2010 Legislative session begins

Today is the start of the 2010 legislative session. Both the House and Senate will convene at noon with brief floor sessions. The Senate will hold the swearing-in ceremony of Senator-elect Mike Parry, R-Waseca, who replaced Sen. Dick Day in the recent special election.

Moving quickly today and tomorrow is the bonding bill in the Senate. The Senate Capital Investment committee will meet at 2:00 p.m. today to roll out the 2010 bonding bill. The bill will then be referred to the Finance committee, where it will be heard Friday morning at 8:30 a.m.

Over in the House, the bonding bill will be introduced and assigned a file number today. The House Capital Investment committee will take up the bill and mark it up Feb. 9 at 2:45 p.m. Once the bill is available online, we will let you know. We will also keep you informed with the most up-to-date side-by-side of the bonding bill.

The second year of the biennium is considered a bonding year, however, the state is facing a $1.2 billion budget deficit for the current biennium, so lawmakers will also be charged with balancing the budget. Legislators must complete their work this session by Monday, May 17, 2010. This gives lawmakers approximately four months to resolve the budget deficit.

This morning at 9:30 Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis and Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, will hold a news conference to discuss the Legislature's priorities for the 2010 session. You may view that online here.

Yesterday at the Capitol

Yesterday, the higher education and K-12 education committees in both the House and Senate met jointly to learn about a software tool Minneapolis school counselors said has increased high school seniors’ college acceptance rates. The web-based system, Naviance, offers comprehensive college and career planning resources and is used in 237 Minnesota schools. Of these, 130 are funded through a federal College Access Challenge Grant.

Michelle Landry, Minneapolis Public Schools co-lead counselor, told committee members that because the tool has been so successful, Minneapolis has made the site’s My Life Plan feature a graduation requirement.

Today at the Capitol

You may find a complete listing of the House and Senate television channel guide around the state here.

12:00 PM
House and Senate Convene

2:00 PM
Senate Capital Investment
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Keith Langseth
Agenda: 2010 Capital Investment bill

Looking Ahead

Friday, February 5

8:30 AM
Senate Finance
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Richard J. Cohen
Agenda:
November State Budget Forecast Discussion
State Cash Flow Discussion
2010 Capital Investment bill

10:00 AM
Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement
Room: 107 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Don Betzold
Agenda:
SF889 (Betzold) MSRS Unclassified; Changes in membership transfer authority.
HF1793 / SF1601 (Nelson/Olson, M.) TRA; adding a second retired member to the Board of Trustees.
HFxxx/SFxxx MSRS; Retirement related administrative provisions.
HFxxx/SFxxx VFRAs; State auditor's volunteer fire working group recommendations.
HFxxx/SFxxx Statewide lump sum volunteer fire plan; Advisory board and PERA recommended administrative changes.
HFxxx/SFxxx Statewide lump sum volunteer fire plan; Advisory board and PERA recommended expansion of service pension levels.


Monday, February 8


9:00 AM
House Joint Committee: Ways & Means and Finance
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Loren Solberg
Agenda: State cash flow projections

12:30 PM
Senate State Government Budget Division
Room: 112 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Don Betzold
Agenda:
Department of Management and Budget report on Childrens Resources, update on the SWIFT (the new accounting and procurment system) and the biennual budget system project and searchable data base legislation from 2009.

12:30 PM
Senate Business, Industry and Jobs
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. James P. Metzen
Agenda: Jobs Bill-Metzen

1:00 PM
House in Session


Tuesday, February 9

10:00 AM
Legislative Audit Commission
Room: 107 State Capitol
Chairs: Rep. Michael Beard, Sen. Ann Rest
Agenda: Release evaluation report, MnSCU System Office.

10:30 AM
House Joint Committee: Bioscience and Workforce Development Policy and Oversight Division
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chairs: Rep. Ann Lenczewski, Rep. Tim Mahoney
Agenda: HFXXX (Davnie) Angel Investor Credit
HF1136 (Lenczewski) Governor's Angel Investor credit portion only.
HF1194 (Downey) Angel Investor credit portion only
HF2580 (Lenczewski) Angel investment grant provided, phase-in of single sales apportionment delayed, and money appropriated

12:30 PM
Senate Higher Education Budget and Policy Division
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Sandy Pappas
Agenda: OLA evaluation report, MnSCU System Office.

2:45 PM
House Capital Investment
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Alice Hausman
Agenda:
HFXXXX - Omnibus Bonding Bill (Hausman) (The bill will be introduced, assigned a file number and available on Thursday, Feb. 4. Amendments are needed by 2:45 pm on Monday, Feb. 8).
HF2590 (Hausman) Appropriation and bond authorization for capital investment projects procedures clarified

3:00 PM
Senate Agriculture and Veterans
Room: 107 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Jim Vickerman
Agenda:
Minnesota Department of Military Affairs Brief; Major General Larry Shellito, Colonel Eric Ahlness. Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Reports; Higher Education Veterans Program, 2010 Construction Project Priority Listing, Minnesota Veterans Home Siting, Veterans Cemetery Siting and Medicare Funding at Minnesota Veterans Homes.

Thursday, February 11

10:30 AM
House in Session

11:00 AM
Governor’s State of the State

Friday, February 12

10:30 AM
House in Session

Monday, February 15

1:00 PM
House in Session

Tuesday, February 16

7:00 PM
Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement
Room 107 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Betzold
Agenda: One-person / Small group legislation:
- S.F. 1374 (Metzen); H.F. 1569 (Hansen): PERA-P&F; Joint and survivor annuity for the divorced spouse of a deceased retiree who elected a single life annuity.
- S.F. xxx; H.F. 2550 (Poppe): MSRS/MnSCU/TRA; Permitting the repayment of certain member contribution refunds; authorizing a second chance option to elect TRA retirement plan benefit coverage; mandating certain contributions.
- S.F. xxx (Pariseau); H.F. xxx (10-4510): PERA; Authorizing a late disability benefit application in certain cases.
- S.F. xxx; H.F. xxx (Peterson, S.) (07-2763): SPTRFA; Service credit purchase for uncredited prior teaching service
- S.F. xxx; H.F. xxx (McFarlane) (LCPR09-047): PERA-P&F; Revise Social Security leveling option to single-life annuity
- S.F. xxx; H.F. xxx (Atkins) (LCPR09-070): PERA; Purchase of prior service credit for a period of omitted member deductions for certain Inver Grove Heights public school employees.
- S.F. xxx (Olson, M.); H.F. xxx: (LCPR10-018) TRA; Alternative retirement annuity computation for former Red Lake Senior High School principal.

Wednesday, February 17

10:30 AM
House Bioscience and Workforce Development
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Tim Mahoney
Agenda: Office of the Legislative Auditor report: Workforce Programs


Here is the link to the government relations Web site. Weekly updates, state and federal information, committee information, etc. will be provided on a regular basis at this site.


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Precinct Caucus

As a reminder, evening classes (starting at or running past 6 p.m.) will not meet next Tuesday, February 2, 2010. This is the date of precinct caucuses. For more information, please visit the General Counsel Web site. To find out where the caucus in your area will be held, please visit the Secretary of State's Web site.

Listening sessions held

Board of Trustees plans listening sessions to hear ideas and comments from the public

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees will host four listening sessions around the state to gather comments on how the state colleges and universities system can better meet the public’s needs in light of fiscal and demographic challenges.

Between 2000 and 2009, enrollment has gone up 26 percent and the state’s share of the costs of educating students has dropped significantly. During the same time, the system's average annual tuition has doubled.

“As we continue some long-range planning, we believe it is vitally important to listen to what our constituents have to say about how we can improve the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities,” said David Olson, the board chair. The trustees invite comment to the Ad Hoc Committee on System Planning on the following questions:

1. What are the most significant changes or challenges affecting public higher education in Minnesota?

2. How can the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities add value and better meet your needs now and in the future?

3. Given the fiscal and demographic challenges facing postsecondary education, what should the system’s priorities be for the next five to 10 years?

The four sessions will be:

Jan. 21, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Hennepin Technical College
9000 Brooklyn Blvd., Auditorium
Brooklyn Park, MN 55445

Jan. 27, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Ballroom, Comstock Memorial Union
Moorhead, MN 56563

Jan. 28, 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Alexandria Technical College
1601 Jefferson St., Rooms 209/211
Alexandria, MN 56308

Feb. 1, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Centennial Student Union, Rooms 253-255
Mankato, MN 56001

To register in advance to speak at one of the sessions, contact Patty McCann at (651) 296-5327 or patty.mccann@so.mnscu.edu. Speakers also may register at the sessions. Speaking time will be limited to three minutes. Written testimony may be submitted to Todd Harmening, todd.harmening@so.mnscu.edu.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system comprises 32 state universities and community and technical colleges serving the higher education needs of Minnesota. The system serves about 260,000 students per year in credit-based courses and an additional 164,000 students in non-credit courses.