State budget update; Trustees confirmed; Students, faculty testify; Alternative pathways passed; Transfer debated; Congress doesn't pass funding

Legislative Update
March 4, 2011

February forecast shows $1.2 billion improvement

Earlier this week, the February forecast was released predicting more than a billion dollar improvement from a $6.2 billion budget deficit to a $5.028 billion deficit for the 2012-2013 biennium. Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter said, “Federal action created some additional stimulus, and that’s what you see here.” Most of the additional revenue in the forecast comes from a temporary stimulus package of tax cuts passed by Congress in December. However State Economist Tom Stinson said that the unrest in the Middle East threatens to raise the price of oil and gasoline, which he said could diminish or even erase whatever stimulus the December tax package provided. The forecast documents can be found on the Minnesota Management and Budget Web site.

Following the announcement, Gov. Mark Dayton said he would eliminate from his budget proposal a temporary surtax on the state’s highest income earners. That surtax increase would have generated $918 million over the biennium. He said he would also reinstate $200 million in proposed cuts he made to human services, transit and economic development programs.

At $5 billion, lawmakers and Gov. Dayton are still faced with a very large budget problem, and disagree on how to resolve it. Republican legislative leaders want to balance the budget through spending cuts only, and Dayton is proposing raising revenue through an income tax on the wealthy to resolve the majority of the deficit. Republicans have said any proposal with a tax increase included is “dead on arrival.”

Legislative leaders said today they are working on committee budget targets to be released next week. Finance committees will continue to work on spending bills prior to the March 25 deadline. When asked by the media today what the time frame will look like once the spending bills are sent to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, House Speaker Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, said the chairs of the Ways and Means and Finance committees are working closely with the finance division chairs and they will let the process run its course. Zellers did indicate we can expect the bills to not be tied up in Ways and Means and Finance for weeks after the March 25 deadline. He said they tried to give themselves more time to solve the budget deficit this year, and then on the back end, allow for policy issues to be discussed.

Board of Trustees members confirmed by Senate committee

On Monday five of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustee members were confirmed by the Senate Higher Education committee. The full Senate still has to vote on the confirmation. The trustees include: Duane Benson, Phil Krinkie, Alfredo Oliveira, Tom Renier and Michael Vekich. Committee members asked questions of the trustees, including Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, who asked each trustee how they would feel about taking an oath to support the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. All five trustees said they would be happy to take an oath. Trustee Tom Renier said, “We feel we’re all here to make a good system even better.”

Students and faculty carry higher education message to the Senate

Senate Higher Education committee members heard from students and faculty with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and the University of Minnesota this week about the role higher education plays in their lives and in Minnesota, as well as the impact of cuts to the two systems. Some of the testimony included that of Geoff Dittberner, Vice President of the Minnesota State College Student Association. Dittberner said that without a strong Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, it would be impossible to meet the state's workforce needs, and he urged committee members to keep in mind the system's principles, which are access, opportunity and success; high quality learning; enhancing the global economic competitiveness; and innovating to meet educational needs.

Caitlin Stene, Vice Chair of the Minnesota State University Student Association, or MSUSA, told committee members that state university system students are interested in how they can push the system to be the most innovative in the nation. Stene also said the state cannot afford to restrict access to higher education. Chair of MSUSA, Andrew Spaeth, told members that the organization's 75,000 students would urge lawmakers to keep in the forefront of their minds that these students are the workforce of tomorrow.


Lawmakers pass legislation allowing alternative pathways to becoming a teacher

After a small conference committee met this week to work through the differences in the House and Senate versions of the alternative teacher licensure legislation, the House and Senate passed the report Thursday by a vote in the Senate of 46-19, followed by a House vote of 81-50. Under the measure, some of the requirements for teachers in alternative licensure programs include a 3.0 or higher grade point average; pass basic reading, writing and math skills exams; and obtain qualifying scores on subject area content exams and performance assessments. The bill grants the Board of Teaching authority to rescind an alternative teacher preparation program that fails to meet the requirements laid out in the bill. Lawmakers in opposition to the legislation said the bill is too open and does not stipulate enough quality assurance. Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, said she worries some alternative licensure programs will not hold high enough standards. Teacher union officials have said there are not enough supervision and oversight standards included in the bill. Some of the provisions Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius wanted to see in the bill did not make it in the final compromise, including assurances that the new teachers would be connected to higher education institutions.

Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul, was given the opportunity to offer some closing remarks on the House floor due to his extensive involvement in the legislation in prior years. Mariani said while the bill, which reflects a compromise between Gov. Dayton and the authors, is not perfect, it will help address problems in some high-need areas. He compared the issue of alternative teacher licensure to open enrollment and post secondary enrollment options, or PSEO, under Gov. Rudy Perpich. He said both PSEO and open enrollment had massive opposition and many claimed it would ruin K-12 education. Mariani said those programs now enjoy great success and he believes alternative teacher licensure will as well.

After having reached a compromise earlier, Gov. Dayton is expected to sign the bill early next week.

Transfer discussion continues at Capitol

The issue of credit transfer was once again a topic of the House Higher Education committee this week with the introduction of HF 717. The bill author, Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, said he introduced the bill to continue advancing the discussion of transfer and push well-intended institutions to move the issue forward. The bill requires the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system to adopt a policy requiring colleges and universities to grant credit for a course that is taken for credit at any college or university in the system.

Following Abeler's presentation of the bill, Mike Lopez, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, spoke about the Improving Transfer of Credit report the system prepared in response to legislation from last session that required the system to develop and implement a plan to improve credit transfer within the system.

Lopez walked members through the Smart Transfer Plan which includes; establishing course outlines available on all college and university Web sites; e-Transcripts, which is an electronic transcript process for transfers within the system; a policy that clarifies that DARS and u.select databases are the official repository of course equivalencies between system colleges and universities; enhancements to the student appeals process, and information available to students; and continuous training for college and university staff who advise students in the area of transfer.

Chair of the Minnesota State University Student Association, Andrew Spaeth, told committee members that in coordination with the Office of the Chancellor, the student organizations completed a survey on transfer and continue to work together to make progress. Spaeth said the Board of Trustees has been involved and open to hearing students' concerns and recommendations regarding transfer.

Travis Johnson, president of the Minnesota State College Student Association, said he appreciates that the issue of transfer has received attention from the Legislature and the Board of Trustees and he views transfer as an area for continuous improvement.

The bill was held over for possible consideration in the committee's omnibus bill.

President signs measure to keep government running through March 18

With the expiration of the continuing resolution set to take place today, March 4, Congress passed legislation earlier this week that would extend the continuing resolution two weeks, and President Obama signed it into law Wednesday. This stopgap funding measure will keep government running through March 18. The Republican House and the Democratic Senate now need to work out a compromise on keeping government running through September 30 (the end of the fiscal year), and have both said they prefer a longer-term funding measure to a series of shorter-term ones.

Congress did not pass any of the 12 spending bills by the start of the 2011 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. While this is not uncommon, it has set off a series of stopgap measures, known as continuing resolutions. This allows the federal government to continue operating at current budget levels. What remains unclear right now is how much time it will take congressional leaders to come to an agreement by March 18 when they vary so significantly on what the budget should look like. You may recall the House Republicans previously passed legislation that makes $61 billion in cuts for the remainder of the fiscal year, which includes cuts to the maximum Pell Grant award by $845 from $5,550 to $4,705. Senate Democrats and the White House have proposed approximately $10 billion in cuts; the $4 billion in the stop gap measure signed by the President and $6.5 billion proposed Thursday.


Here's What's Happening at the Capitol:

This schedule shows all meetings that we are aware of at the time of publication that MAY have an impact on the system. This schedule may change. Please watch the House and Senate schedules posted on the Legislature's web site.

Monday, March 7

11:00 AM
Senate in Session

1:00 PM
Senate State Government Innovation and Veterans
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Mike Parry
Agenda:
SF 161 (Pederson) Lake Pepin phosphorus standard establishment
SF 196 (Pederson) Water rulemaking moratorium and study requirements
SF 449 (Magnus) Higher education veterans assistance program expiration date repeal

3:00 PM
Senate Higher Education
Room: 107 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Michelle L. Fischbach
Agenda:
S.F. 504-Miller: Higher education institutions administrative spending cuts requirement.
S.F. 546-Fischbach: Senior citizen higher education program qualifying age modification.

3:00 PM
House in Session

Tuesday, March 8

8:15 AM
House Education Reform
Room: Basement State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Sondra Erickson
Agenda:
HF339 (Kelly) Teacher employment contracts negotiation process identified.
HF464 (Norton) Teacher collective bargaining agreement deadline and process changed.
HF558 (Downey) Graduation-Required Assessment for Diploma mathematics exception removed.
HF329 (Bills) Public school employees prohibited from using public funds and resources to advocate to pass, elect, or defeat a political candidate, ballot question, or pending legislation.
If necessary, the committee will reconvene at 6pm in the Basement hearing room.

8:15 AM
House State Government Finance
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Morrie Lanning
Agenda: HF174 (Peppin) Department of Revenue required to issue a request for proposals for a tax analytics and business intelligence contract.
HF191 (Downey) Redundant Technology Elimination Act proposed, state agency information technology systems and services consolidated, Office of Enterprise Technology duties transferred, and money appropriated.
Minnesota Management and Budget budget overview: Commissioner Jim Schowalter

12:30 PM
House Higher Education Policy and Finance
Room: Basement Hearing Room, State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Bud Nornes
Agenda: Higher Education Facilities Authority Presentation
HF856 (Swedzinski) Tuition increase temporary freeze and permanent limitation at public higher education institutions.

12:30 PM
House Jobs and Economic Development Finance
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Bob Gunther
Agenda: Presentation of governor's Department of Labor and Industry budget proposal

1:00 PM
Senate Agriculture and Rural Economies
Room: 107 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Doug Magnus
Agenda:
"Agriculture's Contributions to Improving Water Quality"
Presentations from the MN Agriculture Water Resources Coalition, MN Department of Agriculture & University of Minnesota

Wednesday, March 9

8:15 AM
House State Government Finance
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Morrie Lanning
Agenda: HF192 (Downey) Reinventing Government Employment Act proposed, public employee compensation freeze provided and future compensation method determined, state employee gainsharing system established, and state contract restrictions with private vendors removed.

6:00 PM
House Education Reform
Room: Basement State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Sondra Erickson
Agenda:
HF273 (Woodard) Students at low-performing schools enrollment options established.
HF638 (Myhra) School grading system created, school recognition program created, school report cards modified, rulemaking authorized, and report required.
HF617 (Woodard) AmeriCorps Innovation aligned to federal law.
HF575 (Erickson) Probationary teacher and principal status governing requirements clarified.

Thursday, March 10

11:00 AM
Senate in Session

12:30 PM
House Higher Education Policy and Finance
Room: Basement Hearing Room, State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Bud Nornes
Agenda: HF821 (Nornes) Senior citizen higher education program eligibility changed.
University of Minnesota Presentation on Agriculture Initiatives


Monday, March 14

1:00 PM
Senate Local Government and Elections
Room: 112 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Ray Vandeveer
Agenda:
S.F. 509-Limmer: Voter photo identification requirement; picture identification issuance provisions; provisional balloting procedure establishment; electronic polling place roster use requirement; recount procedure enacting; appropriating money.
S.F. 479-Howe: Voter photo identification and issuance requirement; picture identification and issuance at no charge; provisional balloting procedure establishment.