Legislative Notes for August 22, 2007

State Update

Legislators to visit campus capital projects
Legislators will soon get a glimpse of what it means to meet both the current and future facility needs of our aging campuses. The condition of facilities, along with emerging program needs, are taken into account as lawmakers make their way through bonding tours across the state. Below is an update on the status of the Minnesota House and Senate campus bonding tours. This schedule only represents approximately half of the visits, the other visits have yet to be scheduled, however, legislative staff have tentatively reserved October 24-25 for tours. In addition, the House has set aside November 13-15 to tour the central region of the state and the Senate is tentatively scheduled to visit the central region the week of November 5. Lawmakers plan to cover the Twin Cities area in December and January prior to the start of the 2008 Legislative session on February 12. We will continue to update you as bonding visits become known. Stay tuned.

September 18, 2007

Senate Capital Investment
Southwest Minnesota SU
6:30 p.m.

House Capital Investment
Central Lakes College, Brainerd
11:30-12:30 p.m.

House Capital Investment
Bemidji State University
5:15-6:30 p.m.

September 19, 2007

Senate Capital Investment
Minnesota West, Worthington
2:15 p.m.

House Capital Investment
Northland C&TC, Thief River Falls
5:00-6:30 p.m.

September 20, 2007

Senate Capital Investment
Minnesota State University, Mankato
12:00-1:15 p.m.

House Capital Investment
Northland C&TC, East Grand Forks
9:30-10:15 a.m.

House Capital Investment
Minnesota State University Moorhead
11:45-1:00 p.m.

House Capital Investment
MSCTC, Moorhead
1:00-1:45 p.m.

September 25, 2007

Senate Capital Investment
Central Lakes, Brainerd
12:00-1:00 p.m.

Senate Capital Investment
Bemidji State University
5:45 p.m.

September 26, 2007

Senate Capital Investment
Northland C&TC, East Grand Forks
6:00 p.m.

House Capital Investment
Mesabi Range C&TC
7:30-8:20 p.m.

September 27, 2007

Senate Capital Investment
Minnesota State University Moorhead
6:30 p.m.

House Capital Investment
Vermilion Community College, Ely
10:00-10:30 a.m.

House Capital Investment
Lake Superior College
4:30-6:00 p.m.

September 28, 2007

Senate Capital Investment
MSCTC, Moorhead
9:45-10:15 a.m.

October 10 , 2007

Senate Capital Investment
Lake Superior College
7:45-9:00 a.m.

Senate Capital Investment
Vermilion Community College, Ely
6:00 p.m.

October 11 , 2007

Senate Capital Investment
Mesabi Range C&TC, Eveleth
1:00-2:00 p.m.

Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020 meets around the State
The Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020, which was authorized in the 2006 legislative session and appointed its members in the 2007 session, has met twice and will continue to hold meetings throughout the year, with the next meeting taking place September 5.

The Commission plans to pursue its work in three phases:
Phase One: To agree on the definition of poverty and the vision of what having no poverty means for Minnesota. The Commission will present that work as an interim report to the Legislature early in the 2008 session.
Phase Two: To investigate and learn about most promising practices from within and outside of Minnesota. That phase will feature a conference late in the spring or early summer of 2008.
Phase Three: To identify the policies that could be most effective and best match Minnesota’s circumstances and present them as recommendations to the full Legislature.

Members of the Commission include; Senators Scott Dibble, Steve Dille, Michael Jungbauer, Paul Koering, Tony Lourey, John Marty, Mary Olson, Sandy Pappas, and Claire Robling; Representatives Jim Abeler, Bruce Anderson, Morrie Lanning, Carlos Mariani, Frank Moe, Bud Nornes, Mary Ellen Otremba, Nora Slawik, and Neva Walker; and citizen members, Donna Bauer and Michael Hawton, both appointed by Governor Pawlenty as non-voting members.

The Commission will conduct its work through formal hearings at the State Capitol and in more informal conversations throughout the state. Please find attached the schedule for the listening sessions. For more information, visit the Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy Web site at www.lcppm.org/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=77

Wisconsin and Minnesota tuition reciprocity deal approved
A tuition reciprocity deal between Minnesota and Wisconsin has been approved by Wisconsin's budget-writing committee, confirming the deal that had been worked out between the two states. The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees and the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, have already approved the arrangement.

The deal reached between the state in June extends a long-standing agreement allowing students to get in-state tuition rates if they attend college in the other state across the border. Wisconsin students attending higher-priced University of Minnesota schools will see a larger bill than they do now, but the state will subsidize the difference in the form of a "tuition reciprocity supplement."

You may recall that the University of Minnesota was losing millions of dollars per year under the deal because Wisconsin students paid them less than Minnesota students. Under the old agreement, Wisconsin's reimbursement went to the Minnesota general fund rather than the campuses. The new agreement fixes that problem by requiring Wisconsin to pay the difference in tuition directly to Minnesota's campuses. The average resident tuition in Wisconsin is $4,652, compared with $5,160 in Minnesota. The new agreement will be phased in starting in the fall of 2008.

New appointees to the Minnesota Governor’s Workforce Development Council
Governor Tim Pawlenty has appointed President Terry Leas, Twyla Flaws, Jeffrey Johnson, and has reappointed Laura Beeth, Brenda Johnson, and Rhonda Sivarajah to the Governor’s Workforce Development Council (GWDC). All six are appointed to three-year terms that expire on June 30, 2010. Council members represent business, labor, community-based organizations, education, local elected officials, local workforce councils, state agencies and the Minnesota Legislature. The GWDC is charged with “providing vision and strategic direction to the State's workforce development system to ensure that Minnesota’s employers have enough workers with the right skills to meet their workforce attraction, development and retention needs.” Congratulations to President Terry Leas, Riverland Community College. You may read the biographies of the new appointments at http://www.governor.state.mn.us/mediacenter/pressreleases/appointments/PROD008267.html.

Federal Update

Congress has been in recess for summer district work during the month of August. When lawmakers return on September 4, they will have only four weeks to finish work on the fiscal year 2008 budget before the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2007. Lawmakers departed for the recess without sending any of the spending bills for the next fiscal year to the President. Prior to the break, the House and Senate were in conference committee negotiations to iron out the differences in the budget reconciliation bills. They were not able to reconcile the bills before the recess, so stay tuned as work continues when lawmakers return in September. As a reminder, Congress is using the budget reconciliation bill to find savings in lender subsidies to direct new spending towards student aid and other education programs.

Earlier this month, President Bush signed the 21st Century Competitiveness Act (H.R. 2272). The bill, also known as the America COMPETES Act, is a combination of six individual bills aimed at strengthening innovation through research and development and improving national competitiveness. The bill reauthorizes the National Science Foundation at $22 billion and the National Institute of Standards and Technology at $2.7 billion from fiscal year 2008 through fiscal year 2010, as well as increase federal funding for math and science research and education.