With the final day of session looming, the State Senate has worked hard this week. The Senate took up bills dealing with a variety of issues including the use of phosphorus fertilizers and outpatient surgical centers. Also taken up were the Omnibus Education Policy bill and the bonding bill. Phosphorus fertilizers Of high interest was a bill banning the use of phosphorus fertilizer in Minnesota. The bill extends the current ban in the Twin Cities metropolitan area to include the entire state. The ban is part of an effort to clean up our state’s groundwater, rivers, lakes and soil, and stop the production of aquatic weeds. In 2002, the State Legislature adopted a phosphorus fertilizer ban in the metro area that applied to lawns and other noncrop land planted in grass, such as parks. The 2002 law specified that a person in greater Minnesota could use a granular fertilizer containing no more than 3 percent phosphate by weight or a liquid fertilizer at a rate greater than 0.3 pounds phosphate per 1,000 square feet. This bill passed and is effective Jan. 1, 2005, and applies to fertilizer purchased after Aug. 1, 2004. Outpatient surgical center regulations Also passed was a bill to regulate outpatient surgical centers and establish reporting requirements for diagnostic imaging facilities. The bill states the Commissioner of Health is authorized to license outpatient surgical centers; however, if the surgical center is licensed as a part of a hospital, they are not required to obtain a separate surgical center license. The bill also made it possible for Medical Assistance and Minnesota Care patients to have more options when it comes to these facilities, and also set up a guideline of standards to follow. Bonding bill After some long hours of discussion and debate, the $944 million bonding bill proposed by the Senate DFL failed to pass the full Senate. Constitutionally, a 2/3 vote is needed to pass a bonding bill and that number of votes was not obtained. A number of concerns were brought up before the full committee. One is in dealing with the large price tag on this bonding bill when our state is faced with a budget deficit. The House passed its $677 million bonding bill April 29. The governor’s recommendation for the bonding bill was $759.7 million. Omnibus Education Policy The Omnibus Education Policy bill was taken up and passed. The bill establishes statewide science standards (effective beginning the 2005-06 school year), physical education/health standards (effective 2005-06), and world languages standards (effective for fifth-grade classes in 2008-09). Current law leaves student requirements in these areas solely to local district discretion, although school districts must offer learning opportunities. It also imposes a moratorium on new statewide Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) and substitutes the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), which is a favorite of some school districts currently using it. Although not mandated, the bill encourages schools to significantly increase the number of non-academic staff, such as nurses, social workers, psychologists and counselors. Also included are requirements that school districts adopt policies on intimidation and bullying, including mandated reporting of each incident. As always, I welcome your comments and concerns. I can be reached at my information above.
