May 18, 2009 - 2009 End of Session Report
From Ready 4 K
Today at the Capitol, the 2009 Legislative Session wrapped-up without fully addressing the $6.4 billion dollar deficit. With no agreement between the DFL-controlled Legislature and the Republican Governor on how to solve the deficit, the Legislature adjourned at midnight, leaving the budget a few billion out of balance. The DFL made a last ditch attempt to solve it by sending the Governor a bill to shift K-12 payments and increase taxes shortly before adjourning. Should the governor not sign the bill, he has pledged to make more line-item vetoes and use unallotment come July 1, as was reported on Friday.
Since last week’s update, the Governor signed the E-12 Education bill, leaving intact all of the early childhood provisions. But we can no longer claim zero cuts to early childhood this year, as the Governor line-item vetoed several items when he signed major omnibus spending bills. Specifically:
» He signed the Higher Ed bill, but line-item vetoed all state funding for TEACH early childhood provider scholarships. ($500,000)
» He signed the Bonding bill, but line-item vetoed $85 million worth of projects, including $2 million for Early Childhood Facility Grants.
A more complete update and summary will be sent out in the coming days. Until then, please check out our bill tracker. We’ll also be monitoring the Governor’s unallotment process and keep you up to date on any actions involving early care and education programs.
Thank you for your continued support this session. Despite the small cuts at the end of the day, we can all be proud of the work we did to keep them to a minimum this year. Be sure to thank your legislators for their support of our youngest Minnesotans.
May 8, 2009 - This Week @ the Capitol
From Ready 4 K
Both the Education and Health and Human Conference Committees continue to meet irregularly, making it difficult for those following the committees to, well, follow them.
On a broader sense, DFLers continue to try to get the Governor to accept revenue increases, sending him their first bill of the year to increase taxes to pay for Education, Health Care and Long Term Care, which the Governor promptly and expectedly vetoed. To this point, consider joining Invest in Minnesota’s Rally Monday, May 11 at Noon. Invest in Minnesota’s non-profit, faith and labor communities will gather at the State Capitol Rotunda for a rally that demonstrates organizational and citizen commitment to raising revenues fairly to maintain adequate funding for jobs, dignity, and public services that meet essential needs in communities.
As was mentioned last week, some early care and education organizations submitted memos to conference committee members out lining our priorities. The memos can be found here.
Here are some other links to useful information:
Ready 4 K omnibus bill tracker (updated and organized by conference committee now)
Legislative side-by-side of bills
» Article 6 of the education bills—early childhood side-by-side
» Article 2 of the human services bills—child care side-by-side (article 13 includes federal stimulus dollar spending, and is not posted on-line yet)
Additional information from Invest in Minnesota:
If you are not able to make the Rally on Monday, May 11, but still want to support Invest in Minnesota’s work, use the legislative district finder to find email addresses for your legislators and send them the following message on May 11th at Noon:
“I am a constituent in your district. I am emailing to let you know that I support raising revenues fairly. We cannot solve the current budget shortfall without adequate funding for public services that Minnesotans count on to make ends meet. We need a balanced solution, including a balanced tax system where everyone pays their fair share. ”
Invest in Minnesota unites Minnesota’s faith community, labor and nonprofit organizations around raising revenue fairly. For more information, go to www.investinmn.org.
Visit Parents United to see the connection between E-12 funding and Invest in Minnesota’s work to raise revenues fairly.
K-12 Education Forum with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s staff
7 p.m., Monday, May 4, Virginia High School, 411 South 5th St, Virginia, MN
Public input requested on NCLB reauthorization
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s staff is holding K-12 Education Forums throughout Minnesota to hear from educators, parents, administrators and community members about education reform and their views on the federal No Child Left Behind law, which is up for reauthorization by Congress this year. Klobuchar wants to know what education reforms at the federal level would best serve Minnesota schools and their students.
Learn more about NCLB and it’s impacts in Minnesota from Parents United.
Unable to attend?
Submit suggestions and find out the dates and locations of future forums by visiting Senator Klobuchar’s webpage on education reform.