Legislative Notes for the week of January 1-5, 2007

Welcome Back

Each session, the Government Relations Office produces a brief weekly newsletter to keep the system informed on actions of the Legislature. Watch for the Legislative Notes each Friday afternoon. The Government Relations team is here to assist with any questions.

Mary Jacquart is the director of Government Relations and can be reached at 651-296-0664 or mary.jacquart@so.mnscu.edu.

Stephanie Gibson has joined us this year as the assistant to Government Relations and is at 651-296-6518 or stephanie.gibson@so.mnscu.edu.

Jerry Janezich (651-296-6097 or jerry.janezich@so.mnscu.edu)

Bernie Omann (651-296-6277 or bernie.omann@so.mnscu.edu), support the system directly at the Capitol

Melissa Fahning (651-296-0669 or melissa.fahning@so.mnscu.edu) is available to help with legislative questions and will continue to keep you informed on what is happening during the session.

Please feel free to contact any one of the Government Relations team members.

2007 Legislative Session Begins

The 85th Legislature convened Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007. The House elected Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, as speaker of the House by a party line vote of 84-49. Kelliher is only the second woman elected speaker in the history of the House of Representatives.

In the early 1990s, Dee Long, DFL-Minneapolis, also was elected House speaker. The House majority leader is Rep. Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, and the minority leader is Rep. Marty Seifert, R-Marshall.

The Senate named Sen. Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, majority leader; Sen. David Senjem, R-Rochester, minority leader; Sen. James Metzen, DFL-South St. Paul, president; and Sen. Dennis Frederickson, R-New Ulm, as president pro tem.

Democrats are in control of both the House and Senate for the first time in eight years.

In the House, the split of Democrats to Republicans is now 85-49, and in the Senate, the split is 44 Democrats and 23 Republicans.

This year, the first year of the biennium, lawmakers will authorize spending for all state programs and decide how to appropriate money for the 2008-09 biennium; including higher education.

Legislative leaders have talked about their priorities for the 2007 session. While there are different opinions regarding how to accomplish the priorities, Republicans and Democrats are not far apart on what issues they deem important.

Top priorities over the next five months include education reform, health care improvements and some type of property tax relief. Other issues mentioned as priorities for the session include energy and transportation.

On the higher education agenda, there likely will be much discussion regarding some type of tuition relief. The House Republican caucus is proposing to freeze tuition for one year, and others have said they support some sort of tuition relief. Stay tuned.

Board of Trustees Request $177 Million in New Funding

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees will ask legislators for a $177 million biennial budget increase, which includes funding to cover inflation, make technology infrastructure improvements, improve recruitment and retention of groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education, expand learning opportunities in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, increase the number of nursing graduates, create a Biosciences Center of Excellence and encourage management innovation.

The Senate Higher Education Budget and Policy Division will hear the system’s request on Tuesday, Jan. 16 at Metropolitan State University.

$2 Billion Surplus Projected

The Department of Finance prepares formal forecasts of state revenues and expenditures in November and February each year as required by state law. Forecast information is used by the governor and Legislature to ensure that enacted budgets remain on track and in balance, and to plan for future budgets. The November 2006 forecast included a $2.17 billion surplus for the 2008-09 biennium.

The $2 billion surplus includes a $1 billion balance projected for the end of the current biennium, ending June 30, 2007. This balance is to be designated by law as available for a rebate. The proposal for rebating the money needs to be considered by the 2007 Legislature.

We will likely see different plans from legislators, as well as the governor, on how the money should be spent. Legislators are saying they want to look at some type of property tax relief. It is important to remember that most of the surplus is one-time money and therefore is not ongoing into future years.

It is also important to remember that the forecast does not allow for inflation, which economists are saying could be $1 billion for the biennium. Lawmakers will be looking to the February forecast released the end of February to determine final budgets for the upcoming biennium.

Important Dates to Remember

2007 Legislative Session convenes January 3, 2007
Governor’s State of the State Address January 17, 2007
Governor’s budget recommendation released January 23, 2007
February economic forecast released February 2007
Last day of session May 21, 2007

New Legislature – New Committee Assignments

Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, was named the chair of the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Policy and Finance Division. This committee will meet Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 12:30 p.m. in Room 5 of the State Office Building.

The membership roster for the 2007-08 biennium includes:

Chair: Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia)
Vice Chair: Jeanne Poppe (DFL-Austin)
GOP Lead WorkForce Bob Gunther (R-Fairmont)
GOP Lead Higher Ed. Bud Nornes (R-Fergus Falls)
Joe Atkins (DFL-Inver Grove Heights)
David Bly (DFL-Northfield)
Kathy Brynaert (DFL-Mankato)
Karen Clark (DFL-Minneapolis)
Bob Dettmer (R-Forest Lake)
Rob Eastlund (R-Isanti)
Larry Haws (DFL-St. Cloud)
Tim Mahoney (DFL-St. Paul)
Carol McFarlane (R-White Bear Lake)
Frank Moe (DFL-Bemidji)
Mary Murphy (DFL-Hermantown)
Kim Norton (DFL-Rochester)
Connie Ruth (R-Owatonna)
Dan Severson (R-Sauk Rapids)
Linda Slocum (DFL-Richfield)
Andy Welti (DFL-Rochester)

Sen. Sandra Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, will continue as the chair of the Senate Higher Education Budget and Policy Division for the upcoming biennium.

The committee will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 to 2:45 p.m. in Room 123 of the Capitol.

The committee membership includes;

Chair: Sandy Pappas (DFL- St. Paul)
Vice Chair: Kathy Sheran (DFL-Mankato)
GOP Lead: Claire Robling (R – Jordan)
Tarryl Clark (DFL-St. Cloud)
Richard Cohen (DFL-St. Paul)
Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park)
Ann Lynch (DFL-Rochester)
David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm)
Chuck Wiger (DFL-North St. Paul)
Paul Koering (R-Fort Ripley)
David Senjem (R-Rochester)
Geoff Michel (R-Edina)

You may find membership for all other House and Senate committees at:

Senate
House

Federal Update

The first session of the 110th Congress convened this week. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was elected the U.S. Speaker of the House, the first woman ever to serve as House speaker.

In her first act, she lead a bipartisan effort to pass a measure banning lawmakers from accepting gifts and free trips from lobbyists and discounted trips on private planes. The bill passed with a vote of 430-1. The U.S. Senate elected Robert C. Byrd, D-WV, President pro tempore.

One of the top Democratic issues during the campaign was to reduce the interest rate on federal student loans. There has been much discussion in the news lately that this is one of the first things the Democrats, who gained control of the U.S. House in the November election, will take up in the first 100 hours of Congress.

The campaign discussion was to make higher education more affordable by lowering the student-loan interest rate to 3.4 percent from 6.8 percent; raising the maximum Pell Grant to $5,100 from $4,050; and increasing the tax deductibility of college tuition.

Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, is working on a bill to reduce the interest rate. Miller said the legislation he plans to introduce would phase in the interest-rate reduction over the next five years.

A vote has been scheduled on a bill for January 17, 2007.

Congresswoman Betty McCollum, D-MN, has been assigned to the U.S. House Appropriations Committee for the 110th Congress. This assignment provides a good opportunity for Minnesota.

She will replace Democrat Rep. Martin Sabo, a long-time member of the committee who retired at the end of the 109th Congress. McCollum, a former teacher, said she remains passionate about education policy and wants to work to get more funding for schools. Under House rules, the Appropriations Committee is considered an "exclusive" panel, meaning members who serve on it are not allowed to serve on any others, unless they get special permission to do so.