When the clock struck 12:00 midnight on Monday, May 18, the 2015 Legislature was gaveled to a close. Under Minnesota’s Constitution, the Legislature must adjourn at midnight on the third Monday in May. It doesn’t matter what needs to pass, the midnight hour is the buzzer. Game over.
For the Cook County Chamber’s issues this means we go into overtime. The Chamber established priorities based on the Go Cook County! Prosperity Priorities and through discussions within the community last November. With the support and efforts of Sen. Tom Bakk and Rep. David Dill, the priorities were doing well until the buzzer went off and Governor Mark Dayton pulled out his veto pen.
Here’s what’s in and what needs to be addressed in the upcoming special session.
Workforce Development. Score. Cook County Higher Ed is eligible to secure grants and work with Cook County employers through a new program called Dual Training. This initiative is contained in the Omnibus Higher Ed Bill, passed the Legislature and signed into law by the governor.
Workforce Housing. Out of play. The Omnibus Jobs & Economic Development Budget bill created a new workforce housing grant program and funded it at $2 million each year. We worked to make sure that the Cook County-Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA) would be eligible for these grants. The governor vetoed this bill and it will need to be addressed in the special session.
With no Omnibus Tax Bill, the Senate language to create a workforce housing tax credit program with specific language that makes the Cook County- Grand Marais EDA eligible remains incomplete. The same is for the Senate provision for the Tofte Housing Project. If the tax bill is not a part of the special session, then these issues will need to be addressed in the 2016 Legislative Session.
Chik-Wauk Nature Center. Out of time. The $250,000 in grant funds for the Chik-Wauk Nature Center was included in the Omnibus Legacy bill. This bill passed the House in the closing minutes but wasn’t given enough time to pass the Senate. While this is not an essential bill for the operation of state government, it has projects that touch every corner of the state. This is the spending bill for the Legacy dollars generated by the Legacy Amendment. It is expected the Special Session will finish this work.
The next critical deadline is June 30, the end of the state’s fiscal year. Sometime between now and then, the Legislature and governor need to finish what they started.
Judy Erickson, Government Relations Cook County Chamber of Commerce
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