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Note: The Senate Information Office has toll-free telephone numbers to enable citizens of Greater Minnesota to obtain general information about the Minnesota Senate. The telephone numbers are: 1-888-234-1112 (voice) and 1-888-234-1216 (TTY).
Update: May 5, 2004 4:55 p.m.
The panel also approved the appointments of LeRoy Koppendrayer, Ken Nickolai, and Marshall Johnson to the Public Utilities Commission and Marina Lyon, Betty Lour Berg and Lee Himle to the Housing Finance Agency Board. Finally, the appointments of Dan Ferber, Erick Lewis, Andy Wells, William Baker, Milton Toratti, Keith Dennehy, Daniel Pauly and Mary Mathews to the State Board of Invention were all approved.
S.F. 2827, sponsored by Sen. Jane Ranum (DFL-Mpls.), extends unemployment benefits to military reservists who lost their jobs after being called to active duty after Jan. 1, 2003 and to Northwest Airlines mechanics who were laid off due to outsourcing of their work.
S.F. 2326, carried by Sen. Sandra Pappas (DFL-St. Paul), requires the Perpich Center for Arts Education to file an application for unemployment insurance coverage for certain unclassified positions and requires the commissioner of employment and economic development to approve the application. The bill was also sent to the Finance Committee.
Five measures were advanced to the full Senate. S.F. 2243, carried by Anderson, is an unemployment insurance housekeeping bill from the Dept. of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Anderson also authored S.F. 2646, which updates provisions in the dislocated worker program. S.F. 2350, sponsored by Sen. Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont), addresses remaining issues relating to the merger of the Dept. of Economic Security into DEED. Sen. Thomas Bakk (DFL-Cook) carried a bill, S.F. 2009, transferring tourism development functions from DEED to a new office, Explore Minnesota Tourism. S.F. 2687, authored by Sen. Steve Kelley (DFL-Hopkins), provides that an assessment and appropriation for the purpose of establishing sustainable building guidelines for new state buildings and energy efficiency benchmarks for existing public buildings is effective retroactively to July 1, 2001.
S.F. 2478, carried by Sen. Mee Moua (DFL-St. Paul), disqualifies retailers from JOBZ eligibility. Louis Jambois, Dept. of Employment and Economic Development, said the Senate version of the JOBZ proposal last year contained similar language that was not part of the final legislation. However, he said, the bill formalizes current practice in the department restricting retailers from eligibility. Buzz Anderson, Minnesota Retailers Association, told members of the Jobs, Energy and Community Development Committee that retail should not be singled out as a second-class job provider. Retail has been and will remain key to the state's economic success, he said. "A good job is a good job," he said, and many communities may want to lure retail to their business districts, depending on circumstances. S.F. 2478 was forwarded to the Tax Committee.
Committee Chair Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul) sponsored S.F. 2957, which prevents businesses eligible for tax exemptions as waste tire cogeneration electric generating facilities from receiving the tax breaks provided by JOBZ. Only one proposed facility, near Preston, is eligible for the waste tire tax exemption. Anderson said the range of tax breaks afforded by the JOBZ program is not appropriate for a power plant that has generated significant controversy in the host community. Preston Mayor David Pechulis said the city has not approved including the plant in its JOBZ zone, but the plant is suing the city and may force it to include the plant in the zone. Katherine Attwood, Hugh Fendry and Bryan Van Gorp discussed the implications the tire-burning plant could have on local health, farming and businesses. Anderson said the bill resolves two key policy questions: should the program be used to force a business on a divided community and should the state provide additional subsidies to energy generation facilities via JOBZ. However, Sen. Mark Ourada (R-Buffalo) said the bill puts the cart before the horse. He noted that for a business to be eligible for JOBZ subsidies, the proposal must be approved by three local entities-the county, city and school district-and entrance into a business subsidy agreement. The bill automatically makes the answer "no," he said, regardless of local decision-making. S.F. 2957 was approved and re-referred to the Rules and Administration Committee.
Members also approved a bill making changes to laws governing the One Call Excavation Notice System. S.F. 1268, carried by Sen. Dan Sparks (DFL-Austin), was advanced to the full Senate.
Anderson also authored a bill, S.F. 2854, providing for the recovery of stranded costs by thermal energy customers adversely affected by the Metropolitan Emissions Reduction Program. Representatives of the Rock-Tenn Company, which manufactures 100 percent recycled paper board and buys steam from the High Bridge plant in St. Paul, outlined their needs and the investments they have made in their business and a steam line between the High Bridge plant and their facility, which is located in the Midway area of St. Paul. About $20 million of costs will be stranded when the High Bridge plants converts from coal to natural gas, said Larry Schedin, an engineer. Rock-Tenn Vice President Jack Greenshields said the company intends to build a biomass power generation facility on its manufacturing site. Chris Clark, Xcel Energy, said the bill is the wrong way to solve Rock-Tenn's problem. The company's contract to buy steam is with NRG, not Xcel, Clark said. Xcel ratepayers should not bear the burden of paying for Rock-Tenn's loss, he said. Beth Goodpaster, Izaak Walton League, said the bill sets an inappropriate precedent for the use of emissions reduction riders. Stranded cost recovery usually involves a taking by the state, Ourada said, but the emissions reduction plan is a voluntary action undertaken by Xcel. Rock-Tenn made a business decision to buy steam from a third party, he said. However, Anderson said the state helped along the process leading to the conversion of the High Bridge plant. A motion to advance the bill failed on a 6-6 tie.
S.F. 908, sponsored by Sen. Dallas Sams (DFL-Staples), deregulates independent telephone companies. S.F. 1115, also carried by Sams, modifies provisions for alternative forms of regulation of small telephone companies. S.F. 1936, authored by Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Mpls.), prohibits a telecommunications carrier from charging for long-distance service after a customer has requested the service be canceled. S.F. 1927, also sponsored by Dibble, prohibits billing for unauthorized charges from third-party service providers.
S.F. 2774, sponsored by Sen. Steve Kelley (DFL-Hopkins), requires instant credit for wrong information from directory assistance. S.F. 2331, authored by Kelley, changes cable franchise procedures and requirements. S.F. 2402, also carried by Kelley, expands the geographic boundaries for local calling within the state.
Three bills sponsored by Sen. Dan Sparks (DFL-Austin) were also heard. S.F. 2345 repeals a prohibition on telephone companies from requiring deposits in excess of $50 for facilities furnished and requires that interest be paid on deposits. S.F. 2346 repeals a number of technical sections of Minnesota Rules governing telephone companies and the establishment and regulation of community calling plans. S.F. 2622 provides criminal penalties involving the transmission of commercial e-mail to a protected computer used exclusively by a state government or financial institution.
S.F. 2608, sponsored by Committee Chair Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul), makes technical and clarifying changes to provisions regulating cable communications systems. S.F. 1862, carried by Sen. Michele Bachmann (R-Stillwater), provides consumer protections for wireless customers.
The committee did vote on two measures. S.F. 2898, authored by Sen. David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm), establishes an enterprise account for revenues and expenditures associated with the Giants Ridge Recreation Area. The bill was approved and sent to the Senate floor. S.F. 1385, sponsored by Sen. Dick Day (R-Owatonna), prohibits broadcast employers from including noncompete provisions in employment contracts. The bill was also approved and advanced to the full Senate.
S.F. 260, authored by Sen. Linda Higgins (DFL-Mpls.), requires the commissioner of labor and industry to adopt occupational safety and health standards regulating workplace ergonomic hazards, including awkward positions, force, repetitive motion, repeated impacts, vibration and heavy, frequent or awkward lifting. Higgins also sponsored S.F. 2739, which requires Metropolitan Airports Commission concession services contracts to include a valid labor agreement prohibiting employees from engaging in picketing, work stoppages, boycotts or other actions interfering with concession operations and requiring final and binding arbitration for labor disputes. The bill also specifies employee retention requirements upon concession management changes. S.F. 2631, carried by Sen. Satveer Chaudhary (DFL-Fridley), creates a packinghouse workers bill of rights. The bill were advanced to the full Senate.
S.F. 2844, sponsored by Sen. Thomas Bakk (DFL-Cook), was re-referred to the Health and Family Security Committee. The bill enacts recommendations from the Workers' Compensation Advisory Council.
Minnesota needs to come up to speed with other states, said Sen. Richard Cohen (DFL-St. Paul), chief author of S.F. 2757. The measure appropriates $40 million for projects in the biotech zone encompassing Minneapolis, St. Paul and Rochester. There are existing assets we can capitalize on in Minnesota, including the University of Minnesota and numerous medical device makers and agricultural businesses, said Martha Fuller, St. Paul's director of planning and economic development. The measure facilitates and accelerates private investment, she said, creating a home for generators of 21st century jobs. The strength of our assets is such that Minnesota can not only catch up, but actually surpass other states, said Sen. David Senjem (R-Rochester).
S.F. 2754, carried by Sen. Steve Kelley (DFL-Hopkins), provides $70 million over five years for the joint partnership between the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota. This partnership is a path-breaking effort, Kelley said, that has already funded four research projects. Dr. Mark Paller, assistant vice president for research at the University, said an economic analysis of the investment in the partnership shows dramatic returns for the state. The total annual impact, in a mid-range scenario, is estimated to be $290 million in 5 years, $546 million in 10 years and $934 million in 15 years, he said. Dr. Erick Wieben, director of the Mayo Genomics Research Center, said Minnesota is in a unique position to lead. No institution can move forward alone, but in concert, nothing is out of reach, he said. (Information about the partnership is available online.)
Medical and biosciences research is fraught with ethical and socially difficult issues, said Twila Brase of the Citizens Council on Health Care. If we do not deal with the issues now, she said, the economic development potential could be placed in future danger. Brase said an area of special concern for some patients is implied consent. She said patients should be guaranteed a right of explicit consent that is study-specific and placed on a separate consent form. Kelley said the ethical challenges posed by technology predate medical research and we are up to dealing with the issues through an open, democratic process.
In other action, committee members, chaired by Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul), considered a packinghouse workers' bill of rights, S.F. 2631, sponsored by Sen. Satveer Chaudhary (DFL-Fridley). The bill reaffirms workers' existing rights, said Bernie Hesse of the United Food and Commercial Workers. Making sure employees know their rights, he said, helps employers and employees and reduces turnover. John Exner, Midwest Food Processors Association, said employers are already engaged in ensuring that employees are adequately protected. Safety education is being expanded to other languages, he said, and the association provides cultural awareness seminars for employers. Several committee members expressed concern with the broad and vague goals embraced by the bill. "We could double the statute books and not accomplish much," said Sen. Mark Ourada (R-Buffalo), if everyone's goals were codified. Kelley said the core of the bill is contained in four sections, primarily relating to the communication of rights to workers in their native languages. S.F. 2631 was laid over.
The bill, authored by Sen. Dan Sparks (DFL-Austin), requires employers to pay overtime after 40 hours of work in a work week for employees who would have received overtime under current federal law. The measure also requires the Dept. of Labor and Industry (DOLI) to analyze the effects of the federal change on the payment of overtime to Minnesota workers and report to the Legislature by Jan. 15, 2005. "This proposal protects families from uncertainty," Sparks said, by maintaining the status quo until the impacts of the federal changes are clear. Representatives of labor organizations spoke in support of the bill. Mike Hickey, National Federation of Independent Business, said the old federal law was outdated and needed clarification. The new federal rules offer workers at the lowest income levels significant improvement in the availability of overtime, he said. Hickey said Minnesota should not isolate itself from a significant federal change in labor law. Assistant Commissioner Roslyn Wade said the department does not have a position on the proposal, but is concerned about staffing. She said DOLI staff will be required to enforce federal labor law, in addition to state law, and to develop a specialty in what amounts to outdated federal rules. S.F. 2413 was sent to the full Senate on a 9-0 roll call vote.
In other action, committee members approved five additional bills. S.F. 2462, sponsored by Committee Chair Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul), permits housing and redevelopment authorities to lease townhomes and condominiums to eligible low- and moderate-income tenants. The measure was advanced to the Judiciary Committee. Sen. Dallas Sams (DFL-Staples) carried S.F. 2591, which establishes a job creation program providing grants to Greater Minnesota employers to subsidize wages and benefits. The bill was re-referred to the Finance Committee.
Sen. Jane Ranum (DFL-Mpls.) carried two bills, S.F. 1972 and S.F. 1973. Both bills expand the jurisdiction and membership of the Metropolitan Radio Board to include Chisago and Isanti Counties, authorize the sale of revenue bonds by the Metropolitan Council for the second and third phases of the 800 MHz public safety radio communication system and repeal the sunset of the Metropolitan Radio Board. In addition, S.F. 1972 increases the 911 emergency telephone services fee to eliminate the ongoing deficit in the 911 fund and to help defray the cost of operating public safety answering points. S.F. 1972 was re-referred to the Finance Committee. S.F. 1973 was sent to the Senate floor.
The panel also heard S.F. 2233, authored by Sen. Gary Kubly (DFL-Granite Falls). The bill requires a study on the effect of imported Manitoba hydropower on the development of renewable energy sources and related economic development in Minnesota. A motion to approve the bill was defeated.
The bill, authored by Committee Chair Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul), increases the minimum hourly wage for large employers from $5.15 to $5.90 on July 1, 2004, and to $6.65 one year later. The measure increases the minimum hourly wage for small employers-those with less than $500,000 in gross annual sales-from $4.90 to $5.65 on July 1, 2004, and to $6.40 one year later. The bill also provides for annual increases, beginning on July 1, 2006, in the minimum wage levels by the percentage increase in the Minneapolis-St. Paul consumer price index for the previous calendar year.
Ann Markusen, a professor of public policy at the University of Minnesota, said the minimum wage has drastically declined in real terms since the 1960s. The minimum wage of the late 1960s was more than $8 an hour in current dollars, she said. Minnesota has long led the nation on the minimum wage, she said, but the entire increase made in the mid-1990s has since been wiped out by inflation. S.F. 3 makes up about half the loss, Markusen said. She said workers currently making up to $8.50 an hour will see an increase in wages. Employers often pride themselves on paying more than the minimum, she said, and like to maintain a spread between actual wages and the legal mandate. No past increases in the minimum wage have caused job losses, Markusen said, primarily because most employers paying the minimum serve local markets, so all competitors are also paying the increased wage. Wage increases do not eat into business profits, she said, but are traditionally passed on to consumers as higher prices. Markusen said higher wages help businesses, because low-wage earners tend to spend more of their income quickly.
Representatives of the Children's Defense Fund, Women Venture and Minnesota Community Action Association also spoke in support of the bill. They emphasized the positive social and economic impacts on low-income families and possible savings in welfare programs, child care subsidies and transportation programs. Brian Rusche of the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition said claims of job losses made by employers are overblown. The business community should look at wage distribution if it wants to help workers, he said. "Those who see the market as a deity have lost a vision of commonwealth and the common good," Rusche said. Todd Perkins, a business owner from Mankato, said his company chose to increase the wages of its lowest-paid employees. The company had to focus on the goal, he said, and convince higher-paid employees to take less compensation. Perkins said the company has experienced positive results, including fewer operational difficulties and lower employee turnover. Kris Jacobs, JOBS NOW Coalition, said the minimum wage is not just a Metro Area issue. While the cost of living is lower in Greater Minnesota, she said, wages are even lower.
Minnesota should keep its minimum wage in sync with the federal mandate of $5.15, said Mike Hickey of the National Federation of Independent Business. Raising the minimum wage in Minnesota will put businesses in border communities at a competitive disadvantage, he said, since all surrounding states are at $5.15. Federal data, Hickey said, show that minimum wage earners are not heads of households. Only 12 percent of Minnesota workers earning the minimum wage are primary breadwinners, he said, while 60 percent are part-time workers. The majority of workers earning the minimum wage are teens and students living at home, Hickey said. If the minimum wage is increased, he said, "job loss is going to occur-the question is how much and where." He noted that Washington and Oregon have two of the nation's highest minimum wages and have two of the nation's three highest unemployment rates.
Tom Hesse, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, said the market is working: employers who want to pay their employees more, like Perkins, can and do. Most economists agree, he said, that raising the minimum wage does have an effect on employment. Buzz Anderson, Minnesota Retailers Association, said wages are one of the highest component costs of running a business. An informal sample of the association's members-across the state-showed that none are paying the minimum wage, he said, but are paying their lowest paid workers between $6 and $8 an hour. Retailers are competing in a global marketplace, he said, and the effects of a wage increase are not felt nationally or globally.
Sen. Carrie Ruud (R-Breezy Point) offered an amendment providing that the wages of tipped employees are locked at their current level. The amendment provides that if a tipped employee does not earn enough in tips to equal the higher minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference. Tom Day, Hospitality Minnesota, said six other states also lack a tip credit. Most states with tip credits set the minimum wage for tipped employees at $2.13 an hour, he said, but employers in Minnesota do not seek to lower anyone's wage. Tipped employees make the most in the hospitality industry, he said. Day said restaurant servers earn an average of $12 an hour in Greater Minnesota and $18 an hour in the Metro Area, when tips are included. Tips are wages, he said, not a private transaction between consumers and employees. Employers must pay Social Security and unemployment taxes on tips, Day said. Wade Luneberg, Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, said there are 20,000 tipped employees in Minnesota, or about one third of all minimum wage workers. Tipped employees are already paid less than other employees in hospitality operations, he said, and do not deserve to be relegated to substandard status. The amendment was defeated on a 6-8 roll call vote. Members then advanced the bill on an 8-6 roll call vote.
S.F. 2580 includes two pages of findings on the threats posed by greenhouse gas emissions to the state's economy and natural resources-including possible harm to forests and bodies of water, increased flooding and reductions in tourism, recreational activities and agricultural productivity. The measure identifies carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride as greenhouse gases. The Dept. of Commerce must develop a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including reduction goals, a list of cost-effective ways to achieve the goals, and specific action needed in the sectors of energy, transportation, industry, commerce, institutions and residences, under the bill. The bill also requires the plan to include a regional cap and trade program. The plan must be submitted to the Environmental Quality Board and the Legislature by Dec. 1, 2004. S.F. 2580 also requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to report any actions they take or permit that are expected to reduce or increase greenhouse gas emissions.
Anderson said the state must be a leader on the issue of climate change. The bill represents a small step, she said, by bringing a diverse group together to develop recommendations to maintain and encourage economic growth while responding to climate change. Several individuals spoke in support of the measure and discussed the possible harms of climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Sen. David Gaither (R-Plymouth) said much of the hyperbole used in describing possible dangers tend to marginalize the real information and likely outcomes and impede the truly needed conversations about environmental policy.
Deputy Commissioner Edward Garvey said the Department of Commerce has four concerns with the bill. Resources will be diverted from current departmental activity relating to the promotion of low cost and environmentally friendly energy sources, he said, as the department develops the plan. Further, Minnesota may not need the plan required in the bill, Garvey said, because the department and the MPCA are already putting a lot of effort into the area. He noted that planning and studies have been conducted for years on climate change and the bill duplicates some of those efforts. Implicit in the bill is unilateral action to be taken by Minnesota, putting the state at a competitive disadvantage, Garvey said. Minnesota cannot do enough to solve a global problem, he said. Anderson said the state needs to go beyond what each agency is doing. A broader statewide discussion with all parties at the table is needed, she said.
In other action, the committee advanced three other bills. S.F. 2429, carried by Sen. Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing), requires employers to provide employees with advance notice of intention to terminate the employees due to the shifting of job duties out of the country. S.F. 2472, sponsored by Anderson, modifies the cold weather disconnection rule and budget billing plan provisions for utilities. Both measures were sent to the Senate floor. S.F. 2457, authored by Sen. Don Betzold (DFL-Fridley), was re-referred to the Tax Committee. The bill authorizes the Anoka County Regional Railroad Authority to exercise economic development authority powers.
The committee, chaired by Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul), also approved a bill creating a broadband infrastructure grant program. S.F. 2298, authored by Sen. Dallas Sams (DFL-Staples), appropriates $2 million for grants to cities to provide up to 80 percent of the capital costs of public infrastructure necessary for an eligible broadband development project. The bill specifies that the maximum grant amount may be no more than a total of $200,000 in grants made in two consecutive years for one or more projects. Sams said 20 percent of the population does not have access to broadband services. Gary Fields, Blandin Foundation, spoke in support of the measure and said the bill is needed in Greater Minnesota. The measure was approved and advanced to the Committee on Finance.
S.F. 2269, sponsored by Sen. Steve Kelley (DFL-Hopkins), appropriates $25 million for economic development and economic redevelopment. Kelley said the bill is the governor's proposal, with $10 million split between economic development and redevelopment and $15 million for eligible projects within the biotechnology and health science zone. Members adopted an amendment to provide that the $10 million be earmarked for redevelopment. Kelley said the biotechnology and health science zone encompasses Minneapolis, St. Paul and Rochester. Louis Jambois, director of community development, Dept. of Employment and Economic Development, spoke in support of the governor's proposal.
Nancy Larson, Association of Small Cities, said all areas of the state have development needs. She said it would be helpful to earmark portions of the account for Greater Minnesota. Austin Mayor Bonnie Rietz and Tim Flaherty, Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, echoed Larson's concerns.
Sen. John Hottinger (DFL-St. Peter) offered an amendment increasing the amount for redevelopment from $10 million to $20 million and requiring the funds to be used equally between the Metropolitan Area and Greater Minnesota. The amendment was adopted. The measure was approved and re-referred to the Finance Committee.
We are facing the problems we have because humans have been extraordinarily successful, said Regents Professor of Ecology David Tilman. He said a consensus on climate change has been forged within the scientific community over the past several years. The world was demonstrably colder only a century ago, Tilman said, and it is now warmer than it has ever been in recorded meteorological history. Tilman reviewed how greenhouse gases cause global warming and how scientists collect data to determine historical trends. By 2095, he said, Minnesota's weather will be comparable to what is now the weather in Illinois or Oklahoma. For the future, he said, we need to become more energy efficient as a society and shift to new sources of energy. "Global warming is a fact," Tilman said. "The only debate is how warm it is going to be in the future," he said, and the only long-term solution is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He said the Earth can sustain projected population growth, but per capita consumption of resources must be reined in.
Peter Wyckoff, an assistant professor at the University's Morris campus, said the state's forests will retreat as the state warms. It is possible, he said, that Minnesota could become one large prairie state. Lucinda Johnson said Minnesotans are seeing a change in how they think of winter. Johnson, a senior research associate at the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth, said the state is moving toward slushier winters. Average minimum temperatures in February have risen from 6.5 degrees to 11.7 degrees Fahrenheit, she said, since 1891. The state is also experiencing much warmer summers, Johnson said. By the end of the century, she said, the state is likely to experience more precipitation in the winter and spring months, with less precipitation in the summer months. As a matter of policy, we need to reduce emissions, minimize other pressures on the environment and prepare for climate change, Johnson said.
The issue is not the economy versus the environment, said Steve Polasky, a professor of applied economics. There are costs on both sides of the equation, he said. Polasky reviewed the environmental costs of inaction and the economic costs of acting to reducing emissions. Meeting the Kyoto Protocol standards by 2010, he said, requires a 30 percent reduction is fossil fuel consumption.
One of the measures sparking discussion, S.F. 1609, sponsored by Sen. Mady Reiter (R-Shoreview), prohibits employers from asking job applicants their armed forces reserve or National Guard status. Reiter said that applicants who have been asked the question have found it difficult to obtain employment. Dave and Peggy Peterson, whose son is currently serving in Iraq, said their son was unable to find a job when he answered truthfully about his guard status. Lt. Col. John Brossert, National Guard, also spoke in support of the bill. Members said the measure was similar to the prohibition on asking about pregnancy or marital status. The committee adopted an amendment to clarifiy that the provisions of the bill did not apply to employers using the information for purposes of veterans preference. The bill was approved and re-referred to the Agriculture, Veterans and Gaming Committee.
Members also approved a bill, S.F. 2044, prohibiting employers from using state funds to encourage or discourage union organizing. Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Mpls.), chief author, said the measure is similar to laws enacted in New York and California that require that state funds not be used when there is an issue of labor organization. He said funds are provided to a variety of entities, such as nursing homes for the care and quality of care of residents, and are not meant to be used to encourage or discourage labor union organization. Members adopted an amendment deleting a requirement for state agency rulemaking. The measure was approved and advanced to the Senate floor.
The committee also approved a bill, S.F. 1946, directing the commissioner of employment and economic development to conduct an extended employment pilot project. Chief Author LeRoy Stumpf (DFL-Thief River Falls) said the measure directs the commissioner to conduct the pilot project to study an industrial model for employment for individuals with severe disabilities at a company in Thief River Falls. The bill specifies that the pilot project maintain a minimum ration of 60 percent of nondisabled persons, must pay minimum wages or better to all employees with severe disabilities and must provide them a level of benefits equal to those provided to nondisabled employees. In addition, the measure requires all work teams to be integrated. The bill was approved and advanced to the full Senate.
S.F. 2182, sponsored by Committee Chair Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul), was approved and recommended for the Consent Calendar. The measure repeals the sunset of performance-based gas utility regulation.
Members also heard, but took no action on, a bill providing privacy protection to consumers of telecommunications, cable and Internet services. The measure, S.F. 1746, is sponsored by Sen. Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope).
At the suggestion of Sen. Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope), the bill's chief author, members deleted a section of the bill providing state aid for communities in which an international economic development zone is located. Members also considered four other amendments dealing with issues raised at the bill's previous hearing before the panel. Sen. David Senjem (R-Rochester) offered an amendment requiring the Dept. of Employment and Economic Development to study the desirability of having more than one international economic development zone in the state. An amendment offered by Sen. Steve Kelley (DFL-Hopkins) requires the preparation of a business plan examining the economic feasibility of the regional distribution center before the zone is designated. Sen. John Hottinger (DFL-St. Peter) offered an amendment clarifying that tax exemptions, job credits and tax increment financing provided under the bill are business subsidies. The amendment makes the bill consist with the JOBZ legislation approved last year, Hottinger said.
Committee Chair Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul) offered an amendment requiring employers in the zone to pay their employees a wage of at least 110 percent of federal poverty guidelines for a family of four. "This is a moderate living wage requirement," Anderson said, and with such large tax breaks for the zone, jobs should be above the minimum wage. Tom Hesse, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, spoke against the amendment. He said the provisions of the business subsidy law are enough to protect the state's and employees' interests in ensuring good wages. All four amendments were adopted.
In other action, committee members heard an overview of telecommunications issues from a variety of speakers, including Assistant Commerce Commissioner Edward Garvey and Milda Hedblom, director of the Telecommunications and Information Society Policy Forum at the University of Minnesota.
Rest said the bill is modeled after the JOBZ bill that was enacted last year. Morrie Anderson, representing Capitol Gains, said the measure could help provide access to global markets for Minnesota businesses and for businesses throughout the upper Midwest. Anderson said, currently, Minnesota goods are trucked to Chicago for international shipment, but that up to five flights a week could originate from Minnesota with the creation of a regional distribution center. Foreign trade zones are a federal program administered by a local authority along with U.S. Customs, Anderson said. The Greater Metropolitan Area Foreign Trade Zone is a joint powers commission comprised of Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Bloomington, the Metropolitan Airports Commission and Rosemount, he said.
He said the proposal would lead to an increase and restoration in competitiveness in global markets, provide quality job creation and retention and provide a national homeland security model for air cargo shipments.
Members questioned the jobs credit contained in the bill as well as a number of the concepts underlying the measure. Rest said she would be amenable to including language requiring jobs to pay a livable wage to be eligible for the credit. The bill was laid over in order to allow time for amendments to be drafted.
The committee, chaired by Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul), approved two additional bills and advanced the measures to the floor. S.F. 1753, sponsored by Anderson, modifies the low-income electric rate discount program. Anderson said the bill targets aid to those in the most need and is a more effective and efficient way to use the dollars. The bill specifies that the affordability program be designed to target participating customers with the lowest incomes and highest energy costs in order to lower the percentage of income they devote to energy bills, increase their payments and lower costs associated with collection activities. In addition, for low-income customers who are 62 years of age or older or disabled, the program must, in addition to any other program benefits, include a 50 percent electric rate discount on the first 300 kilowatt hours consumed in a billing period.
The second measure, S.F. 1818, sponsored by Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove), requires locks or other security devices to ensure privacy for nursing mothers in the workplace. Diane Cushman, Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women, spoke in support of the measure.
Anderson, the original sponsor of the bill requiring lactation rooms at the workplace, said she hears from women from all over the country about the need for lactation rooms. She said that though the law has been in effect for seven years, there are still problems. She drafted and Sen. Thomas Bakk (DFL-Cook) offered, an amendment requiring employers to make reasonable efforts to make employees aware of the law. Anderson said she did not want to make the amendment too onerous for employers. Mike Hickey, National Federation of Independent Business, said the amendment made the bill too restrictive. Sen. John Hottinger (DFL-St. Peter) argued that it wasn't unreasonable to have employers tell their employees about a facility for the employees. The amendment was adopted. The measure was advanced to the full Senate.
Chair Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul) said the Dept. of Commerce and Dept. of Employment and Economic Development were directed to develop a program to promote and encourage the development of businesses engaged in hydrogen and fuel cell technology. She said the meeting was to hear the report. Edward Garvey, deputy commissioner of commerce, presented the report and its findings.
Garvey said the state's energy policy vision reconciles two often competing goals-maintaining Minnesota's current reliable, low cost electricity and lowering the environmental impacts of the generation and delivery of that energy. He also outlined seven energy policy strategies and said Minnesota should foster development of renewable hydrogen to reduce environmental effects from traditional energy fuels, to capitalize on Minnesota's natural and human resource base, to generate new, high wage jobs, to get ahead of the competition in developing new processes and technologies and to reverse the economic drain of energy dollars.
Garvey said the state began a voluntary initiative 18 months ago to foster development of renewable hydrogen and fuel cells. He said Minnesota's strength in renewable energy resources gives it a competitive advantage in hydrogen production. In addition, the state needs to develop a hydrogen and fuel cell resource guide to provide resources for interested businesses and to promote projects rather than zones. The state needs to make fuel cells eligible for net metering and to develop codes, standards and rates to facilitate the development of new technologies and their implementation.
Members also heard a report on renewable energy in Europe from members of a delegation, sponsored by the Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development that toured innovative energy installations in Northern Europe. Sara Bergan, from the institute, said the group focused on learning about cutting edge developments in Europe's energy sector and developing ways to apply those insights to the northern plains region. Other members of the delegation reported on specific energy operations on the tour and ways to adapt the technology in the upper Midwest.
Members heard first from Howard Glad and Cathy Carlson about employment support for persons with serious mental illness. Glad said, "As a rule, because of the long-term and cyclical nature of serious mental illness, most states have fallen short in services for persons with serious mental illness. However, most persons with serious mental illness express a strong desire to work." Carlson summarized coordinated employability projects. She said the projects are an innovative partnership to improve employment outcomes for persons with serious mental illness.
Carlson said the collaborating partners-rehabilitation services, vocational rehabilitation, extended employment from the Dept. of Employment and Economic Development and the mental health division of the Dept. of Human Services-designed and implemented a successful service delivery program to aid persons with serious mental illness obtain improved employment outcomes. She said the program requires collaboration with local community mental health and community rehabilitation programs to design service delivery systems. Carlson said a total of 35 projects have been funded in 76 counties, with 31 projects continuing to the present. She said the grants are awarded on a competitive basis for no more than the four year federal limit. The performance based grants require the applicants to establish goals for the number of people to be served and the number of employment outcomes to be achieved, Carlson said.
She said there is also an employment supports component to provide ongoing help for persons who became employed through the time-limited grants.
Carlson said the projects have significantly improved the provision of employment services, with an employment rate of 59 percent. "People with mental illness are a stable workforce when provided with ongoing supports and have a job tenure rate comparable to persons without disabilities in entry level jobs," Carlson concluded.
Members also heard from Steve Hine, research director, Labor Market Information Office, on trends in job growth. Hine said, "Although policy makers may disagree on specific decisions, everyone agrees that rational and intelligent decision making requires reliable and accurate information." He said the Labor Market Information Office exists to provide reliable and accurate information about Minnesota's labor market. In addition, Carrie Thomas representing JOBS NOW Coalition spoke on the coalition's cost of living study in terms of the jobs and wages available in the state. She said, "In our research, 'The Cost of Living in Minnesota,' we identify what a family's basic needs are and what it costs to meet them. The costs are based upon monthly budget requirements necessary to achieve a 'no frills' standard of living." She presented examples from around the state of what families of varying sizes need in wages to meet their basic needs.
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