K-12 education funding bill. Since then, the Senate E-12 education funding bill, the Senate Tax bill, and the House and Senate Higher Education bills have been released. Here are the highlights:

Senate E-12 Education Funding bill: The bill was released this morning. It makes no changes to any library appropriations. The main feature of the bill is an increase in funding of $35 per pupil for schools. This funding is generated by repealing the permanent fund subtraction, thereby keeping the revenues generated by school trust lands in the K-12 education budget. Although this funding increase is smaller than the $51 per pupil included in the House K-12 bill, the Senate funding increase is ongoing, while the House increase is for FY 09 only. The bill cuts the Department of Education's operating budget by slightly more than the 4% reduction recommended by the Governor.

Senate Tax Bill: The bill increases Local Government Aid for cities by $70 million and increases County Program Aid by $40 million. Both LGA and CPA would be indexed to inflation in subsequent years. The bill does not include levy limits.

Senate Higher Education Funding Bill: The bill makes no changes to the appropriations for Minitex or MnLINK. It reduces general operating funds for the University of Minnesota by $15.5 million and for MnSCU by $6.5 million.

House Higher Education Funding Bill: The bill makes no changes to the appropriations for Minitex or MnLINK. It reduces general operating funds for the University of Minnesota by $6.2 million and for MnSCU by $6.2 million.

As is often done in the even-numbered year session, the funding bills for specific areas of the budget will be merged into one omnibus supplemental budget bill. That bill is likely to be taken up on the floor of both bodies next week.

Legislative Update

The Legislature returns tomorrow from its Easter break. The Legislature's constitutional adjournment deadline of May 19 is eight weeks from today, so we are entering the home stretch of the 2008 session. I thought this would be a good time review the status of MLA/MEMO platform items and other legislative issues of interest. Here is a summary:

State Budget: This week legislative action will be focused on the budget. Although this is not a budget year, legislators must make adjustments in order to solve a projected $935 million state budget deficit. The deadline for omnibus budget bills to emerge from committee is Friday, March 28. Only one of the budget bills that impact libraries has been made public to date. Last Wednesday the House K-12 Education Finance Division made public its proposed budget bill, and it contained good news. There are no cuts to any library appropriations. The bill even provides a one-time increase in basic aid of $51 per pupil to schools. (See the paragraph below on the general education increase for more detail). The K-12 Division will meet on Tuesday, March 25 to consider amendments and take final action on the bill.

Bonding: The bonding bill remains at a standstill. Early in the session the House and Senate moved quickly to pass their respective versions of the bonding bill and get it to a conference committee, with the goal of sending a final bill to the Governor by March 15. However, that deadline has come and gone, and although the conference committee was appointed on March 6, and it has not yet held a public meeting. The sticking point is the lack of agreement on the overall size of the bill. The Governor insists on a bill no larger than $825 million -- about $140 million less than the bills passed by the House and Senate and the bill originally proposed by the Governor. The House is willing to abide by the Governor's limit, but the Senate has been holding out for a larger bill.

Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants: The House bonding bill includes $2 million, and the Senate bonding bill includes $1 million.

Academic Library Capital Projects: All four of the academic library projects that appear on the MLA/MEMO platform are still alive in the bonding conference committee negotiations. Here are the amounts included in each bill:

• Northland Community and Technical College: House: $7.8 million Senate: $7.8 million
• Minnesota State Community and Technical College - Moorhead: House: $2.5 million Senate: $2.5 million
• Hennepin Technical College: House: $2.4 million Senate: $2.4 million
• Minnesota State University Moorhead: House: $400,000 Senate: $400,000

Local Government Aid and County Program Aid: Cities and counties were a bit surprised and very relieved that the Governor did not propose any cuts to their state aid in his budget. Given the budget deficit, the likelihood of an increase in aid to cities and counties appears slim.
LMS In Every School: Our bill to require a licensed library media specialist in every school was heard in the Senate Education Committee on Library Legislative Day. Despite excellent testimony from library media specialists, students and a parent, the bill failed to advance. Legislators were concerned about imposing a unfunded mandate on schools at a time when funding is scarce.

General Education Increase: As noted above, the House K-12 Education Finance bill includes a one-time increase of $51 per pupil for schools, an increase of about 1%. The price tag for this increase is $44 million in FY 09. According to Rep. Mindy Greiling (DFL - Roseville), the funding comes from three sources: 1) a cut in the Q-Comp program; 2) a 4% cut to the Department of Education's operating budget; and 3) the state budget reserve.

School Technology: Both the House and Senate versions of the omnibus education policy bill include a proposal to formalize the existing Minnesota Education Technology Task Force (METT). Both Patrick Plant and Gary Ganje serve on the METT, so MEMO is well represented. The legislation directs the METT to develop statewide technology standards for school districts.
In addition, a proposal to dedicate all or part of the school trust land revenue to technology is getting serious consideration in both the House and Senate. The permitted uses include the purchase of library media materials and library technology. The House K-12 Education Finance bill dedicates all future growth in school trust land revenue to this purpose. A similar proposal is expected to be included in the Senate's E-12 Education Budget bill that will be unveiled on Thursday.

ELM: A bill to provide access to ELM for the five public libraries in the state that are not affiliated with their regional library is included in the Senate version of the omnibus education policy bill. The bill did not receive a hearing in the House. MLA opposes this bill.

Broadband Task Force: A bill to establish a task force to develop a plan to ensure access to ultra high-speed broadband for every Minnesotan has passed the Senate and is awaiting a vote on the House floor. The bill provides for representatives of K-12 schools, higher education and regional libraries to be included in the task force.

Levy Limits: The Governor has proposed strict levy limits for cities and counties. His proposal has gotten a very cool reception in the House and Senate Tax Committees.
Carver County Library Board: A bill to make the Carver County Library Board advisory to the County Board has passed out of committee in both the House and the Senate and is awaiting a floor vote in both bodies.

Legislative Update

Bonding Bill: The bonding conference committee was appointed last Thursday evening, but they have still not held any public meetings. House and Senate leaders are at odds over the total size of the bill. The House is committed to reducing the bill to $825 million, which would keep the bill within the traditional debt service limit of 3% of state revenue. The Governor also supports a limit of $825 million. The Senate is arguing for a larger bill. Until that issue is resolved, the conference committee will not meet to begin negotiating the specific projects in the bill.

Levy Limits: The Governor's tax proposal has been introduced and it includes very strict levy limits for cities with populations over 2,500 and for counties. The Governor's bill, SF 3665/ HF3967, is scheduled to be heard next Monday, March 17 in the House Tax Committee.

ELM for Unaffiliated Libraries: SF 2821, the bill providing access to the ELM databases for public libraries that are not members of their regional library, has been included in SF 3001, the omnibus education policy bill. SF 3001 passed out of the Senate Education Committee this evening and is scheduled to be heard in the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee on Friday.

K-12 Technology Standards: The bill introduced by Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL - Golden Valley) and Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL - Minnetonka) to establish a task force to develop technology standards for schools has been included in both the House and Senate versions of the omnibus education policy bill (SF 3001/ HF 3316). SF 3001 passed out of the Senate Education Committee this evening. HF 3316 is expected to pass out of the House E-12 Education Committee on Thursday.

P-20 Partnership: A modified version of SF 2370, Senator Chuck Wiger's bill to establish a P-20 partnership of education organizations and state agencies, has been included in SF 3001, the omnibus education policy bill. The modified version limits the membership to the organizations that are currently participating in the P-16 Partnership. In an earlier version of the bill a number of organizations had been added to the partnership, including MEMO and MLA. However, legislators felt that the additions were making the group too large and unwieldy, with more and more organizations asking to be added, so they decided to return the group to its current membership.

Legislative Update

Bonding Bill: The bonding bill passed on the House floor this afternoon. The conference committee was appointed this evening, and the word is that they plan to meet through the weekend and complete work on the bill so that it can be brought to the floor for final passage early in the week, possibly as soon as Monday. The final bill is expected to be substantially smaller than the bills that have passed the House and Senate because the new economic forecast shows that state revenues have declined. Tradition dictates that the state spend no more than 3% of revenues on debt service, and this would mean the bonding bill could be no bigger than about $825 million. By contrast, the bills that have passed the House and Senate are closer to $1.1 billion. This means that the negotiations will be brutal, and many projects will fall by the wayside.

The House bill includes $2 million for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants and the Senate bill includes $1 million. Please contact the conferees listed below and urge them to include $2 million for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants in the bonding bill.

Senator Keith Langseth (DFL -Glyndon) 651-296-3205 http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1029&ls=85

Senator Sandy Pappas (DFL - St. Paul) 651-296-1802 http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1046&ls=85
Senator Dave Tomassoni (DFL - Chisholm) 651-296-8017 sen.david.tomassoni@senate.mn
Senator Linda Scheid (DFL -Brooklyn Park) 651-296-8869 http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1057&ls=85
Senator Paul Koering (R - Fort Ripley) 651-296-4875 sen.paul.koering@senate.mn
Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL - St. Paul) 651-296- 3824 rep.alice.hausman@house.mn
Rep. Jean Wagenius (DFL - Minneapolis) 651-296-4200 rep.jean.wagenius@house.mn
Rep. Loren Solberg (DFL - Grand Rapids) 651-296-2365 rep.loren.solberg@house.mn
Rep. Bev Scalze (DFL - Little Canada) 651-296-7153 rep.bev.scalze@house.mn
Rep. Kathy Tingelstad (R - Andover) 651-296-5369 rep.kathy.tingelstad@house.mn

Library Informational Hearing: On Monday the House Education Finance and Economic Competitiveness Division held an informational hearing on libraries, and it went very well. The committee heard excellent testimony from Mark Ranum on regional libraries, Melanie Huggins on early literacy, Ann Walker Smalley on multi-type libraries, Bill DeJohn on Minitex, MnLINK and ELM, Leslie Yoder on school library media programs, and Peg Werner on telecommunications.

ELM for Unaffiliated Libraries: The House companion to SF 2821, the bill that allows ELM access for public libraries that are not members of their regional library, was introduced on Monday by Rep. Jeremy Kalin (DFL - Lindstrom). The bill is HF 3730. MLA opposes this bill.

Broadband Task Force: SF 1918, the bill establishing a task force to develop a plan to ensure that every Minnesotan has access to broadband service, has been amended to include a representative of public libraries on the task force. Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon (DFL - Duluth) is chief author of the bill. Rep. Sandra Masin (DFL - Eagan), the author of the House companion, HF 2107, has agreed to include a library representative in her bill as well.

Legislative Update

Bonding Bill: This morning the House Capital Investment Committee released the House bonding bill. The bill includes $2 million for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants. This is far less than the $10 million we had requested, but it is still more than the $1 million that is included in the Senate bonding bill.

All of the academic library projects that are supported on the MLA/MEMO platform received funding in the House bill. Here is a breakdown:

Northland Community and Technical College: Amount requested: $7.8 million Amount included in the House bonding bill: $7.8 million

Minnesota State Community and Technical College, Moorhead: Amount requested: $2.8 million Amount included in the House bonding bill: $2.5 million

Hennepin Technical College: Amount requested: $2.4 million Amount included in the House bonding bill: $2.4 million

Minnesota State University Moorhead: Amount requested: $700,000 Amount included in the House bonding bill: $400,000

The House bonding bill also includes an exception to the current requirement that in a case where property that has been acquired or improved using state bond funds is later sold, the amount received from the state must be repaid, along with a proportional share of the appreciation in the value of the property. The exception is provided for projects that meet the following conditions: 1) The state bonds that were used to finance the project are no longer outstanding; 2) No more than $100,000 in state bond funds were used for the project and other funds besides bond funds were also used; and 3) the property was owned and directly operated by a local unit of government. This issue was brought to the attention of legislators by the Ramsey County Library, which was required to repay a library accessibility grant when the North St. Paul Library was sold.

The bonding bill will be taken up on the House floor on Thursday.

Legislative Update

The Legislature convened the 2008 session just over a week ago, and there has already been plenty of action. Last week both the House and Senate passed a constitutional amendment to raise the sales tax by 3/8% and dedicate the funding to conservation and the arts. The amendment will be on the ballot this fall. Today the House and Senate are taking up a transportation funding package. Governor Pawlenty has said he will veto the bill. Both bodies will attempt to override the expected veto next week. In the meantime, committee hearings are being held on a wide variety of bills.

State Economic Forecast: The forecast will be released on Thursday, February 28. The speculation is that the projected deficit will be between $600 and $800 million, but some legislators are saying it will be closer to $1 billion. The size of the deficit will dictate the extent to which budget cuts will need to be made.

Here is an update on library issues, with MLA/MEMO platform items listed first:

Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants: Our bill has advanced in both the House and the Senate. Below are the details.

House: HF 2558, authored by Rep. Mary Murphy (DFL - Hermantown), was heard in the House K-12 Education Finance Division on Tuesday, February 12. I presented testimony along with Sharon Strack, Milaca Public Library, John Bowden, Marshall-Lyon County Library Foundation, and Nate Mathews, City Administrator of Staples. The testimony was very well received. Yesterday the Division adopted its capital recommendations, ranking each of the projects that had come before it as high, medium or low priority. Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants were designated a high priority, and the full $10 million we had requested was included in the committee recommendation. There were 16 projects that came before the K-12 Finance Division, and 4 of those projects were designated a high priority. The Division recommendations will next go to the House Capital Investment Committee, where they will be heard on Monday, February 25. On Tuesday, February 26, the Capital Investment Committee will unveil its omnibus bonding bill.

Senate: SF 2682, authored by Senator Dan Skogen (DFL - Hewitt), was heard in the Senate E-12 Education Budget Division on Wednesday, February 20. I presented testimony along with Sharon Strack, Milaca Public Library, and Ben Schierer, Fergus Falls City Councilman. After hearing 15 projects, the Division voted to include 13 projects in its recommendation to the Senate Capital Investment Committee, although the recommended amounts for some projects was reduced. Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants were recommended for the full $10 million that we requested. The projects were not ranked.

LGA and County Program Aid: I have spoken with lobbyists for the League of Minnesota Cities and informed them that we want to be actively involved in advocating for an increase in LGA. They do expect to have a bill to do that, but it is not finalized yet. Given the budget deficit, they are not optimistic about the likelihood of an increase going forward. They are bracing for the possibility that the Governor will propose cuts in LGA and County Program Aid in order to balance the budget. We may need to shift gears and help our cities and counties to fend off cuts. I will keep you posted.

LMS Bill: The bill to require every school to have a licensed library media specialist will be introduced on Monday by Senator Kathy Saltzman (DFL - Woodbury) and Rep. Marcia Swails (DFL - Woodbury). The bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, February 27 at 3pm. The hearing will take place in Room 15 of the Capitol. February 27 is Library Legislative Day, so we'd like to have a big crowd attend the hearing. We have three library media specialists set to testify along with several students. The bill is controversial because it is an unfunded mandate on schools. The committee may simply hear the testimony for informational purposes and not take action on the bill. This will be an opportunity to educate legislators about the important work that library media specialists do and the impact they have on student achievement.

General Education Formula: School organizations have coalesced around a bill that would increase the general ed formula by 2% next year (this would be in addition to the 1% increase that was passed last year) and fully fund the state's special ed formula. This is a very expensive bill, and given the budget deficit, its chances of passage are slim. The bill is HF 2978/SF 2815. It has been introduced by Rep. Will Morgan (DFL - Burnsville) and Senator Tom Saxhaug (DFL - Grand Rapids).

School Technology: The MLA/MEMO platform supports the recommendations of the Task Force on K-12 Technology Standards. The report was released several weeks ago, and the recommendations are being drafted into a bill that will be introduced by Senator Terri Bonoff (DFL - Minnetonka). The bill will be heard in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, March 5.

In addition, SF 2392/HF 2973 has been introduced by Senator Chuck Wiger (DFL - N. St. Paul) and Rep. Denise Dittrich (DFL - Champlin) to dedicate school trust land revenue to school technology and library media resources. This would generate about $19 million per year. Currently, school trust land revenue goes into the state's general fund. These same legislators have also introduced another version of the bill that would ensure that school trust land revenue goes to K-12 schools but does not dedicate the revenue to technology. Both versions of the bill were heard in the Senate Education Committee on Monday, February 18. Both bills passed and were referred to the Senate E-12 Education Budget Division, where both bills will will be heard on Tuesday, February 26.

Last week in his state of the state address the Governor proposed establishing a digital toolbox for teachers and students. This morning Commissioner Alice Seagren made a presentation in the Senate E-12 Education Budget Division on the Governor's education proposals. Details on this particular item were a bit sketchy. Commissioner Seagren mentioned providing online tutorials for students, online courses for students in grades 6-12 and curriculum ideas for teachers. More details will be provided when the Governor's supplemental budget is released in March.

ELM Access: SF 2821, a bill to allow public libraries that are not members of their regional library to have access to ELM, was introduced on Monday, February 18 by Senator Ann Lynch (DFL - Rochester). MLA opposes this bill. The bill was heard in the Senate Education Committee yesterday. After a very spirited debate, the committee passed the bill on a divided voice vote. It was referred to the Senate E-12 Education Budget Division. Ken Behringer, MLA President-Elect, and I testified against the bill. Audrey Betcher, Director of the Rochester Public Library, Renee Lowery, Director of the Buckham Memorial Library in Faribault, and Charlotte Helgeson, Director of the East Grand Forks Public Library, testified in favor of the bill.

P-20 Education Partnership: Senator Chuck Wiger (DFL - N. St. Paul) and Rep. Marcia Swails (DFL - Woodbury) have introduced SF 2370 / HF 2783, a bill establishing a partnership of education organizations and state agencies. Its charge is to make recommendations to create a seamless system of education from early childhood through postsecondary education. The bill was heard in the Senate Education Committee on Monday, February 18. It was amended to include both MEMO and MLA in the partnership. The bill passed and was referred to the Senate State and Local Government Operations and Oversight Committee.

Legislative Session Begins

The 2008 legislative session begins today, and it promises to get off to a very quick start. The first committee deadline is March 14, which gives policy committees just slightly over a month to hear and process bills. Action on the bonding bill, which funds capital projects, will be very swift. Governor Pawlenty has said he wants the Legislature to send him a bonding bill no later than March 15, and legislative leaders have said they expect to have it to him even sooner than that. Despite the quick start, most observers expect the session to last until the constitutionally mandated adjournment date of May 19.

Here is a look at key issues for libraries:

Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants: MLA/MEMO is requesting $10 million for this grant program, which funds construction and renovation of public library buildings. This is a very ambitious request, given that we have never received more than $1.5 million for these grants in any bonding bill. The Department of Education submitted a request for $10 million through the Governor's process, but Governor Pawlenty did not include any funding for libraries in his capital budget. The Governor allocated nearly 40% of his capital budget to transportation, leaving little room for other projects. The Legislature will For every dollar available to be spent in the bonding bill, more than $4 has been requested, so competition is extremely fierce.

Our bill, HF 2558, has been introduced by Rep Mary Murphy (DFL - Hermantown). Co-authors are Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL - Minneapolis), Rep. Mindy Greiling (DFL - Roseville), Rep.Sondra Erickson (R - Princeton) and Rep. Bud Heidgerken (R - Freeport). Our bill will be heard on Tuesday, February 12 in the House K-12 Education Finance Division at 2:15pm in Room 10, State Office Building. We have an excellent group of witnesses who will testify in support of the bill.

The bill will be introduced in the Senate this week. The chief author in the Senate is Senator Dan Skogen (DFL - Hewitt). Our bill will be heard on Tuesday, February 19 in the Senate E-12 Education Finance Division at 8:30am in Room 112, Capitol.

ELM Bill: A bill to allow public libraries that are not members of their regional public library system to have access to the ELM databases will be introduced shortly by Senator Ann Lynch (DFL - Rochester). It is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, February 20 at 3pm in Room 15 of the Capitol. MLA opposes this bill. It has been a longstanding state policy that public libraries must be members of their regional public library in order to benefit from state library funding. State funding provides an incentive for libraries to cooperate together in order to deliver services effectively. This bill would undermine that incentive.

LMS Bill: The MLA/MEMO platform calls for legislation requiring all students to have the regular services of a licensed school media specialist. The bill is being drafted by legislative staff and Doug Johnson and I just negotiated the final bill language this morning. It will be ready for introduction soon. Our chief authors are Senator Kathy Saltzman (DFL - Woodbury) and Rep. Marcia Swails (DFL - Woodbury). This bill will be controversial and is likely to be opposed by school district lobbyists because it is an unfunded mandate.

Budget: The state has a budget deficit, and the only question is how large that deficit is. The November economic forecast projected a deficit of $373 million. The economy has worsened since then, and the next forecast, which will be released on February 28, is expected to show a much larger deficit, possibly even approaching $1 billion. Under that scenario, budget cuts are very likely. It will also make it next to impossible for the Legislature to increase funding for cities and counties and schools. The MLA/MEMO platform supports increases in aid to cities and counties and in the general education formula for schools.