Phillips named as DEED commissioner, House capital budget committee meets, Senate hears from U of MN

Yesterday at the Capitol

Gov. Dayton named northern Minnesota developer Mark Phillips as his new commissioner of the Department of Employment and Economic Development. At yesterday's press conference, Dayton said he wanted to underscore his commitment to new jobs. Phillips, who works for Kraus-Anderson Construction, said he shares Dayton's strategy to engage the business community and make use of all the available tools in state government.

House Capital Investment committee members met yesterday for the first time this session and reviewed the capital budget process. Gay Greiter, Budget Coordinator with Minnesota Management and Budget, indicated in her testimony that an off-year bonding bill has typically been for "emergencies," and the governor is not required to submit a capital budget recommendation, but said he has indicated he plans to do so this year. Chair Howes said that if a project is in your community or region, it's probably an emergency.

Also meeting yesterday was the Senate Higher Education committee, where members heard from President Bob Bruininks with the University of Minnesota. Bruininks provided committee members with a general overview of the University, and emphasized their commitment to research and innovation, as well as their commitment to student financial support through the Promise for Tomorrow scholarship, a need based scholarship program for Minnesota students that supports 13,000 low to moderate income families. One of the main themes in President Bruininks testimony was funding of higher education. He said that higher education is going to have to be a priority of lawmakers if we want to grow the economy and get through this tough patch. He did indicate that it's going to take creative financing strategies. Sen. Kathy Sheran, DFL-Mankato, said she would like to see a statewide dialog focused on changes in the way the state pays for higher education. Bruininks said the state needs to do what it can to preserve the entire Minnesota education system, including K-12.

Today at the Capitol

8:15 AM
House Education Reform
Room: Basement State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Sondra Erickson
Agenda: Increasing Educational Acheivement, Emphasizing and Supporting Teacher Effectiveness
Peter Hutchinson, Bush Foundation, President
Susan Heegaard, Bush Foundation, Vice President, Educational Achievement

8:15 AM
House State Government Finance
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Morrie Lanning
Agenda: HF127 (McNamara) State employee salary and wage freeze instituted.
HF125 (Gunther) Executive and legislative branch agency appropriation reductions made

8:30 AM
Senate Finance
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Claire A. Robling
Agenda: Continuation of budget overview presentation by Senate Counsel, Research, and Fiscal Analysis Staff

8:30 AM
Senate Taxes
Room: 15 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Julianne E. Ortman
Agenda: SFXXX Federal conformity bill related to income tax treatment of dependent health care coverage for adult children 26 and under.
Overview on Tax Aids and Credits

10:15 AM
House Government Operations and Election
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Joyce Peppin
Agenda: Presentation of state labor negotiating process and contracts
Barb Holmes, assistant commissioner and state labor negotiator for Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB)
Greg Hubinger, director of Legislative Coordinating Commission

11:00 AM
Senate in Session

12:30 PM
House Higher Education Policy and Finance Committee
Room: Basement Hearing Room, State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Bud Nornes
Agenda: University of Minnesota overview
HF126 (Nornes): Makes appropriation adjustments to higher education.

12:30 PM
House Education Finance
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Pat Garofalo
Agenda: Testimony on legislative priorities:
Association of Metropolitan School Districts
Minnesota's Future Initiative

1:00 PM
Senate Agriculture and Rural Economies
Room: 107 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Doug Magnus
Agenda: Updates and trends in Minnesota Livestock Industries
Summary of the Department of Agriculture Livestock Investment Grant Program

3:00 PM
House in Session

Looking Ahead
Monday, January 24

10:15 AM
House Ways and Means
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Mary Liz Holberg
Agenda: HF130 (Holberg) Fiscal year 2011 appropriations reduced, policies changed, and appropriation reductions made for fiscal years 2012 and 2013; and tax aid, credits and payment reductions made.

3:00 PM
Senate Higher Education Policy and Finance
Room: 107 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Michelle Fischbach
Agenda: Overview presentation from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

Wednesday, January 26

8:30 AM
Senate Finance
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Claire A. Robling
Agenda: S.F. 60-Robling: 2010 legislative-enacted budget reductions extended

Thursday, January 27

8:30 AM
Joint Senate Meeting: Committee on Finance; Committee on Taxes
Room: 15 Capitol
Chairs: Sen. Claire A. Robling, Sen. Julianne E. Ortman
Agenda:
State Demographics, Presenter - Tom Gillaspy, State Demographer
Tax Expenditure Reports, Presenter - Dr. Paul Wilson, Research Director, MN Dept of Revenue

11:00 AM
Senate in Session