This is the last day of session and it has been a busy one so far. I’ll point out some of the highlights, but contact me if there is a particular item of interest to you.
First,we have had a lot of people at the Capitol for the past few days advocating on both sides of Senate File 778. This bill authorizes the Bureau of Mediation Services to conduct two separate elections to determine if certain providers want to be represented by a union, it is geared for home-based child care providers and home health care providers or PCA’s. The final vote was 68-66. This issue gained attention when Governor Dayton tried to do this by Executive Order. A judge ruled that the governor did not have this power, it resided with the legislature.
The Conference Committee Report for HF 1183, the Legacy bill, was passed 77-57. This covers a number of programs. For our area, there is a provision that gives the Metropolitan Council $6,300,000 to spend in regional parks for the protection and restoration of habitat for fish, wildlife and fowl.
We also passed the Conference Committee Report on S.F. 66, which relates to campaign finance. Amounts have been increased. One concern is that candidates need to have more influence over messaging during campaigns. Independent organizations often spend more money and exert more influence on campaigns than do the candidates.
We passed the Conference Report for a scaled-down bonding bill. It includes funding for restoration on the Capitol, work that has been put off for way too long.
There is about an hour left of the day and we have to adjourn.