Bridge Emergency Hardship Fund
Dec 30, 2007 News, Transportation
I have had several constituents contact me about the Emergency Hardship Fund for the I-35W Bridge victims. Here is a very recent summary of the information from Senator Ron Latz, Chairman of the Joint House/Senate Subcommittee on Claims:
Rep. Dennis Ozment (my co-chair), myself and 4 other bi-partisan members held two day-long information gathering hearings focused on the I-35W Bridge collapse to discuss ways to address the needs of the survivors and the families of the victims. We have sought to objectively evaluate the human, policy, legal and financial ramifications of a variety of options. We have focused on potential claims issues, not liability. Hearing testimony was provided first and foremost by the survivors and families of the victims, various state agencies, Ken Feinberg (9/11 Federal Fund Administrator) and the MN State Bar Association. These discussions yielded at least two consensus positions:
1: That we should try to get some immediate money to families struggling with acute financial problems and:
2: that the $1 million aggregate liability cap in existing state law should be removed. We feel that the legislature did not contemplate a loss of this scope when enacting the aggregate cap. As the law stands now, the cap would compress individuals’ recovery to a tiny fraction of actual loss.
A third issue, the individual recovery cap of $300,000 (scheduled to increase to $400,000 for incidents occurring after January 1, 2008) in existing law, has not yet found consensus, in part because of the ramifications for all local governments governed by a related law. The cap issue will be subject to much additional legislative discussion and would require formal action by the entire legislature and Governor.
On November 29, the Claims Subcommittee recommended to the Dept of Administration and the Governor’s office a method to use existing executive spending authority to provide immediate relief to the survivors of the collapse. Discussions within the committee and with others during the hearing day resulted in a broadening of the proposal which was recommended to the executive branch. Should further funding be available, I am hopeful that additional relief may be offered.
The I-35W Emergency Hardship Fund was designed to provide prompt relief opportunities to those who were on the bridge and were either injured or died in the collapse. It was the only way to provide funds before the legislative session begins in February. It is just the first step to assist individuals and families and the subcommittee felt it was imperative to move as quickly as possible to access funds that would address a small portion of the monetary issues facing survivors.
Payments in the amount of $10,000 will be limited per person and would be based on lost wages due to injury or death. Survivors told us that a major source of financial distress was their loss of usual income when missing work and because we hope to avoid subrogation claims against these payments. The total funding is $1 million in already existing appropriations in the Trunk Highway fund and General fund set aside for tort claims. The executive branch already had spending authority for this money and purpose and it will be administered through an existing claims process through the Dept. of Administration.
The 2008 legislative session will likely produce a broader package designed for further compensation and the Claims Subcommittee plans to continue discussions about what further decisions may be available.
If you would like to make an opinion known to the Claims Subcommittee feel free to e-mail me. Your suggestions or comments will be made available.
New Laws Effective Jan. 1, 2008
Dec 19, 2007 News
Attached is a listing of selected new laws passed during the 2007 legislative session that take effect Jan. 1, 2008.
For a complete summary of new laws, vetoed bills and proposals in limbo, House Public Information Services lists the New Mn Laws of 2007. Just click on the subject you’re interested in.
From this Web page, you can access stories about all the laws enacted in 2007, bills that were vetoed, and updates on bills that, while may be receiving a lot of attention, did not make it into law.
The stories are categorized under topics such as Agriculture, Banking and Business. Included this year is an index to will help you determine under which category you will find the story for which you may be searching.
When you find the story, you will see that the House file (HF), Senate file (SF) and Chapter (CH) numbers appear to the right of the story along with the name of the House and Senate authors. An asterisk indicates the version of the bill sent to the governor. Stories on major appropriations or omnibus policy laws include references to article and section numbers wherever possible. Effective dates are also included in most stories.
HOW TO GET YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT AND VOTE
Dec 12, 2007 News
Kevin Dahle will be the only name on the ballot for the Primary election to be held on December 18, 2007 for the DFL representative for State Senator. The General election will be held on January 3, 2008. Voters residing outside the district will need to submit their request for an Absentee Ballot Application to the Rice, Scott, LeSueur, or Sibley County Auditor (depending on the County you live in). Upon receiving the request for an Absentee Ballot Application, the County Auditor will forward you the Absentee Ballot. You can also go to the County Auditor's office after the Primary, fill out the Absentee Ballot request and vote then and there. This makes it certain the request or ballot will not be lost in the mail.
This Absentee ballot will then have to be returned to the County Auditor’s office by January 3, 2008. Steps to be taken to vote in the General election are as follows:
…Visit the Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State’s official website.
… Scroll over to “Election Center and click on “Forms and Handouts.”
… Scroll down and click on “Absentee Ballot Application” and print out the application form.
… Complete the application and mail or FAX it to your County Auditor
The Rice County Auditor’s FAX number is (507) 333-3754
The Scott County Auditor's FAX number is (952) 496-8174
The LeSueur County Auditor's FAX number is (507) 357-6375
The Sibley County Auditor's FAX number is (507) 237-4073
Rice County Auditor Government Services Building 320 N.W. 3rd Street Faribault, MN 55021
Scott County Auditor, 200 4th Ave W, Shakopee, MN 55379 (952) 496-8560
LeSueur County Auditor, 88 S. Park Ave, Le Center, MN 56057 (507) 357-2251
Sibley County Auditor, 400 Court Ave., Gaylord, MN 55334 (507) 237-4070
If you need to call the Office of the Secretary of State regarding voter information you can reach them at 1-877-600-VOTE (8683).
The Northfield League of Women Voters have more detailed information for Northfield voters on their website. Click here to read more about it.
SENATE DISTRICT 25 ENDORSES KEVIN DAHLE FOR SENATE
Dec 12, 2007 News
On Thursday, December 6, 2007, after hearing from four strong candidates which included Kevin, Anne Miller, Executive Director of the nonprofit Grasstops, Inc., Mick McGuire, Mayor of 
Montgomery, and Don Sauter, a teacher from Arlington, the 39 executive members of the District 25 Democrats selected Kevin Dahle as their candidate. After Kevin gave an inspiring speech that warmed up the crowd, a sixth ballot was taken and Kevin won the endorsement. All the candidates were very positive and talked almost exclusively on how they could help the residents of Senate District 25.
Kevin Dahle has 23 years experience teaching civics, political science and economics in various high schools and is currently a teacher in the Northfield High School. He has been president of the Northfield Education Association for approximately 10 years, served as Council of Local Presidents for Education Minnesota (EdMN), and is a member of the Northfield Arts Guild and the Historical Society. He also is a former wrestling coach and took over my job directing high school plays.
I have known Kevin for 14 years. He is an excellent teacher and one of the best EdMN presidents I have had the privilege to know. Kevin is knowledgeable and is a great advocate. He is more than just a teacher. He grew up and taught in small towns. He understands what it means to work hard and get your hands dirty when you have to. His support for affordable health care, strong environmental policies, and a continuous and positive leadership role in education, will be needed in the near future. In addition, he is a strong advocate of local government, a proponent for small businesses and will be a strong representative in the Minnesota Senate for the farming community. To learn more about Kevin Dahle, visit his web page.
CHILDREN’S DEFENSE FUND (CDF) MINNESOTA HONORS DAVID BLY WITH A 100% RATING
Dec 7, 2007 Health Care, News
The following is a letter from Mark Kimball, Communication Director of the CDF-MN:
Dear Representative:
Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Minnesota is pleased to inform you that you have been named a “Legislative Children’s Champion” by the CDF Action Council for your votes in 2007 to invest in children and to ensure every Minnesota child has access to health care coverage.
You earned this honor because you not only had a 100 percent voting record on a series of six crucial votes this year that impact the well-being of Minnesota children, but also for your co-authorship and ongoing work in support of the Children’s Health Security Act (HF1-Thissen) which passed the House.
Attached is a copy of the 2007 CDF Action Council Legislative Scorecard which details the votes that most impacted child well-being this year. It also contains a complete list of the 37 Children’s Champions on page 11. Below is short information about the award.
Special Champions Event in January
In January, CDF Minnesota will hold a special event at the State Capitol for all of the 2007 Children’s Legislative Champions and later issue press releases to your local media. Information about the specific date, time and location of the event will be sent to you in the coming weeks. (Note: Please contact Marc Kimball at CDF Minnesota if you have particular media you would like CDF to notify.)
Again congratulations on being named a 2007 Legislative Children’s Champion and thank you for your work on behalf of Minnesota’s children.
Best regards.
—-
Marc Kimball
Communications Director
Children’s Defense Fund MN
To review how other representatives and senators rated supporting legislation championed by the Children’s Defense Fund‘s website.
Fiscal Forecast
Dec 3, 2007 News
What can we do about the fact that Minnesota job growth is significantly lagging behind national average for job growth? According to the 2007 November Forecast, projected revenues are down $740 million and we are facing a $373 million deficit. The deficit can be covered with funds from the reserves, but what picture does that paint of Minnesota when businesses analyze our state as a possible location for a large number of workers. How about these ideas?
…..Investing in the transportation system so employees can reliably come to work on time.
…..Stabilizing where taxes come from – in other words, eliminate the need for communities to raise property taxes, making housing more attractive to prospective residents.
…..Balancing the budget so new businesses can be assured they won't have to pay for debts incurred long before they came to our state.
Chief economist, Tom Stinson said, "The bottom-line is the state needs more jobs."
What are YOUR ideas? Feel free to call or email me with your thoughts.
Minnesota Sesquicentennial’s Commemorative Mosaic (The State’s
Dec 1, 2007 News
Join mosaic artist Susan Warner on December 8, 2007, at the Mississippi Mud Works and Semi Automatic Glass studios (address below) in Minneapolis for a preview of her project commemorating the state sesquicentennial: A wall-size mosaic "travel postcard" from Minnesota. The Sesquicentennial Mosaic is titled "Greetings from Minnesota" and will feature a border of tiles, with designs representing each of the 87 counties in the state. Susan Warner will gather suggestions and creative direction from individuals in each county through regional workshops, starting with the December 8th open house.
Warner's previous works encompass installations in both metro and rural locations and she has been an artist-in-residence for several years in many communities across Minnesota.
The studio address is:
Mississippi Mud Works and Semi Automatic Glass
2600 31st Ave S.
Minneapolis, MN. 55406
(In the Seward neighborhood between Franklin and Lake on 31st)
Phone 612-332-5842
The event is free and open to the public, December 8th from noon to 6:00 PM. Glass blowing demonstrations will continue throughout the day and food, wine and egg rolls from Sawatdee will be available.
Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR)
Dec 1, 2007 Environment, News
An audit, conducted July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2007, revealed 15 findings of internal control and legal compliance that are related to financial management, grant expenditures, easements, and professional/technical services contracts. The BWSR did not adequately monitor payroll transactions, properly record grants on the accounting system, and did not have adequate internal controls over returned grant funds. A list of these findings can be seen on page 5 of the review by going to the state web site http://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/, clicking on MN Board of Water and Soil Resources and going to “full report”. For an interesting read, scroll down to page 21 and read about “Reinvest in MN Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program” (CREP) and the MN Wetland Bank program.
Mis-classification of Employees and Independent Contractors
Dec 1, 2007 News
On Wed, November 28, 2007, at the State Capital there was a formal
release of the program evaluation report by the MN Office of the
Legislative Auditor.
…Misclassification of employees as independent contractors is a
problem in Minnesota, and state government needs to establish a
coordinated response.
You can receive a copy of the full report by calling 651-296-4708 or
review it online at
http://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2007/misclass.htm
