This week began with a floor session on Monday, in which Senators voted on confirmations made by the Governor. The Senate approved four commissioners including Diane Mandernach as Commissioner of Health, Kevin Goodno as Commissioner of Human Services, Dan Salomone as Commissioner of Revenue and Velma Korvel as Commissioner of Human Rights. Committee issues The Senate Environment and Natural Resources committee approved the 1/4 of one percent sales tax dedication Constitutional amendment bill (formerly the 3/16 bill). The amendment must be approved by State and Local Government Operations and the Senate Tax committee, and then it must go to the Senate floor for a vote. The House of Representatives may stay with the 3/16 version, but it has not yet received a House committee hearing. The 1/4 bill would dedicate about $170 million annually starting July 2005, and would be in place for 20 years. Proceeds would be allocated as follows: 40 percent for game and fish, 30 percent for parks and trails and 30 percent for clean water programs. A Heritage Enhancement Council would also be established to recommend a specific budget plan for use of the funds. The Senate Tax committee reviewed a report focusing on the local option sales tax. The report addresses ways to manage the process. Currently, local decisions such as these need to be brought before the legislature for approval. Wednesday brought stadium proposals to the Senate State and Local Government Operations committee. The Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings brought forth their “wish lists” and took questions on the four identified proposed locations: the city of St. Paul, Hennepin County/city of Minneapolis (adjacent to the Target Center), Anoka County/city of Blaine, and Eden Prairie. A bill is expected to be introduced to the Senate this session. Thursday’s floor session brought a lot of attention to the Senate. Legislation for .08 BAC was taken up on the floor and passed. This legislation lowers the per se standard for blood alcohol concentration from .10 percent to .08 percent in the driving and hunting while impaired laws. There are currently 46 other states that have adopted similar legislation. The push to pass this legislation came from the federal government, which encouraged states to adopt a lower standard. If the state did not implement the standard, Minnesota would lose two percent of its federal highway funding, with penalties increasing to eight percent by Fiscal Year 2007. The House of Representatives has not yet taken up the bill. They are expected to propose an amendment to lower the fine for BAC between .08 and .10. The Senate also proposed this amendment, but it was voted down. If passed by the House, the bill will go into effect August 2004. State Senator Michelle Fischbach can be reached using the contact information listed above.
