Posted: 6/14/07
Local legislators have mixed feelings about session results
By Joel Stottrup
Minnesotans will remember this legislative session as one that began with a few bills being passed early on, followed by a long gap of no action, and then a final rush, working into the night on the last day to passing some more legislation. All of it was followed by Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoing some major bills.
Princeton's State Rep. Sondra Erickson and State Sen. Betsy Wergin, both Republicans, favor much of what happened, but the two also expressed disappointment.
On the disappointment side, both say the state did not approve enough funding for nursing homes. Specifically, the amount of reimbursement to facilities for patients who are either on medical assistance or general assistance.
Wergin and Erickson are also vocal about the state not treating all school districts fair in funding—favoring the big metro schools in per-pupil aid over small districts like Princeton.
The two also stand firm against the bill signed into law that bans smoking in bars and restaurants, with some exceptions.
Here are Erickson and Wergin's comments on the session during an interview last week:
Smoking ban
Erickson and Wergin voted against the bill that now, as law, prohibits smoking in bars and restaurants.
People are still able to smoke in casinos, as well as during Indian celebrations, in farm buildings and on farm equipment, on stage if the script calls for smoking, in a psychiatric ward if the doctor says a patient needs to smoke, or in a location that a nursing home provides for the comfort of a resident to smoke.
"It will be interesting to see if the tribes [who have the casinos] ban smoking in their bars and restaurants [at the casinos]," said Erickson. If they don't, Erickson said, then the casinos could become havens for smokers.
"We think charitable gambling will be gravely affected," Erickson added.
Erickson and Wergin are similar in their reasons for opposing the smoking ban. Wergin said it was "an intrusion on property rights."
Erickson claims the ban is a violation of the Bill of Rights.
Both said that as long as something is legal, then the property owners should have the say whether or not it can be done on their premises.
There is no question Wergin and Erickson will be watching how the smoking ban will affect American Legion and VFW clubs.
Both local Legion and VFW members now share the Princeton VFW Club facilities.
Erickson, in fact is on a state committee to watch how the smoking ban will affect charitable gambling. The committee will focus on the period between this coming October and the next legislative session, which begins in February.
Veterans clubs or their auxiliaries have charitable gambling.
Erickson added that she has received calls from bar and restaurant owners wondering if the law prohibits smoking on a person's business property if it is outside the building. Erickson contends the new law is vague on that and said the attorney general has been asked to review the question.
The chief authors of the smoking ban, according to Erickson, say the law does not allow smoking on outdoor premises such as patios.
"I think we've stepped across the line," Erickson said about the law overall.
Wergin added that people can choose whether to enter an establishment.
"It bothers me at lot," Wergin said, "to see the American Legions and VFWs [affected by this]. These are soldiers we have to thank for our freedom and these clubs are built and run with volunteers."
Erickson noted that the Republican caucus challenged the governor when he announced he would sign the smoking ban bill. The governor, Wergin said, responded that such bans are becoming part of a "cultural change" and that smoking "will become a thing of the past."
"There is no definite proof," Erickson told the Union-Eagle, "that second-hand smoke causes cancer or any disease. At least my research shows that."
Vetoed transportation bill
Governor Pawlenty vetoed a transportation bill that would have raised the gas tax by 7.5 cents per gallon, of which five cents would have gone for roads and bridges and the remainder would have gone to pay off transportation bonding.
The bill would have also imposed a half cent sales tax in the seven-county metro area for transit, imposed a $20 vehicle wheelage tax and increased license tab fees.
Opponents of the bill pointed out that it would, if passed, cost a family of four with two vehicles an estimated $500 more per year.
Erickson and Wergin opposed the bill, both saying the increased costs would have been too much.
A $251 million "lights-on" bill was passed to keep the transportation funding going until the next session in February and to provide time for another look at funding transportation.
Asked for an alternative to help with transportation needs, Wergin suggested a 3-5 cents increase in the gas tax.
Erickson wouldn't increase the gas tax at all, she said. She noted that many of her constituents commute to work. It's easy for legislators in districts with relatively few commuters to call for a gas tax increase, she said.
Erickson's answer for meeting transportation needs is to use all the money for transportation that is designated for it and bond for the projects.
Erickson said the reason she voted against the transportation bill was because she thought the governor's proposal to borrow for state road projects was better. The interest rates are favorable now for that, Erickson argued.
Wergin said the proponents of the vetoed bill had the mentality of "We want it all," meaning they did not offer to compromise.
Nixed tax bill
The tax bill that was favored by the Democrat majority in the Legislature called for increasing the income tax rate on the highest income bracket to reduce property taxes.
"I don't think it makes sense to provide more money to decrease property taxes by increasing the tax bracket for certain high income folks," said Erickson. The high income earners are the ones who create the jobs, Erickson said, adding that they often have a blend of income that includes business profit.
The tax proposal would have put Minnesota tops for its highest income tax bracket, said Wergin.
Wergin also subscribes to the idea that raising the bracket raises the risk of high-income earners moving out of the state to places with less or no state income tax.
"It's always easy to raise someone else's taxes," Wergin continued. She also worried that it would lead to raising the income tax rates for other brackets.
But the Legislature did pass some overdue tax reform this last session by closing a corporate loophole, Wergin pointed out. Now corporate owners can no longer claim they have an overseas corporate operation just because they have an overseas bank account, Wergin explained. She figures the change in law will bring in another $108 million.
One big reason Pawlenty vetoed the tax bill, Wergin added, is that the bill had an auto-pilot provision of increasing the spending ahead based on inflation.
That cuts the chance of reviewing whether such funding increases are justified for programs, Wergin said.
Local government aid
The veto on the tax bill also cut out what would have been an increase in local government aid to cities. In the case of Princeton it would have meant another $120,000 per year.
"It's OK, but it was sold as property tax relief," said Wergin. "That's not the best form of property tax relief."
Princeton has a good city council so it would likely spend that extra money wisely, however that may not be the case for other cities across the state, said Wergin.
She also said the proposal was flawed for not including increased Local Government Aide (LGA) for townships and counties.
Wergin also objected to the vetoed tax bill's provision that would have given the first $22 million above projected revenue to the 21st Central Mineral Fund in northern Minnesota.
It would lock up money that the state could use to help nursing homes, or emergencies like flooding in Moorhead, said Wergin.
Erickson said she would heavily consider an increase in LGA if it was "fairly distributed."
Both also said that the cities will not be given less of an LGA rate than they have now.
Health care
Wergin said she is all right with the legislation that builds in more revenue for the Minnesota Care health care insurance which serves people who otherwise have difficulty getting health care coverage.
But Erickson and Wergin said the funding for nursing home operations was short changed.
It was "irritating" to see the Legislature go for legislation that uses $12.9 million from the general fund to advertise how people can sign up for public assistance programs, Wergin added. She called it a "horrible use of taxpayer money."
That money could be better spent to help nursing homes, Wergin said. "If we don't value our senior citizens and take care of them when they can't help themselves . . ."
There is also a high turnover of nursing assistants in the nursing homes and those workers can't be blamed for looking for better paying and less difficult jobs, said Wergin. She spoke of first hand experience of seeing the "hard work" and "excellent care" at the local Elim Home through having her mother-in-law there for 11 years.
Without better funding of nursing homes from the state, Erickson said, some of these homes may close or at least cut staff hours or they will be unable to implement some environmental plans such as improving the indoor air quality.
Erickson said the amount approved for welfare was too high an increase and expansion in cash assistance. The budget includes a $39 million increase for 2008-09 and a $53 million increase for 2010-11.
She said it also includes payments to certain non-citizens, refugees, and a reduction in sanctions if a recipient does not complete the work requirement, plus extends the time limits for non-compliance of the work requirement.
Each month ten percent of the welfare recipients come from outside the state, Erickson said. She also echoed Wergin's statements about the nursing homes' need for the money.
School funding
The Legislature gave an $803 million increase in funding for early childhood through 12th grade, noted Wergin.
But the bad part, said Wergin, is that it disproportionately favors the school districts in Minneapolis, St. Paul and the regional centers like St. Cloud, Duluth and Rochester.
Wergin said the Minneapolis district can levy for $15 million to construct school facilities, while a district like Princeton has to pass a referendum to build.
Wergin said she feels so strongly about the disparity in funding among school districts that this was the first educational funding bill she has voted against.
Wergin has been distributing information to other legislators on the aid formula to let them see the need for changes. She says she thinks she is making headway in getting others to see the inequity in funding across the state. She said there will be stiff opposition from the Twin Cities legislators.
But her proposal for a change, Wergin said, would not mean cutting back the aid the state gives the Minneapolis and St. Paul school districts now. Her idea, she explained, is to not give as much of an increase to them and provide a larger increase, than has been standard, for the smaller districts like Princeton.
Wergin said she also discovered that the Minneapolis and St. Paul districts have shorter school days and thus are getting more funding for fewer hours overall in a school year than Princeton.
Session overall
Wergin and Erickson agree that Legislation should have been more timely so legislators weren't forced to finish so much work during the final days.
Erickson called the last day of the session a "cliff hanger."
"We didn't get bills for E-12 (education), health, taxes and overhaul of transportation until the last six hours," Erickson said. "We worked from 6 p.m. until midnight doing 45 percent of the budget."
Erickson blamed much of the bulge of action at the end of the session on the DFL majority wanting to spend more than they had campaigned on.
Wergin also described the session as having been inefficient.
"I think we looked real busy but we could've gotten more done with a better use of time," Wergin said. "Too much time was spent on bills that people on both sides knew would be vetoed and then, in the last minute they put together what would have to be passed."
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