Lawmakers begin a short Easter recess today and will return to the Capitol on Tuesday.
Real ID
The Minnesota Senate voted overwhelmingly Monday to direct the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to study how to bring the State in compliance with the federal Real ID law.
House members are expected to act on the companion bill as soon as Tuesday, giving DPS until March 31 to report back on timelines, costs, and other logistics. There is urgency involved because lawmakers expect to consider a second bill later this session to allow implementation of the security-enhanced licenses, which will be required for domestic air travel in the absence of a passport come 2018.
Minnesota is one of a few remaining states that refused to make any moves toward embracing the Real ID, which requires driver’s license applicants to submit more paperwork to prove their identity. Congress passed the law a decade ago, but federal agencies have only recently begun enforcing rules surrounding it by limiting access to federal buildings and military bases unless visitors present compliant identification cards. It will become essential at airports as soon as 2018.
The bill the Senate passed on a 63-2 vote is short of full implementation. It lifts a gag order that had been in place that prohibited State officials from doing any kind of planning. Once a report is delivered to the Legislature, debate will shift to discussion of rolling out the new driver’s licenses and ID cards.
Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove) made clear he was consenting only to the study for now. Sen. Bruce Anderson (R-Buffalo) said he worries that data collected and maintained by states will be misused by agencies conducting surveillance. He was one of the two votes against passage.
Iron Range Unemployment Benefits
The debate over a bill giving laid-off Iron Rangers additional unemployment benefits, promised action in the first week of session, finally came to a close on Thursday. While there was broad agreement about giving up to 26 weeks in extended assistance, the two chambers got caught up in procedural moves.
The House adopted a plan that would also give businesses statewide a refund from the surplus in unemployment fund premiums. It would give businesses credit for future payments and set up a trigger for rebates when future balances exceed certain solvency thresholds. Senate Democrats objected to having the emergency assistance linked to anything else. Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) on Thursday took quick action on the standalone business relief measure as a way to detach it from the benefits extension. He urged the House to pass independent bills before leaving for an Easter recess Thursday.
On the heels of frenzied negotiations, the House did just that, sending both bills to the Governor for his signature. Dayton delayed a trip to California to allow him to do so.
Fantasy Sports
A national debate over daily fantasy sports games is underway, and is taking place in the Minnesota legislature. Rep. Tim Sanders (R-Blaine) has sponsored a bill authorizing fantasy sports to continue to exist as is. The House Commerce Committee held a hearing on the bill on Tuesday. The bill would show that fantasy sports games are games of skill, and would allow the companies to operate in Minnesota without being taxed or regulated.
Sanders says the daily fantasy companies have prospered so far without government intervention and should continue to do so in Minnesota. Sanders amended his bill to provide some additional consumer protections, including requirements that employees of fantasy game operators not participate in the games, establish a minimum player age of 18, segregate player funds from operational funds of the game operator, and prohibits fantasy games based on athletes participating in college games.
Racial Disparities
Minnesota’s rapidly shifting demographic makeup has ignited a comprehensive debate on how to reduce persistent racial disparities in housing, education, and the labor force. In his supplemental budget proposal last week, Gov. Mark Dayton allocated $100 million for a legislative agenda aimed at ensuring racial equity. His proposals, if enacted, would provide one-time infusions of capital into business-development programs, youth employment initiatives and down-payment assistance for lower-income first-time home buyers. He also wants more funding for the Department of Human Rights, a State agency that investigates complaints of workplace discrimination.
Senate and House members are working to craft their own proposals. Of the $100 million Dayton has proposed for racial equity, nearly $34 million has been left to be assigned by legislators.
House Ways and Means Chair Rep. Jim Knoblach (R-St. Cloud) said he is supportive of efforts to expand the Department of Human Rights. He said he supported some proposals by Senate DFLers, including a job-training program. Republicans have so far offered a proposal to raise education tax credits and expand them to also offset private school tuition, an effort to reduce the State’s achievement gap in education. Knoblach said the tax credits would offer lower-income families more school choices. Senate DFLers and Dayton, however, have criticized the tax credits, saying that low-income families cannot afford the upfront cost of private school, even with up to $3,500 in refundable tax credits. Knoblach countered that private schools may be able to cover tuition with financial aid for qualified families.
Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis) said legislators should consider focusing on developing minority-owned businesses that can create jobs, and funding for adult GED programs which would help train underemployed residents.
Some legislators and community leaders said Dayton’s one-time spending proposals are a start, but they said they would like to see a longer-term commitment to ongoing funding, in addition to other systemic changes.
