Advocacy

The following information was sent via e-mail on May 20, 2013 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist. Additional linked information added.

UPDATE: Click here for the Legacy Conference Committee Report.  Specifically, see pages 68-69 for regional public library funding (listed under Department of Education) and pages 71-72 (starting on line 71-28, specifically) for information on the Minnesota Digital Library.

Great news! The Legacy Conference Committee just released its spreadsheet. They have agreed to the House position of $3 million per year for regional public libraries. Thank you to all who contacted your legislators. It clearly made a huge difference.

The Minnesota Digital Library received $300,000 per year. Since this was the funding level in both the House and Senate bills, this was expected. (Note: The original amount requested was $750,000.)

On Friday the Minnesota House will take up the bonding bill on the floor.  The bill as it emerged from committee did not include any funding for libraries.  However, Rep. Alice Hausman, chief author of the bill, has posted an amendment to the bill online that would appropriate $1.5 million for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants. 
 Please e-mail your representative immediately and urge him/her to support the Hausman A-13-0703 amendment to the bonding bill.  Explain that it includes $1.5 million for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants.

The House and Senate conferees for the Legacy bill have been appointed.

Please contact them and urge them to support the House position on Legacy funding for regional public libraries. 

The House maintains the current funding level of $3 million per year, whereas the Senate reduces it to $1 million per year.  With the Senate version, SELCO would go from  $308,016 it received in FY2013 to $96,000 in FY2014, greatly affecting SELCO's ability to support local programming efforts.  Call or email your these folks today and share your story about Library Legacy activities in your community.

The Legacy Conferees are:

The House conferees for the Legacy bill were appointed this morning.

Please contact them and urge them to support the House position on Legacy funding for regional public libraries. 

The House maintains the current funding level of $3 million per year, whereas the Senate reduces it to $1 million per year.  With the Senate version, SELCO would go from  $308,016 it received in FY2013 to $96,000 in FY2014, greatly affecting SELCO's ability to support local programming efforts.  Call or email your these folks today and share your story about Library Legacy activities in your community.

The House Legacy Conferees are:

The following information was sent via e-mail on May 15, 2013 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist. Additional linked information added.

With just a few days left in the legislative session, final decisions are starting to be made on budget bills.

Minitex/MnLINK

Great news!  The higher education conference committee reached agreement on the omnibus higher ed bill this evening (May 15, 2013) and it includes the $300,000 per year funding increase for Minitex and MnLINK that was included in the Senate bill. Thank you to all of you who wrote to the conferees urging them to support the Senate position.  Please write to thank the conferees for their support, especially Senator Kent Eken, Senator Terri Bonoff and Rep. Gene Pelowski.

Aid to Cities and Counties

The tax conference committee is still negotiating the omnibus tax bill, but they have agreed on an increase of $80 million in aid to cities and $40 million in aid to counties. 

Legacy

Tonight (May 15, 2013) the Senate passed its Legacy bill on the floor.  I'm pleased to report that during the debate several senators gave Senator Cohen quite an earful about the reduction in funding to regional public libraries. Thank you to all of you who contacted your senators. It is making a difference.  The conference committee will be appointed tomorrow.  As soon as the conferees are appointed I will send out their contact information.

Legacy funding for SELCO's cultural programming is in jeopardy of being reduced by 2/3.

In FY2013, SELCO received $308,016 but under the proposed Senate Legacy bill that amount would be reduced to $96,000 in FY2014, greatly affecting SELCO's ability to support local programming efforts.

Call or email your Senator today and share your story about Library Legacy activities in your community.  Ask your Senator to influence his or her colleagues on the conference committee to agree to the appropriation of $3 per year as proposed by the House.

Click here for a flyer with more information.  Please share with staff, board members, library Friends, city officials, and anyone interested in library programs.

The legislative session concludes Monday, May 20.  Time is short.  Call or email today.

Thank you,
Ann Hutton, Executive Director

The Senate Legacy Bill (SF 1051), authored by Senator Richard Cohen (D-St. Paul), was unveiled in the Senate Subcommittee on Legacy on Thursday, May 9, 2013, and included funding for $1 million/year for regional public libraries.  This amount is a major reduction from the $3 million/year currently allocated to regional public libraries.  In the House companion bill, HF 1183, the House maintained the $3 million/year allocation to regional public libraries.  A conference committee will be named later this week to work out differences with the House and Senate versions of the bill. 

For SELCO, this reduction would mean that rather than receiving ~$300,000/year in Library Legacy Funding, we would receive closer to ~$100,000/year in Library Legacy Funding.  A nearly 2/3 reduction will have a MAJOR impact on what projects and services we would be able to provide our member libraries.

Action needed:  Please contact your own senator to express concern about this reduction and how important Legacy funding for libraries is to your library.  Ask them to raise the issue with Senator Cohen. 

According to Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist

We are not going to change Senator Cohen's mind. However, if it's clear that his Senate colleagues are unhappy about the level of funding for libraries it will be more likely that the Senate conferees will agree to the House appropriation when the bill gets to conference committee.

If you do receive a response from your Senator, please feel free to let Michael Scott know about it.  Send him email to mscott@selco.info.

Thanks!

The following information was sent via e-mail on May 12, 2013 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist. Additional linked information added.

It's crunch time.  The Legislature must adjourn on May 20, 2013 -- one week from Monday.

Budget Deal

Today (May 12, 2013) the Governor and legislative leaders announced that they have agreed on a budget deal. The deal includes significant increases for E-12 education ($475 million) and higher education ($250 million) and a smaller cut in health & human services than legislators had proposed (a $50 million cut rather than $150 million). The school funding shift will be repaid. To pay for all of this and cover the $627 million deficit, income taxes will be increased on couples with taxable income of $250,000 and on individuals with taxable income of $150,000. Sales taxes will be expanded to some business services but not to consumer services or clothing. The cigarette tax will be increased. Details will be worked out by the various budget conference committees.

E-12 Education

The conference committee met for the first time on Thursday, May 9, 2013.  They adopted several identical provisions, including two items important to MLA/MEMO. 

1. The change in terminology from "grant" to "aid" for RLBSS and Multi-type funding
2. Clarification that total operating capital funds can be used for computer hardware, software and annual licensing fees

Higher Education

The conference committee will meet for the first time on Monday, May 13, 2013. The funding increase for Minitex/MnLINK that is included in the Senate higher ed bill but not in the House bill has a better chance now that the agreed-upon target ($250 million) is closer to the Senate target ($260 million) than the House target ($150 million).  Our Senate author, Senator Kent Eken (DFL - Twin Valley) is on the conference committee and told me he intends to fight hard for the increase included in the Senate bill.  If you haven't yet contacted the conferees to urge them to support the increase in the Senate bill, please do so.

Legacy

The House Legacy bill passed on the floor on Friday, May 10, 2013. The Senate Legacy bill was unveiled in the Senate Legacy Subcommittee on Thursday, May 9, 2013.  It includes $300,000 per year for the Minnesota Digital Library (the amount requested) and $1 million per year for regional public libraries.  This is a huge reduction from the $3 million per year currently allocated to regional public libraries.  Senator Dick Cohen, chair of both the Senate Finance Committee and the Legacy Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee, has opposed Legacy funding for libraries from the beginning. His position has been that only those who advocated for the constitutional amendment should share in the funds generated.  He views all other recipients as interlopers, including libraries.  Senator Cohen's goal has been that 50% of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund is to be allocated to the State Arts Board.  Currently about 43% is allocated to the State Arts Board.  The Senate bill includes a provision requiring that in the future 50% of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund shall be allocated to the State Arts Board.  The initial version of the Senate Legacy bill distributed the funds to regional public libraries under the RLBSS formula, as has been done the past two biennia.  I subsequently spoke with Senator Cohen and he agreed to amend the bill to change the formula in accordance with the MLA/MEMO platform and to require that the funds be distributed in 10 equal payments.  That amendment was adopted on Friday and the bill was passed out of the Subcomittee. It will be heard in the full Senate Finance Committee on Monday, May 13, 2013.

The following information was sent via e-mail on April 29, 2013 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist. Additional linked information added.

The Legislature must adjourn three weeks from today (April 29, 2013).  Most of the omnibus budget bills were passed on the floor of the House and Senate last week (week of April 22, 2013).  Conference committees are in the process of being appointed and will begin meeting later this week. Here is the status of the major bills affecting libraries:

Omnibus Higher Education Bill (SF 1236)

The bill has passed both the House and the Senate.

The Senate higher education bill includes a $300,000 per year increase in funding for Minitex/MnLINK.  The House maintains current funding.
 
Please contact the conferees listed below and ask them to support the Senate funding level for Minitex/MnLINK:   

Omnibus E-12 Education Bill (HF 630)

The bill has passed both the House and Senate. Here are the highlights for MLA and MEMO:

• Both the House and Senate versions of the bill maintain all library appropriations at current levels.
• Both the House and Senate change the terminology in statute from "grant" to "aid" for Regional Library Basic System Support and Multitype funding.
• The Senate includes language clarifying that total operating capital can be used by schools to purchase computer, software and annual licensing fees. I expect the House to accept this language in conference.
• The House increases the general education formula by 2% in FY 14 and 2% in FY 15. The Senate increases the general education formula by 1% in FY 14. The House had more money to spend than the Senate did.

House conferees are:

Rep. Paul Marquart (DFL - Dilworth)
Rep. Carolos Mariani (DFL - St. Paul)
Rep. Kathy Brynaert (DFL - Mankato)
Rep. Will Morgan (DFL - Burnsville)
Rep.Dean Urdahl (R - Grove City)

Senate conferees are:
Senator Chuck Wiger (DFL - Maplewood)
Senator Patricia Torres Ray (DFL - Minneapolis)
Senator LeRoy Stumpf (DFL - Plummer)
Senator Alice Johnson (DFL - Spring Lake Park)
Senator Kevin Dahle (DFL - Northfield)

Omnibus Tax Bill (HF 677)

The bill has passed the House and is currently being debated in the Senate. Both bills raise a substantial amount of new revenue via increases in income taxes, sales taxes and and cigarette taxes. The House also raises taxes on alcohol.  Both bills include property tax relief.
 
The House bill increases aid to cities by $80 million and aid to counties by $30 million.  The Senate bill increases aid to cities by $80 million and aid to counties by $40 million.  These increases will be helpful to public libraries.

Legacy

The House Legacy bill was scheduled to be taken up on the House floor 10 days ago and then was pulled.  Rumor has it that controversy over the outdoor heritage appropriations have made it questionable whether the bill can pass.  The Senate has not yet put its bill together.

The following information was sent via e-mail on April 17, 2013 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist. Additional linked information added.

Total Operating Capital

Doug Tomhave, technology director for the South St. Paul Schools, recently raised a concern that a provision brought forward by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) to prohibit using total operating capital to pay for annual licensing fees for software might prohibit paying for licensing fees for electronic texts and library media resources. I communicated that concern to MDE's government relations staff.  After some conversation, MDE agreed to drop the language about annual licensing fees.

Grant to Aid Amendment

The amendment changing the terminology in statute from "grant" to "aid" for Regional Library Basic System Support and Multi-type funding was added to both the House and Senate omnibus education bills late last week. The bills are scheduled to be taken up on the floor in both the House and Senate next week.

Aid to Cities and Counties

The House omnibus tax bill was unveiled Monday evening (April 15, 2013).  It increases aid to cities by $80 million in the second year of the biennium and and in subsequent years.  It increases aid to counties by $30 million in the second year of the biennium and in subsequent years.

Legacy

The House omnibus legacy bill is scheduled to be taken up on the House floor tomorrow, April 18, 2013.  The bill includes $3 million per year for regional public library systems and $300,000 per year for the Minnesota Digital Library.  The Senate Legacy Subcommittee has not yet begun meeting. Legacy proposals are being heard first in the appropriate divisions of the Senate Finance Committee.  The Minnesota Digital Library proposal will be heard in the State Departments and Veterans Division on April 23, 2013.  The regional public library system proposal will be heard in the E-12 Education Division during the week of April 29, 2013.

The following information was sent via e-mail on April 9, 2013 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist. Additional linked information added.

House Omnibus Education Bill

The House omnibus education bill was posted online this afternoon (April 9, 2013).  It maintains current funding for all library appropriations -- Regional Library Basic System Support (RLBSS), Regional Library Telecommunication Aid (RLTA), Multi-type funding, the Electronic Library for Minnesota (ELM) and Telecommunication Equity Aid (TEA).  The bill also increases the general education formula from the current $5,224 per pupil to $5,328 in FY 2014 and $5,433 in FY 2015.  It also repays the education funding shift to the 90/10 payment schedule.

Senate Omnibus Education Bill

The Senate bill will be released Thursday morning, April 11, 2013.

Senate Higher Education Funding Bill

Great news! The Senate higher education bill increases funding for Minitex and MnLINK by $300,000 per year.  Please send thanks to our chief author, Senator Kent Eken and the Committee chair, Senator Terri Bonoff.

House Higher Education Funding Bill

As expected, the House higher education bill maintains current funding for Minitex and MnLINK.  Once the higher ed bill gets to conference committee, we will need to press the conferees to go with the higher funding level in the Senate bill.

Bonding

We had not planned to pursue funding for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants this year, but were encouraged to introduce a bill by House leaders.  We did have a bill introduced to provide $3 million, but today the House bonding bill was unveiled and it does not include any funding for libraries.  We will pursue it next year.

Legacy

As previously reported, the House Legacy bill includes $3 million per year for regional public libraries and $300,000 per year for the Minnesota Digital Library.  The Senate has just announced the process it will follow.  Our Legacy request for regional public libraries will originate in the Senate E-12 Education Division before going to the Senate Legacy Subcommittee.

The following information was sent via e-mail on March 29, 2013 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist. Additional linked information added.

The Legislature is taking its annual Passover/Easter break this week and will return to work on Tuesday, April 2, 2013. At that point the Legislature will have seven weeks to conclude its work before the constitutional adjournment deadline of May 20, 2013.

Committee Deadlines

Last Friday (March 22, 2013) was the second committee deadline. To meet that deadline, bills must have passed through policy committees and have been referred to either the floor or a finance committee in both the House and the Senate.  Bills that have not met the deadline cannot proceed on their own, but they can still be amended onto other bills that are moving forward.

Budget

Last week House and Senate leaders released their respective budget targets for each area of the budget (E-12 education, higher education, health & human services, transportation, etc.).  Over the next two weeks committees will be unveiling their omnibus finance bills, marking them up and passing them.  The deadline for passing omnibus finance bills out of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee is Friday, April 19, 2013.

Legacy

The House Legacy Committee will release the Arts and Cultural Heritage article of its omnibus bill on Wednesday, April 3, 2013.  We have strong support in the House and I expect libraries to do well in that bill.  The Senate Legacy Subcommittee has not met yet (except for two joint hearings with the House on items unrelated to libraries) and no meetings have been announced. Mark Ranum and I have met with most of the members of the subcommittee and they have been supportive. However, we have not been able to meet with the chair, who has previously taken the position that libraries should apply to the State Arts Board for grants rather than receiving Legacy funding directly.  We have submitted a proposal for funding to the Legacy subcommittee and I have met with the subcommittee staff twice.  I'm told we will have an opportunity to make a presentation at some point, but no schedule has been mapped out.  This is consistent with the pattern that has existed since the Legacy amendment was passed in 2008.  The House comes out with its bill first, and the Senate takes a look at it and then puts together its own version.

Minitex/MnLINK

As reported previously, our bill to increase funding for Minitex and MnLINK was heard in the Senate Higher Education Policy and Budget Division on March 19, 2013, and it was well-received by the committee.  We have a very supportive chair in Senator Terri Bonoff and her committee has a fairly generous budget target, so I am hopeful we will see an increase for Minitex and MnLINK in the Senate.  The House is another matter.  When Mark Ranum, Valerie Horton and I met with the House Higher Education chair, Rep. Gene Pelowski, he told us flat out that this was not the year when we could expect to see an increase, even though he agrees that Minitex and MnLINK are valuable programs.  His goal for this year is structural reform of what he views as a bloated higher ed system.  He said that we would have our chance in the next budget cycle two years from now. The House budget target for higher education is far lower than the Senate's target ($150 million in new spending in the House vs. $263 million in the Senate).  Our bill has not received a hearing and the omnibus bill is scheduled to be unveiled on Wednesday.

Homework Help

I am very disappointed to report that our bill will not receive a hearing in either body. There are several reasons for this, but I think the main one is that, like the Governor, legislators are focusing resources on the big pieces in the budget -- the general ed formula, special education and early learning (all day kindergarten and preschool scholarships).  The chair of the House Education Finance Committee, Rep. Paul Marquart, reacted quite negatively to the idea of Homework Help when we met with him.  He said, "We are struggling to find the money to adequately fund the things we already have -- we can't fund anything new."  I had hoped that he would come around after budget targets were announced.  The House education target is a healthy number -- $550 million in new spending.  I again asked for a hearing but was told no.  Senators on the E-12 Education Budget Division, including the chair, were supportive of Homework Help in our meetings.  However, the Senate's budget target for education is quite skimpy when one takes into account that legislative leaders have dictated that the bulk of the target be spent on buying down education levies and fully funding all day kindergarten.  The Senate will probably have to choose between increasing the general ed formula and special ed -- they don't have enough money to do both. In this scenario, Homework Help became a casualty.

Bonding

Although we have normally pursued funding for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants in the second year of the biennium because that's when the Legislature traditionally passes a major bonding bill, the House has been pushing hard for a significant bonding bill this year.  At the urging of Rep. Alice Hausman, chair of the House Capital Investment Committee, we had a bill introduced to provide $3 million for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants.  The bill is HF 1501/ SF 1473.  Rep. Mary Murphy and Senator Alice Johnson are our chief authors and we have a great bi-partisan group of co-authors.  The Senate seems to be warming up to the idea of a larger than usual bonding bill in the first year of the biennium, so there may be an opportunity for us.  Stay tuned.

Excerpts from the District Dispatch, online news blog from the American Library Association's Washington Office.

On March 15, 2013, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 803, the Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills (SKILLS) Act, reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Library-specific provisions in the bill include the following items:

• Ensure the state workforce investment plan includes a description of the actions that will be taken by the state to foster communication, coordination, and partnerships with non-profit organizations – including public libraries (under section 112(b));
• Ensure the local state workforce investment plan includes a description of the strategies and services that will be used in the local area to better coordinate workforce development programs with employment, training, and literacy services carried out by non-profit organizations – including libraries (under section 118(b)); and
• Authorize public libraries that carry out employment, training, and literacy services as additional one-stop partners so they can better assist with workforce development activities (under section 121(b)(2)(B)).

Legislation now moves onto the U.S. Senate.  To read the original posting from the District Dispatch, click here.

The following information is excerpted from e-mails sent on March 20 & 21, 2013 from Mark Ranum, 2013 MLA Legislative Chair. Additional linked information added.

Date Privacy Bill

The short update is that with the assistance of legislators on the committee and other experts, we have determined that the data privacy protection we are seeking is already in the current law. What follows is the longer update.

We drafted the following language to be included in MS 13.40 Subd. 2 (a) is as follows (bold portion):

This drafted language was included in Senate bill SF 745 and House Bill HF 695.

We had a comment from Rep. Mary Liz Holberg in the first committee hearing, followed by comments from Don Gemberling, a data practices expert in MN, who both believed that this addition might be covered in MS 13.05 Subd. 6 as follows.

Our point on this issue is that this data on individuals is not “made available to the contracting parties by the government entity,” but rather is sometimes directly input into the vendor’s system by the patron.  This addition seemed to be necessary for this reason, and more broadly protects patron privacy when using these systems.

Further discussions with data privacy experts, however, led to the belief that rather than MS 13.05 Subd. 6. covering this issue, MS 13.05 Subd. 11. Privatization covers our needs.  Here is that section.

This section places the burden on libraries to make sure our contracts include references to the Minnesota Data Practices Act.  Libraries need to require the vendor understands they are “subject to the requirements of this chapter and that the private person must comply with those requirements as if it were a government entity.”

Given the results of the legislative conversations and advice from experts, we are withdrawing the library language platform item from this bill.  Since the Library bill was the vehicle for the House Omnibus Data Practices act, our bill is still technically alive by number.  However, the library provision will not be included.

Minitex and MnLINK

Our hearing on SF 995 (Eken) Minitex and MnLINK Gateway programs appropriation, was held in the Higher Education and Workforce Development Division of the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, March 19, 2013. You can listen to the testimony here, which runs less than 10 minutes, starting around the 2 hour mark.

Bruce Willms from Metropolitan State University did a terrific job testifying! Thank you to Bruce for pinch hitting for me on that day! And if you ever wondered if our lobbyist is an enthusiastic library supporter, PLEASE listen to her few minutes of remarks and her expert handling of the committee. Elaine Keefe is a terrific advocate for us every day at the Capitol.

Senator Eken, the lead author, is from Norman County in the Lake Agassiz region, and thank you emails to him for supporting libraries with this bill would be greatly appreciated from anywhere in the state: sen.kent.eken@senate.mn

Some information taken from a press release from Senator Jay Rockefeller's (D-WV) office issued March 12, 2013. Additional linked information included.

Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) today chaired a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing in which he called for updates to the successful E-Rate program – which he created – that has expanded access to high-speed Internet in schools and libraries across West Virginia.  E-Rate covers the cost of wiring schools and libraries to the Internet and provides student and adult access to information technology no matter their community or income level.

SELCO receives around $40,000 from the E-Rate program, reimbursing SELCO for approximately 53% of the actual costs of providing internet service at the SELCO Online Public Libraries.

Click here read the full press release. To view Sen. Rockefeller's full remarks from the Committee hearing, click here.

Senator Carla Nelson visited Harriet Bishop Elementary School in Rochester to celebrate the 109th birthday of Dr. Seuss.

As a former teacher and reading specialist  she said “It was treat for me to get back in the classroom. I stopped by three classes to read Oh, the Places You'll Go! - my favorite Seuss book.”

Library Legislative Day - 2013

Library advocates from around the SELCO region and across the state were at the Capitol on March 6 to speak with legislators and advocate for state funding of public, school, and academic library services, programs, and initiatives. 

This year’s library initiatives include funding for a free, statewide online homework help program, Legacy Amendment program funding from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, and state support for the cooperative, cost-saving delivery and information resource services such as MnLINK, Minitex, and the Electronic Library for Minnesota.

The ongoing state infrastructure support for libraries provides a seamless network of information resources for all Minnesotans.  Library trustees, Friends, and staff discussed the important role quality library services play in early literacy, school success, job creation, and strong, vibrant communities.

Photos include:

• Tyler Irvin, Technology Support Librarian, Representative Tina Liebling, and Ann Hutton, Executive Director. 
• Mollie Stanford, Regional Librarian, Representative Tim Kelly, Donovan Lambright, Automation Librarian, and Andru Peters, SELCO Board Member and City Member - Lake City
• Click here for more photos from MLA - MEMO Library Legislative Day 2013

Sent by Mark Ranum, 2013 MLA Legislative Chair, via e-mail on March 4, 2013.  Additional linked information is included.

Note for SELCO/SELS Region:  In addition to the documents that Mark notes below, you can also find the MLA/MEMO Legislative Platform, talking points for the various planks, as well links to some handouts that SELCO will provide to legislators on March 6, 2013, that highlight specifically how basic library and Library Legacy received from the state is used in libraries, broken down by Minnesota House district on our Advocacy page.  Click on the "Legislative Day" tab on the page to access the platform and talking points.  Click on the "SELCO/SELS Resources" tab to find the basic library and Library Legacy funding handouts.

March 6, 2013 is your day to contact your Minnesota HOUSE and SENATE members and ADVOCATE FOR LIBRARIES!!!

If you can’t make Minnesota Legislative Day in person, you can still make a difference by contacting your Representatives and Senators by telephone or email and letting them know that library funding from the state is very important!

You can review the platform and documents on specific issues of interest at http://www.mnlibraryassociation.org/committees/legislative-committee#documents

The bill numbers for each issue will be available on the MLA website under the legislative committee documents link listed above, so you can refer to specific bill numbers in the House and Senate when you contact legislators.  Some of the issues will not have specific bill numbers since they are part of the Governor’s proposed budget.

When you call or email, it’s best to advocate for a specific issue or bill, and particularly if that issue or bill is under consideration in one of the committees where your legislator is a member.

Find your legislators at http://www.gis.leg.mn/OpenLayers/districts/   When your Senator and Representative names are displayed, you can click on their names to find out their committee assignments.
 
You can pass this email along to all your library board members, friends, and advocates, and library patrons!!  Encourage them to contact their legislators!

Even a call or email expressing general library support on March 6, 2013, would be terrific and very helpful in our advocacy efforts.  The more positive energy and impact we have that day, the more positive our conversations about libraries continue at the Capitol.

The following information was sent via e-mail on February 28, 2013 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist. Additional linked information added.

State Economic Forecast

A new state economic forecast was released today, and it contains good news.  The projected budget deficit for the next biennium has shrunk to $627 million.  This is an improvement of $463 million over the $1.1 billion deficit that was projected in December.
 
The forecast also contains good news for the current biennium.  The state is now projected to end the current biennium with a positive balance of $295 million.  Under current law, $5 million of that will go into the state's budget reserve and $290 million will go to repay the education funding shift.

Budget Process

Governor Dayton is expected to issue a revised budget proposal in about two weeks.  Soon after that, legislative leaders will set budget targets.  House rules require a budget resolution to be adopted no later than March 25, 2013, but House leaders have said they hope to do it sooner.  Senate leaders will also set budget targets, but the Senate does not adopt a formal budget resolution in public.  

Data Privacy

Our data privacy bill for public libraries, HF 695/SF 745, will be heard on Friday, March 1, 2013, in the House Data Practices Subcommittee and on Tuesday, March 5, 2013, in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Minitex/MnLINK

Our bill providing a funding increase for Minitex and MnLINK will be introduced in the House this afternoon (February 28, 2013). Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL - Golden Valley) is the chief author.  Co-authors are Rep. Bud Nornes (R - Fergus Falls) and Rep. Kathy Brynaert (DFL - Mankato).

The following information was sent via e-mail on February 24, 2013 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist. Additional linked information added.

Data Privacy

Under current law, records linking public library users to library materials they have searched for or borrowed that are owned by the library are private. HF 695, our bill extending the same protection to electronic data owned by a private vendor and licensed by a public library (e.g., e-books) was introduced last Monday by Rep. Steve Simon (DFL - Hopkins), chair of the House Data Practices Subcommittee.  The companion bill, SF 745, will be introduced on Monday, February 25, 2013, by Senator Kari Dzeidzic (DFL - Minneapolis).  Senator Ron Latz (DFL - St. Louis Park), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a co-author. 

Homework Help

Our bill to fund a statewide contract to make a free online homework help service available statewide will be introduced as SF 781 on Monday, February 25, 2013.  The chief author is Senator John Hoffman (DFL - Champlin). Co-authors are Sen. Alice Johnson (DFL - Spring Lake Park), Sen. LeRoy Stumpf (DFL - Plummer), Sen. Vicki Jensen (DFL - Owatonna) and Sen. Carla Nelson (R - Rochester).  The House version will be introduced soon.  Rep. Kathy Brynaert (DFL - Mankato) has signed on as the chief author.  If any of these legislators represent you, please write to thank them.

Minitex and MnLINK

We have secured chief authors in both bodies for our bill to increase funding for Minitex and MnLINK.  Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL - Golden Valley) will carry our bill in the House and Senator Kent Eken (DFL - Twin Valley) will carry our bill in the Senate.  I am currently recruiting co-authors, with the goal of getting the bills introduced no later than Monday, March 4, 2013.

Legacy

Last Wednesday (February 20, 2013) Mark Ranum made a presentation before the House Legacy Committee about what regional public libraries have done with Legacy funding received to date and about our request for funding for the upcoming biennium (FY 14-15).  It was very well received by the committee, resulting in extended remarks by committee members about the benefits of Legacy programs provided by public libraries and of libraries in general.  Reps. Mary Murphy (DFL - Hermantown), Leon Lillie (DFL - N. St. Paul) and John Ward (DFL - Brainerd) were especially effusive. 

State Economic Forecast

The next forecast will be released on Thursday, February 28. 2013.  It is widely expected that the forecast will show improvement from the forecast released in December 2012 that projected a $1.1 million deficit at the conclusion of the FY 14-15 biennium.  It may also show an increase in the forecasted surplus for the current biennium, which would result in a further repayment of the education funding shift.  Governor Dayton will release his revised budget recommendations about two weeks after the forecast is released.

Citizens-Save-Libraries Grants Will Target 20 Threatened Communities for Advocacy Training

Thanks to a $75,000 grant from the Neal-Schuman Foundation, United for Libraries is awarding 20 Citizens-Save-Libraries grants to support advocacy at the local level for libraries with troubled budgets. The grants will cover travel and expenses to send expert advocates to 20 locations over the course of 2 years to help Friends of the Library groups, library directors and Trustees develop individual blueprints for advocacy campaigns to restore, increase or save threatened library budgets.
 
Selected libraries will receive two days of on-site, in-person training (approx. 5 hours each day). Applications for the first cycle of grants are due April 15, 2013 for training between June 1, 2013-May 1, 2014. Selected libraries in the first cycle will be notified of acceptance by May 15, 2013. Exact dates of training to be set in consultation with selected libraries. Applications for the second cycle of grants will be available in January 2014.
 
Requirements include:

• Demonstrated need for help with a library advocacy campaign.

• Minimum of five volunteers committed to working on a leadership team for a campaign. Each member understands that this commitment may require at least weekly meetings for up to 90 days.

• Leadership team available for two days of on-site, in-person training (approx. 5 hours each day) between June 1, 2013-May 1, 2014.

• One member of the leadership team is willing to become a local “mentor” for other libraries in the state and/or region. Mentor may be invited to participate in a one-time live one-hour webinar and may also be asked to give an advocacy program at state library conference.

• Support of the library’s Board of Trustees.

• No member of the United for Libraries’ Board of Directors or his or her library will be eligible to receive this grant.

Application and Details

Plan to attend the 2013 Minnesota Library Legislative Day at the Capitol on Wednesday, March 6, 2013. This will be an important year to ensure continued state support of library telecommunications costs, delivery, and Library Legacy programming.  Registration for the day is encouraged but there is no cost to participate.  Check the MLA website for details.

The MLA/MEMO Lobbyist, Elaine Keefe, and the 2013 MLA Legislative Chair, Mark Ranum, will offer an evening briefing on Tuesday, March 5, 2012 at 5:00 PM at Kelly Inn Best Western and a morning briefing on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 9:00 AM in the Minnesota Judicial Center, Room 230.

SELCO staff have booked appointments with the legislators from the SELCO/SELS region.  Everyone is free to join the office visits on Legislative Day.  In addition we are developing information packets for each legislator and have arranged carpooling to the Capitol on March 6.  More information will be coming out in the next few months.

Please share this date widely with library staff, boards, trustees, supporters, and advocates.  Only 17 days before Library Legislative Day!

The Advocacy Committee meeting that was scheduled for February 5, 2013 at 10 AM has been cancelled and will be re-scheduled for a later date.

The following information was sent via e-mail on January 27, 2013 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist. Additional linked information added.

Governor's Budget

Governor Dayton released his budget proposal on Tuesday (January 22, 2013).  There were no changes in library-specific appropriations.  However, the Governor did recommend some increases in broader appropriations that may ultimately have an impact on libraries. They are:

1. An increase of $80 million per year in aid to cities and an increase of $40 million per year in aid to counties.  This could impact public library funding at the local level.
2. An increase of $80 million over the biennium for the University of Minnesota and $80 million over the biennium for the University of Minnesota.  This could impact academic libraries in those two systems.
3. An increase of $118 million over the biennium in the general education formula for K-12 schools and an increase of $125 million over the biennium for special education (thereby freeing up general education dollars that are currently used by school districts to pay for special education).  This could impact the funding available to school library media centers.

Testimony

On Thursday, January 24, 2013, the Senate E-12 Education Budget Division held a hearing where education organizations were invited to present their platforms.  I presented the portions of the MLA/MEMO Platform that are under the jurisdiction of that committee.

State of the State

Governor Dayton will deliver his State of the State Address before a joint session of the Legislature on Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at 7:00 PM.

Committee Deadlines

Legislative leaders have announced that committee deadlines are as follows:

• The first committee deadline is Friday March 15, 2013.  To meet this deadline, a bill must have passed through all of the policy committees it needs to go to and have been referred to a finance committee or to the floor in either the House or the Senate.
• The second committee deadline is Friday, March 22, 2013.  To meet this deadline, a bill must meet the standard for the first committee deadline in both the House and the Senate.
• The third committee deadline is Friday, April 19, 2013.  This is the deadline for omnibus budget bills to be passed out committee.

Every $1.00 invested in Minnesota Public Libraries returns $4.60 to our communities.  We know this is a fact for libraries but what would it look like if it were true for ice cream, dogs, or foot-long sandwiches?  So much more than you expected.

CRPLSA released the So Much More Than You Expected media campaign featuring four video vignettes of varying length.  Set in everyday locations, the 15- or 30-second video clips depicts the key finding of a recent Return on Investment (ROI) Study conducted by the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Libraries around the state are free to post the YouTube videos to library websites or share with local media and cable outlets.

Now That's a Sandwich (30)

Now That's a Diamond (15)

Now That's a Dog (30)

Now That's an Ice Cream Cone (15)

Short Scenes (30)

The following information was sent via e-mail on December 13, 2012 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.

Minnesota House of Representatives committee assignments were announced this afternoon. The list can be found here.  Some of the Committees that are of interest to libraries include:

• Education Finance (Page 2 of the list)
• Higher Education Finance and Policy (Page 4 of the list)
• Legacy (Page 6 of the list)

The following information was sent via e-mail on December 6, 2012 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

The state economic forecast was released today (December 6, 2012), and it contained both good news and bad news. The good news is that for the current fiscal year the state is projected to have a $1.33 billion surplus. Under current law that surplus will be used to pay down the education funding shift. The amount the state owes to schools and libraries will be reduced from $2.4 billion to $1.1 billion.

The bad news is that the state still faces a $1.1 billion deficit for the next biennium (FY 2014-15). That's the period that the Legislature will be adopting a budget for in the upcoming legislative session.  Forecast documents are posted at the Minnesota Management & Budget (MMB) website: http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/fu-current-fore-nov.

From Mark Ranum, 2013 MLA Legislative Chair with additional information from SELCO Staff:

Please SAVE THE DATE for Minnesota Library Legislative Day at the Capitol.  We will be gathering on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 for our annual lobbying day on the hill. More details to follow.

Please share this date widely with library staff, boards, trustees, supporters, and advocates.

As always, there will be an evening briefing on Tuesday, March 5, 2012 at 5:00 PM at a location near the Minnesota State Capitol and a morning briefing on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 9:00 AM in the Minnesota Judicial Center, Room 230.

SELCO staff will be booking appointments with the legislators from the SELCO/SELS region on Legislative Day, developing information packets for each legislator, and carpooling to the Capitol on March 6.  More information will be coming out in the next few months.

The following information was sent via e-mail on November 15, 2012 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.

Senate committee chairs were announced this evening, The news is very favorable to libraries.  All of the key committee chairs listed below are strong library supporters.  Here are the highlights:

• Senate E-12 Finance Division: Sen. Chuck Wiger (DFL - N. St. Paul)
• Senate Education Committee: Sen. Patricia Torres Ray (DFL - Minneapolis)
• Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee: Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL - Minnetonka)
• Senate Tax Reform Division: Sen. Ann Rest (DFL- New Hope)
• Senate Capital Investment Committee: Sen. LeRoy Stumpf (DFL - Plummer)

The ALA Washington Office will be hosting a hour-long webinar on Monday, November 19, 2012, entitled Election Update and Connecting with the New Congress.  Here is the description of the webinar and a link to reserve your Webinar seat.

Title: Election Update and Connecting with the New Congress
Date: Monday, November 19, 2012
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Central Time

Description: Curious about what happened on Election Day 2012? Wondering what library issues the 113th Congress might consider? Just wanting to figure out who the new members of Congress are (and how to influence them)?  Join us for this webinar designed specifically for library leaders to provide an update on 2012 and ideas for learning about your legislators (and having an impact) in 2013.  We'll look at the election trends as well as what library leaders can do in the next few months to ensure that members of Congress and their staff listen up on library issues.

Space is limited!  Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/502688674

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements:
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet

The following information was sent via e-mail on November 7, 2012 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.

In yesterday's election (November 6, 2012) the DFL gained control of both houses of the Minnesota Legislature. This will be the first time since 1990 that the Governor's office, the Minnesota House and the Minnesota Senate will all be controlled by the DFL. Here are the details:

Senate

As of this writing, in 2013 the DFL will have 39 seats and Republicans will have 28. One seat won by a DFLer will be subject to an automatic recount, so the margin could change slightly. This represents a net gain of 9 seats for the DFL. Currently, Republicans have 37 seats and DFLers have 30.
A total of 7 Senate incumbents, all Republicans, were defeated. All but one were first elected in 2010. Here is a list (in order of district number):

• John Carlson (R - Bemidji)
• Joe Gimse (R - Willmar)
• John Howe (R - Red Wing)
• Benjamin Kruse (R - Brooklyn Park)
• Pam Wolf (R - Spring Lake Park)
• Ted Daley (R - Eagan)
• Ted Lillie (R -Woodbury)

House

As of this writing, in 2013 the DFL will have 73 seats and Republicans will have 61. One seat won by a Republican will be subject to an automatic recount, so the margin could change slightly. This represents a net gain of 11 seats for the DFL. Currently, Republicans have 72 seats and DFLers have 30. A total of 9 House incumbents, all Republicans, were defeated. Here is a list (in order of district number):

• Dave Hancock (R - Bemidji)
• Larry Howes (R - Walker)
• Carolyn McElfatrick (R - Deer River)
• King Banaian (R - St. Cloud)
• Bruce Vogel (R - Willmar)
• Rich Murray (R - Albert Lea)
• Kirk Stensrud (R - Eden Prairie)
• Diane Anderson (R -Eagan)
• Doug Wardlow (R - Eagan)

What's Next: This week the House and Senate Republican and DFL caucuses will each meet to elect their leaders. After that, leaders of the majority caucuses will start making decisions about the committee structure and committee chairs. I will keep you posted as these decisions are made. By tomorrow, the non-partisan legislative information offices plan to publish rosters of the newly elected legislators with their contact information. I will send out those rosters with advice about how to get in contact with your new legislators to congratulate them and begin establishing a relationship with them if you do not already have one.

The American Library Association (ALA) is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, September 26, 2012, from 3:00-4:00 PM focused on promoting civic participation with the upcoming election as a backdrop.  Quoting from ALA's District Dispatch (the full post can be found here):

“The campaign season is in full swing and it’s time to think about making a difference at the polls.  Believe it or not, library leaders can legally and ethically encourage engagement in the elections. In this session we’ll look at 10 specific steps library leaders can take to mobilize library supporters, including voter registration drives, learning about candidates, attending and hosting forums and working the polls.   We’ll also provide details on what non-profit staff, boards and volunteers are allowed to do under existing rules. Now is the time to capture the increased interest in the political process to promote civic participation and enhance your library’s presence. Attend this session to learn how to be involved!”

To register for this webinar, go to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/917671794.

Libraries rank high among fair-goers at this year's Great Minnesota Get-Together.  Check out this blog post from the League of Minnesota Cities.

Clean water, libraries, police and fire lead the way among city bean counters

For the third year in a row, Minnesota State Fair attendees visiting the "Cities Matter" booth administered by the League of Minnesota Cities  had opportunities to be a “city bean counter.” Each person was given a six-bean budget with a goal of deciding how to “spend” their beans among eight different city services. They were permitted to allocate all of their beans to a single service, or to divide them any way they wished. Through playing the game, visitors quickly got a better understanding of the tough budgeting decisions that city officials are required to make. They also received "Mayor for the Day" buttons.  Here are the results from the 2012 State Fair.

Clean Water: 6,186
Libraries: 5,480
Police: 5,184
Fire: 4,768
Parks & Rec: 4,473
Streets & Sidewalks: 4,438
Senior Services: 4,159
Sewers & Garbage: 4,065

Reprinted from the ALA Washington Office's District Dispatch on July 13, 2012.  Additional linked information added.

This week, the American Library Association (ALA) submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) on the reform of the Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution mechanism. The FNPRM is part of the Commission’s effort to modernize universal service programs, including the E-rate program, so that they can efficiently bring the benefits of 21^st century broadband to the public across the country.

The ALA advocated for the Commission to ensure the stability of the USF as it addresses contribution reform such that the necessary reforms are not disruptive to individual programs.   In particular, the E-rate program depends on the fund’s stability in order for libraries and schools to provide Internet-enabled services to the public.  Demand on the fund continues to climb as libraries include more programs and services that demand high-capacity broadband connections, such as video conferencing and mobile computer labs.

The ALA stated the following in the comments: “Libraries (including school libraries as part of the K-12 campus) continue to increase their connectivity and improve their services through the E-rate program, though they are not yet able to meet community demand for connectivity and will continue to need E-rate discounts to add critical capacity.”

The ALA also discussed libraries as “end users” of telecommunications services, stating that libraries should not be required to pay directly into the USF. ALA suggests that the nation’s most disadvantaged libraries and school would further enhance their broadband capabilities if, as with Lifeline customers, these libraries and school were not required to contribute as end-users into the Fund.

To see the ALA's comments, check out this document.

Representatives Mike Quigley (IL-5) and Leonard Lance (NJ-07) have introduced the Congressional Research Service Electronic Accessibility Resolution of 2012 (House Resolution 727), a resolution that creates a publicly available database of Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports and would thereby “enhance our democracy to provide citizens with access to unbiased and accurate CRS documents on legislation and other critical issues before Congress”.

The American Library Association endorses this resolution.  For more information, see this post from ALA Washington Office's District Dispatch.

Reprinted from ALA's District Dispatch, June 8, 2012.  Additional linked information added.

On Thursday, the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee reported out of committee H.R. 4297, also known as the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).  The bill was reported with a party line vote of 23-15, and contains several provisions that will be beneficial to libraries including:

1. Ensuring that state plans includes a description of the actions that will be taken by the state to foster communications, coordination, and partnerships with non-profit organizations – including public libraries, and
2. Ensuring that local plans include a description of the strategies and services that will be used in the local area to better coordinate workforce development programs with employment, training, and literacy services carried out by non-profit organizations – including libraries, and
3. Authorizes public libraries that carry out employment, training, and literacy services as additional one-stop partners.

Unfortunately, an amendment offered by Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) that would have allowed states to also have the ability to support employment resource centers in public libraries, was narrowly defeated by the committee.  Representatives Todd Platts (R-PA), Richard Hanna (R-NY), and Joe Heck (R-NV) crossed party lines to vote in favor of Rep. Holt’s amendment.

Next H.R. 4297 will be brought before the House Floor. No date has yet been scheduled for such an action.

The Committee issued this press release announcing the reporting out of the bill.

One in three people in the U.S. do not have home access to the internet. See how libraries are transforming lives, by changing the way we connect.  Really well done and thought provoking way to spend ~4 minutes!

By the way, we've added this to the For Public Libraries tab on the SELCO Advocacy page.

The U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee meets this Thursday, June 7, 2012 to mark up a bill to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act, HR 4297.Representative Rush Holt (NJ-12) will be proposing an amendment which adds language to support employment resource centers in public libraries. This would join language the Chairman John Kline (MN-2) has included to ensure coordination with public libraries by both the state and local funding plans. Please take a moment to make a call to Rep. Kline’s office (202-225-2271) and ask him to support the Holt Amendment to HR4297. A copy of the amendment language and some talking points are provided for your convenience. I want to strongly encourage folks from Rep. Kline’s district (2nd Congressional District) to contact him.

The following information was sent via e-mail on May 10, 2012 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.

Adjournment

The 2012 session ended today (May 10, 2012).  The House adjourned at 4:20am and the Senate adjourned at 2pm this afternoon.  The final act of both bodies was to pass the Vikings stadium bill. 

Legislative Retirements

In keeping with tradition, immediately after adjournment retiring legislators gave farewell speeches.  While most retiring legislators had already made their announcements, typically there are a handful of surprise retirement announcements on the day of adjournment.  This year there were no surprise announcements. 

Final Report

I have already reported on the library-related legislation that has been acted upon this session as action has occurred.  Next week I will send out a summary of the results of the legislative session so that you have everything in one report. 

The following information was sent via e-mail on May 8, 2012 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Library Accessible and Improvement Grants

As I reported yesterday (May 7, 2012), the bonding bill includes $1 million for libraries.  The bill passed the Senate last night by a vote of 45-22.  A handful of amendments were adopted in the Senate, and it was not immediately clear whether the bill would go to a conference committee or whether the House would accept the Senate amendments.  I am happy to report that just a few minutes ago the House concurred in the Senate amendments and passed the bill by a vote of  97-33.  It will now go to the Governor for his signature. 

Adjournment

Today (May 8, 2012) is legislative day number 117.  There are only two more days left on which the Legislature can pass bills.  With the passage of the bonding bill, the main items left are the Vikings stadium bill and a tax bill.  The Vikings stadium bill passed the House on Monday night and is being debated on the Senate floor as I write.  It will then need to go to a conference committee.   Governor Dayton and legislative leaders are still hoping to reach agreement on a tax bill, but time is running short. 

The following information was sent via e-mail on May 7, 2012 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants

Great news!  Over the weekend Governor Dayton and legislative leaders reached agreement on a $496 million bonding bill, and it includes $1 million for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants.   The bill just passed (May 7, 2012) the House by a vote of  99-32.  It next goes to the Senate, where it is also expected to pass.    

Online Learning Bill (SF 1528)

Governor Dayton signed the bill on Thursday.  See my April 27, 2012 legislative update for a summary of the bill.

Adjournment

The Legislature did not adjourn on its target date of April 30.  However, adjournment could come later this week.  The Minnesota constitution limits the Legislature to meeting for a total of 120 days per biennium.  A legislative day is any day when either the House or Senate holds a floor session.  Today is day 116.  Bills cannot be passed on the last day of the session.  After today there will only be three more days remaining when the Legislature can pass bills. 

I had the opportunity to attend the National Library Legislative Day (NLLD) 2012 in Washington DC on April 23 & 24, 2012.  As the Minnesota Library Association's Past Legislative Chair, I had the responsibility for coordinating the appointments with our Senators' and Representatives' offices for the contingent of Minnesota library supporters.  We were successful in securing an appointment with our two Senators' offices and all eight Representatives' offices.  Those attending NLLD from Minnesota included:

• Marlene Moulton Janssen, Director of the Anoka County Library
• Barbara Misselt, Director of the East Central Regional Library
• Kathy Fredette, Director of the Lake Agassiz Regional Library
• Carol Walsh, President of the Minnesota Association of Library Friends
• Mollie Pherson, Regional Librarian at SELCO
• Michael Scott, Assistant Director at SELCO

We spent all day on Monday, April 23, 2012, in legislative briefings with ALA Washington office staff.  This was essentially a day to be brought quickly up to speed on a number of issues impacting libraries and to receive talking points to use for discussion with our legislators.  A number of key issues were presented, including:

APPROPRIATIONS

• Federal Funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA):
  • ALA’s Position: ALA asks the Congress and the President for level funding of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) at $184.7 million for FY 2013.

• Federal Funding for School Libraries:
  • ALA’s Position: ALA asks the U.S. President and the U.S. Congress for level funding of the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program at $28.6 million for FY 2013.
• Federal Funding for Other Library Programs:
  • ALA’s Position: ALA asks the Congress and the President full funding for the Library of Congress, Government Printing Office and the National Archives and Records Administration.

CYBERSECURITY AND SURVEILLANCE

ALA’s Position: ALA is not actively supporting any of the cybersecurity bills in the 112th Congress unless new language improves protections for private communications, personal privacy and other First Amendment rights from needless collection, use and retention of personal communications and information by law enforcement and other government agencies.
The two Senate bills are the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, S. 2105, sponsored by Sens. Lieberman, Feinstein, Collins and Rockefeller and the SECURE Act, S. 2151, sponsored by Sen. McCain. Two of the House bills being monitored are the PRECISE Act of 2011, H.R. 3674, sponsored by Rep. Lungren, and the CISPA of 2011, H.R. 3523, sponsored by Reps. Rogers and Ruppersberger.

E-GOVERNMENT SERVICES & GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA):
  • ALA’s Position: The ALA supports passage of the Faster FOIA Act of 2011. Public access to information by and about the government is a basic tenet of a democratic society.

• Whistleblower Protections:
  • ALA’s Position: The ALA supports passage of whistleblower legislation (below) to ensure the American public's Right to Know – which promotes government accountability and fosters public participation; a long standing value of both libraries and librarians.  The whistleblower bills include: a) Non-Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act of 2011 (S. 241) to protect government contractors; b) Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act of 2011 (S. 586that would apply whistleblower rights to congressional employees; and, c) The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2011 (S. 743) and its companion bill in the House, H.R. 3289, would expand the scope of whistleblower protections in the federal government, including providing whistleblower rights to employees of the Transportation Security Administration.

OPEN ACCESS

• Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) of 2012:
  • ALA’s Position: The ALA strongly supports the FRPAA of 2012 (S. 2096/H.R. 4004) and encourages members of Congress to demonstrate their support by co-sponsoring the appropriate bill.

SCHOOL LIBRARY PROGRAMS

• Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization:
  • ALA’s Position: ALA urges that when Congress reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that it includes school libraries by incorporating the following provisions:
    • Maintain dedicated federal funding for school libraries;
    • Include provisions under Title I state and local plans and the Race to the Top Fund to establish a state goal of having a school library staffed by a state-licensed school librarian in each public school;
    • Allow state and local professional development funds to be used for recruiting and training school librarians.

Briefing Day was capped off with a reception in the Dirksen Building at the U.S. Capitol, where Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Representative Rush Holt (NJ-14) were honored for their work on behalf of libraries.  Senator Reed had been instrumental in getting 8.6 million in competitive grants for school libraries and literacy programs in the 2012 Appropriations law as well has having introduced the "Strengthening Kids' Interest in Learning and Libraries" (SKILLS) Act that would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to include school libraries and help improve student academic achievement by ensuring more students have access to effective school library programs.  Representative Holt had introduced a companion bill in the House to the SKILLS Act along with the 2011 ALA honoree, Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ-7).

On Tuesday, April 24, 2012, the Minnesota contingent made its way to the U.S. Capitol to begin a day of visits.  We were able to visit with staffers from Senator Franken and Klobuchar's offices in the morning and in the afternoon with staffers from our Representatives' offices.  We focused our efforts on LSTA funding as this source of funding is particularly important in Minnesota as it assists with statewide delivery for interlibrary loan, funding for the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library, training for the ELM databases, as well as provide funds for competitive grant projects which SELCO has been the recipient over the years to automate several school and special libraries, including the Stewartville Schools and the Chatfield Music Lending Library.  Most staffers were talked with were at least aware of LSTA and its importance to libraries.

We were also able to promote the fact that Minnesota libraries are working closely with organizations and community groups on workforce development.  With Marlene Moulton Janssen in attendance and as newly appointed advisory member of the Governor's Workforce Development Council and Carol Walsh, who in addition to being president of the Minnesota Friends, is also an employee of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, we were able to show to our legislators how connected libraries are to workforce development.  This was certainly a theme we heard throughout our visits.

Check out SELCO's Flickr site to see pictures from our NLLD visits.  Due to the number of appointments and needing to move back and forth between several large office buildings, the group had to split up to ensure that we could be on time for our visits.  This allowed everyone to at least attend visits in 8 of 10 legislators offices, including visits to their own Representatives offices.  It was certainly a great experience for us.

The following information was sent via e-mail on April 27, 2012 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Adjournment

The Legislature is set to adjourn on Monday, April 30, 2012. Both the House and Senate will hold floor sessions on Saturday, April 28, 2012 (and probably on Sunday, April 29, 2012, as well).  Governor Dayton and legislative leaders met several times this week to try to reach agreement on a bonding bill and a tax bill.  Their goal is to put together a deal that includes each side's preferred method of creating jobs -- the Governor wants a substantial bonding bill, while Republican leaders want tax cuts for businesses.  So far they have not been able to reach an agreement.  Whether they will or not remains to be seen.
 

Omnibus Education Bill (HF 2949)

Governor Dayton signed the bill on Friday, April 27, 2012.   
 

Online Learning Bill (SF 1528)

The conference committee concluded its work earlier this evening.  The final bill does not include the controversial provision from the House version of the bill that would have required students to complete at least one course credit that includes digital learning in order to graduate.  
 
Here is a list of the provisions that are included in the final bill:

• Requires colleges and universities to include in their teacher preparation programs the knowledge and skills candidates need to deliver digital and blended learning curriculum.
• Requires that staff development activities for teachers enhance teacher's skills in delivering digital and blended learning and curriculum and engaging students with technology.
• Requires MDE to act on applications from online learning providers within 90 days of the application's submission, and directs MDE to review all online learning providers every 3 years.
• Charges the Online Learning Council with overseeing the development and maintenance of a catalog of publicly available digital learning content aligned to Minnesota's academic standards.
• Requires the Online Learning Council to review Minnesota laws and rules pertaining to classroom learning to determine which ones, if any, inhibit digital learning and submit a report to the Legislature by June 30, 2013.

The following information was sent via e-mail on April 20, 2012 at 2:30 p.m. from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.

Education Omnibus Bill (HF 2949)

Early this afternoon the education conference committee reached agreement on the bill.  The conferees worked closely with MDE Commissioner Brenda Cassellius to reach agreement on a bill that the Governor will sign.  The provision I described in yesterday's report requiring school boards to adopt policies to prohibit district employees from using public resources to support or defeat a candidate for political office; advocate for or against the passage of a referendum or solicit funds for a political purpose was not included in the final agreement. Also left out of the agreement was a $51,000 appropriation that had been contained in the House version of the omnibus education bill to pay for costs associated with the online learning bill (see below for details).

Online Learning Bill (SF 1528)

The conference committee for the online learning bill held its first meeting on Wednesday and is not scheduled to meet again until next Tuesday afternoon.  As I noted above, today the conference committee on the Education Omnibus Bill left out of its bill a $51,000 appropriation that was intended to pay for the development of a catalogue of digital courses aligned with the state's academic content standards.  The administration opposed the appropriation because they viewed the catalogue as an expense of implementing the requirement contained in the House version of the online learning bill that all students complete at least one course credit that included digital learning in order to graduate.  This is a strong indication that the requirement will not be included in the final version of the online learning bill. 

Bonding Bill

The Senate version of the bonding bill, which includes $1 million for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants, was placed on the special orders calendar for today, meaning that it was likely to be brought up for a floor vote.  Despite Senate Majority Leader David Senjem's announcement earlier in the week that the bill would come up for a floor vote this week, the Senate adjourned this afternoon without bringing up the bonding bill for a vote.  The next floor session is scheduled for Monday.

The following information was sent via e-mail on April 20, 2012 at 9:20 a.m. from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Legislators returned to work on Monday after a 10 day break for Passover and Easter.  Their plan is still to adjourn on Monday, April 30.  Here is a summary of the status of key library issues:  

Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants

As I have reported previously, the Senate version of the bonding bill includes $1 million for library grants, while the House bonding bill contains nothing for libraries.  Whether a bonding bill will be enacted this session is very much in doubt.  Neither the House nor the Senate has taken a floor vote on a bonding bill.  A bonding bill must receive a 3/5 vote in each body in order to pass.  That means it must receive 81 votes in the House and 41 votes in the Senate.  Although Republicans are in the majority in both bodies, their majority is not large enough in either body to pass a bonding bill without attracting some DFL votes.  
 
The House bonding bill spends just $280 million.  It is too small to attract many DFL votes and yet is opposed by a significant number of Republicans who prefer not to pass any bonding bill this year.  It is hard to see how it could attract 81 votes on the floor, which is why it hasn't been brought up for a vote.  The House has a separate bonding bill that spends $221 million to renovate the State Capitol.  That bill failed today on the House floor when it received only 80 votes.  Many DFLers refused to vote for the State Capitol renovation bill, saying they wanted the regular bonding bill to pass first.  
 
The Senate bonding bill spends $496 million and has enjoyed strong bipartisan support as it has made its way through the committee process.  The bill includes $25 million to get started on the State Capitol renovation.  Yesterday Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem said that the Senate would take a floor vote on the bill this week. 

Education Shift Repayment (HF 2083)

As expected, Governor Dayton vetoed the bill to take $430 million from the state budget reserve to accelerate the repayment of the education shift.  He argued that it was fiscally irresponsible to deplete the budget reserve with a $1.1 billion deficit projected in the next biennium.  Here is a link to his veto letter. 

Education Omnibus Bill (HF 2949)

The conference committee for a very scaled down omnibus education bill held its first meeting this morning.  There are no provisions in the bill that are specific to libraries.  However, one item of possible interest to MEMO members is a provision directing school boards to adopt policies to ensure that district employees do not use publicly funded resources to support or defeat a candidate for political office; advocate for or against the passage of a referendum or solicit funds for a political purpose.  Education Minnesota has raised concerns about this provision, fearing that it will prompt some school boards to enact much more restrictive policies than the Legislature intended.  
 
A draft conference committee report was presented and the conferees heard testimony from MDE Commissioner Brenda Cassellius about which provisions the Governor had concerns about (one of them was the political activity provision described above).  The conference committee set those provisions aside and adopted the remaining provisions.  The conference committee is currently in recess but is planning to resume meeting this evening.

Online Learning Bill (SF 1528)

Yesterday a conference committee began meeting on the online learning bill.  As I have described previously, the House and Senate versions of the bill are very different from each other, but the differences are mostly noncontroversial.  The main sticking point is that the House version requires students to complete at least one course credit that includes digital learning in order to graduate.  The Senate version does not require this, but it strongly encourages all Minnesota students to take at least one online learning course before graduation.  The Governor does not support the requirement in the House bill.

The following information was sent via e-mail on March 28, 2012, from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

House Bonding Bill

Late this afternoon the House bonding bill received a very weak vote of confidence from the House Ways & Means Committee.  The bill passed on a 17-14 vote, with Rep. Mary Liz Holberg (R- Lakeville), chair of Ways & Means, abstaining.  The bill is scheduled to be brought up on the floor of the House tomorrow. It takes a 3/5 vote (81 votes in the House) to pass. The bill is clearly in trouble and passage is not assured. 

Education Payment Shift Repayment (HF 2083)

The bill that takes $430 million from the state budget reserve to repay part of the education payment shift was agreed upon by a conference committee tonight. The House version of the bill had included the provision dedicating the future growth in school trust land revenue to school technology and library media materials, along with many other provisions.  However, the conference committee stripped out all provisions unrelated to repayment of the shift. The bill is almost certain to be vetoed by Governor Dayton because the state is projected to have $1.1 billion deficit in the next biennium.

Received via email from Mark Ranum, 2013 MLA Legislative Chair on March 28, 2012

The 2012 MLA-MEMO Legislative Forum will be held on Wednesday, July 18, 2012, from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM (or as needed) at the Great River Regional Library in St. Cloud.  Registration and additional information will be forthcoming.

The Legislative Forum provides an opportunity for library staff, trustees, friends, supporters and advocates to discuss and share issues which may require legislative action in the 2013 Legislative Session.

The following information was sent via e-mail on March 22, 2012, from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

House Bonding Bill

Yesterday the House Bonding Bill limped out of the House Capital Investment Committee on a divided vote.  Both Republican and DFL members of the committee expressed unhappiness with the bill.  The DFLers and a few Republicans complained that the $280 million bill was too small and had left out many important projects.  On the other hand, some Republican members of the committee argued that "putting more money on the state's credit card" was fiscally irresponsible.  When the final vote was taken, two of the Republicans who had made such statements had left the hearing (Rep. Peggy Scott and Rep. Kurt Bills) and another voted against the bill (Rep. Steve Drazkowski). 

Before the hearing I spoke with Rep. Alice Hausman, the lead DFLer on the committee, and she told me that she planned to offer an amendment that would include funding for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants, along with many other projects that had been omitted from the bill.  As expected, the amendment was defeated on a straight party line vote.  Rep. Hausman told me she plans to bring it up again on the floor. 

It is clear that this bill is in trouble.  Because a bonding bill requires a 60% supermajority to pass, it must attract votes from members of both parties.  That means that the bill needs to be large enough to attract enough DFL votes but small enough to attract enough Republican votes.  Whether it is possible to find that sweet spot is a open question. 

Please Contact Your Legislators!

Our only hope of getting Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants included in the final bonding bill hinges on convincing legislators to pass a larger bonding bill than the current House version.  Now is the time to contact your own legislators, along with the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader. 

Message:  Ask them to include funding for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants in the bonding bill (HF 1851 / SF 1867).  Explain that this is a matching grant program to help communities modernize their public libraries and make them handicapped accessible. 

Your legislators:  If you do not know who your legislators are, here is a link:  http://www.gis.leg.mn/OpenLayers/districts/

Speaker Kurt Zellers:  rep.kurt.zellers@house.mn or 651-296-5502

Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem:  sen.david.senjem@senate.mn or 651-296-3903

The following information was sent via e-mail on March 20, 2012, from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Earlier today (03-20-2012) I reported that the House bonding bill had been released online last night (03-19-2012), and that it spent a very spartan $280 million.  This is far less than the $775 million proposed by Governor Dayton and also well under the $500 million level that had been rumored to be the Legislature's ultimate target. 

A more complete picture emerged during a House Capital Investment Committee hearing this afternoon.  The committee heard and passed a bill to provide $221 million to restore the State Capitol. Tomorrow (03-21-2012) the committee will hear (and pass) the $280 million bonding bill.  As you may have noticed, together these bills add up to about $500 million.  As Rep. Alice Hausman (the DFL lead on the committee) pointed out repeatedly, the decision to fund the entire cost of the State Capitol restoration all at once rather than in phases is the reason why the bonding bill is so small.  Rep. Larry Howes, chair of the committee and chief author of both bills, responded that this decision had been made by House leadership, and that he was working within the limits of the authority he had been given.  It was clear that he was not happy about this.  

Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem, who also chairs the Senate Capital Investment Committee, said today that the Senate will bring out its bonding proposal within a week.  The bill will spend about $500 million.  It will provide some funding for the restoration of the State Capitol but will not fund the entire amount.  This will allow the Senate bonding bill to include a wider range of projects. 

The following information was sent via e-mail on March 20, 2012, from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Committee Deadlines

The first committee deadline has passed, meaning that the list of bills that are still alive for the session has narrowed considerably.  The culling process will continue this week.  The second committee deadline is this Friday, March 23, 2012.  In order to meet this Friday's deadline, bills will need to have passed out of committee in both the House and Senate and either be sent to the floor or referred to a finance committee. 

Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants

The House bonding bill was released online last night.  The bill is extremely lean, spending a total of just $280 million. (By contrast, Governor Dayton has proposed a $775 million bonding bill).  The House bill does not include any funding for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants.  This is very disappointing but not surprising, given the small size of the bill.  In fact, the bill does not include any projects recommended by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).  It will be heard this afternoon in the House Capital Investment Committee. 

Education Shift Repayment (HF 2083)

Last Thursday (March 15, 2012) the House passed the bill that takes $430 million from the budget reserve and uses it to repay part of the education payment shift.  It passed the House 74-59 on a mostly party line vote.  The bill was introduced in the Senate on Thursday (March 15, 2012) by Senator Gen Olson, chair of the Senate Education Committee, and will be heard in that committee this afternoon (March 20, 2012).  Senator Olson has said she is not enthusiastic about tapping the budget reserve to accelerate the repayment of the shift. She introduced the bill so that she could maintain control of the issue. 

Online Learning Bill (SF 1528)

Last Thursday (March 15, 2012) the Senate passed its version of the online learning bill.  The Senate version has little in common with its House companion, which I described in detail in my March 14, 2012 update.  The Senate version charges the Online Learning council with two tasks:

1. Oversee the development and maintenance of a catalog of publicly available digital learning content aligned to Minnesota's academic standards; and
2. Review Minnesota laws and rules to determine which ones inhibit digital learning, and report findings and recommendation to the Legislature by June 30, 2012. 

Constitutional Amendments

The constitutional amendment to require a supermajority to raise taxes appears to be dead, along with two other budget amendments restricting the percentage of available revenues the Legislature could spend.  There is a very strong likelihood that just one constitutional amendment will pass this session -- the requirement that voters show a photo ID at the polls.  It will be taken up on the House floor this evening and will be heard in the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday.  Passage in both bodies appears likely.  If that happens the voter ID amendment will join the amendment to ban same sex marriage that was passed last session on the ballot this fall.

Legislative Retirements

Since my report of March 14, 2012, three additional retirements have been announced:  Rep. John Kriesel (R - Cottage Grove), Rep. Bill Hilty (DFL - Finlayson) and Rep. Kurt Bills (R - Rosemount).  Rep. Bills plans to run for the U.S. Senate against Senator Amy Klobuchar. 

Here are two opportunities for advocacy this week at the federal level in the Senate.  Both opportunities involve a deadline of this Friday, March 23, 2012.  I’ve excerpted this from ALA below. 

Contact information for Senator Klobuchar:

• Phone:  (202) 224-3244
• Email Form: http://klobuchar.senate.gov/emailamy.cfm

Contact information for Senator Franken:

• Phone:  (202) 224-5641
• Email Form: http://www.franken.senate.gov/?p=email_al

Excerpt from ALA:

It's officially appropriations season in Washington DC and it's imperative that you call your two U.S. Senators and ask them to sign two important letters that support libraries. The two letters are outlined below:

Support Funding for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Competitive Grant

Ask your senators to sign the letter supporting childhood literacy in FY13 being sent by Senators Grassley (R-IA) and Reed (D-RI).  Here's why:

• Congress included $28.6 million in the FY12 budget for this competitive grant administered through the U.S. Department of Education to support school libraries and national nonprofit literacy organizations working toward childhood literacy
• A minimum of half this money will go as a competitive grant to low-income school libraries to help update their books and materials

To date these senators have signed the the childhood literacy letter: Grassley (R-IA), Kerry (D-MA), Kohl (D-WI), Lugar (R-IN), Reed (D-RI), Snowe (R-ME), Stabenow (D-MI), Whitehouse (D-RI), Wicker (R-MS), Wyden (D-OR).  Let’s try and get Sens. Franken & Klobuchar (D-MN) added to this letter.

Support Funding for LSTA in FY13

Ask your senators to sign the letter supporting funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) in FY13 being sent by Senators Reed (D-RI) and Snowe (R-ME).  Here's why:

• LSTA is the primary source of funding for libraries in the federal budget
• LSTA helps many public libraries provide services to users that include, but are not limited to: job searches, résumé building help, digital literacy workshops, access to e-government services, etc.
• Include a personal story about how your library positively affects the community

To date, these Senators have signed the LSTA letter: Begich (D-AK), Bingaman (D-NM), Blumenthal (D-CT), Cardin (D-MD), Johnson (D-SD), Kerry (D-MA), Kohl (D-WI), Leahy (D-VT), Mikulski (D-MD), Reed (D-RI), Snowe (R-ME), Stabenow (D-MI), Tester (D-MT) Udall (D-NM), Whitehouse (D-RI), Wyden (D-OR).  Let’s try and get Sens. Franken & Klobuchar (D-MN) added to this letter.

I’d like to hear about your experience when contacting the Senators’ office so send me email if you’d like.

The following information was sent via e-mail on March 14, 2012, from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.

House Omnibus Education Bill (HF 2083):  Last night the omnibus education funding bill that pays back part of the education funding shift by using $430 million from the budget reserve was passed by the House Ways and Means Committee and sent to the House floor.  The bill does not have a Senate companion.  
 
House Omnibus Tax Bill (HF 2337):   The omnibus bill was first presented in the House Tax Committee yesterday.  It reduces taxes on corporations and pays for those cuts by reducing the renters' credit, provoking an outcry from DFLers on the committee.  The bill also freezes LGA for 2013 at the 2012 level.  LGA had been scheduled to increase by $1.2 million.  At this point the bill does not reinstate levy limits, but that could change.  Tomorrow and Friday the House Tax Committee will meet to consider amendments to the bill.  It is expected to pass out of the committee on Friday afternoon.  
 
Legacy:  The threat of a raid on the arts and cultural heritage fund appears to have receded.  Yesterday the House Legacy Division heard two bills authored by Rep. Mark Buesgens (R - Savage) that would fund the restoration of the State Capitol Building from the arts and cultural heritage fund, but the division chair, Rep. Dean Urdahl (R - Grove City), made it clear that he strongly opposes using Legacy funds for this purpose.  In addition, Rep. Larry Howes (R - Walker) has introduced a bill to fund the restoration in the bonding bill. Howes chairs the House Capital Investment Committee.  The town meeting with Rep. Howes sponsored by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts on Sunday, March 25 in Helga Township will still go on as scheduled.  It you live nearby, you are encouraged to attend.  
 
Online Learning Bill (HF 2127):  The online learning bill was heard again today in the House Education Finance Committee.  Rural schools expressed concern about a requirement in the bill that high school students successfully complete at least one course credit that includes digital learning in order to graduate.  Rep. Pam Myhra (R - Burnsville), the author of the bill, promised to work on a waiver process for this requirement.  The bill also requires colleges and universities to include in their teacher preparation programs the knowledge and skills that teacher candidates need in order to deliver digital learning and to engage students with technology.  The bill passed and was referred to the Ways and Means Committee.  
 
Legislative Retirements:  Three more legislators have announced their retirements since last week when I sent out a list of retirements, moves, pairings, etc. They are: Senator Chris Gerlach (R - Apple Valley),  Rep. Larry Hosch (DFL - St. Joseph), Rep. Paul Mazerol (R - Bloomington).  Additional retirements are rumored.  I will report them if they become official.

The following information was sent via e-mail on March 8, 2012, from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist. 

House Education Finance Committee Passes HF 2083 

This afternoon the House Education Finance Committee passed HF 2083, a sort of slimmed down omnibus education finance bill.  Rep. Pat Garofalo, chair of the House Education Finance Committee, is the chief author.  The bill takes $430 million from the state's budget reserve and uses it to repay part of the education payment shift.  This would leave only $223 million in the reserve.  As I reported last week, most of the additional surplus that was projected in the February 29 state economic forecast will go to reduce the shift from 60/40 to 64.3/35.7.   HF 2083 would further reduce the shift to 70.2 / 29.8. 

Commissioner of Management and Budget Jim Schowalter testified against taking this money out of the budget reserve, arguing that it is unwise to deplete the budget reserve when there is still much economic uncertainty.  Although the bill is slim for an omnibus bill, it does include several other provisions that were heard earlier in the session as individual bills.  Of particular interest to MLA/MEMO is the inclusion of a provision dedicating any revenue from the permanent school trust fund in excess of $28 per pupil to school technology and library media resources. 

Members of the DFL minority complained that they had learned only yesterday that the bill would become the omnibus education bill.  Because many were away from the Capitol yesterday attending the funeral of Senator Gary Kubly in Granite Falls, they had very little time to examine the new version of the bill and to have amendments drafted.  Rep. Mindy Greiling, the lead DFLer on the committee, asked if there would be any subsequent omnibus bills. Rep. Garofalo replied that there might be. 

Despite their objections to the process, three of the eight DFLers on the committee did vote for the bill -- Reps. Mindy Greiling, Carlos Mariani and Denise Dittrich.

The bill will next go to the House Ways and Means Committee.

The following information was sent via e-mail on March 6, 2012, from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist. 

Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund

The Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage fund is at risk of a raid once again.  Although it appears that the likelihood of Legacy funds being raided for a Vikings stadium is low (thanks to all of you who contacted legislators last fall), we are hearing that serious consideration is being given to funding the restoration of the Capitol with Legacy funds rather than through the bonding bill.  The cost of the restoration is about $240 million.  A bill was introduced this week that would appropriate $30 million per year from the Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage fund each year from FY 2014 -2021 to cover the cost of the Capitol restoration.  This would consume more than half of this fund each year, greatly reducing funding for all current recipients, including Regional Public Library Systems. 

SELCO Executive Director, Ann Hutton and Senator Jeremy Miller

Despite poor winter driving forecasts, a contingent of southeastern library advocates participated in this year’s MLA/MEMO Library Legislative Day on February 29.  Mollie Pherson, Regional Librarian, dutifully tackled the calendar and initially arranged 21 appointments with SELCO’s 22 legislators – a herculean accomplishment.  While we missed a few of our elected officials (Senator Dan Sparks was at home celebrating the birth of a new baby just the day before – Congratulations!), we had very productive visits.

Key issues up for discussion were the need for public library construction and remodeling funds to be added to a bonding bill and the expansion of broadband access throughout Minnesota.  The library construction initiative has bills in both houses, SF1867 and HF1851.  From the region, Senator Dave Senjem and Representative Tina Liebling are authors.

For more photos from the Minnesota Capitol on Library Legislative Day, check SELCO's Flickr collection.

The following information was sent via e-mail on February 29, 2012, from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.

State Economic Forecast

Good news!  The new state economic forecast was released this morning, and it showed further improvement.  The state has a projected $323 million surplus.  This is in addition to the $876 million surplus that was projected last November (and announced in early December). 

In accordance with current law the previous $876 million surplus was used to replenish the state's cash flow account and budget reserve.  The newly projected $323 million surplus will be allocated under current law as follows: 

• $5 million will be added to the state's budget reserve, bringing the reserve to a total of $653 million. 
• $318 million will go toward repaying the education payment shift.  The payment schedule will change from the current 60/40 to 64.3/35.7. 

The outlook for the next biennium (FY 2014-15) improved as well. The projected deficit during that period is $1.1 billion (down from the $1.3 billion that had been previously projected). 

The following information was sent via e-mail on February 21, 2012, from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Redistricting

This afternoon the special panel appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court released the new legislative district boundaries.  30 members of the House and 16 members of the Senate are paired with another incumbent in their new districts.

Note:  In the SELCO/SELS region, only one incumbent, Sen. Al DeKruif, currently in District 25, has been paired with an incumbent -- Sen. Julie Rosen, currently in District 24 -- in a new District 23.

House Education Finance Hearing

Today the House Education Finance Committee heard two bills of interest to MLA and MEMO.  The first was HF 2127, the online learning bill heard previously in the House Education Reform Committee.  Today the author, Rep. Pam Myhra (R - Burnsville) offered an amendment to remove the provisions of the bill directing the Online Learning Advisory Council to develop a catalog of digital learning content aligned with the academic content standards.  This was removed because of the cost associated with it.  The bill still requires all students to receive at least one digital course credit in order to graduate.  The requirement is effective for students entering 9th grade this fall. 

The other bill would remove school trust lands from the management of the Dept. of Natural Resources and instead place them under the management of staff to be hired by a new Legislative-Citizen Permanent School Fund Commission.  Many legislators and school advocates believe that the DNR's management of these lands has failed to yield a reasonable amount of income for schools.  The bill passed on a divided vote and was sent to the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee. 

I wanted to make everyone aware of a learning opportunity from the ALA Washington Office on February 27, 2012 from 3:00-4:00 PM.  The webinar’s description is:

The Legislative Process and You: How it Works and How to Make a Difference

Anyone who remembers Schoolhouse Rock’s “How a Bill Becomes a Law” knows that the process is long, arduous and frustrating.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that library advocates have opportunities to make a difference at every step of the way.  In this webinar Stephanie Vance will give you the insider secrets on using the legislative process to your advantage.  She’ll show you how to be engaged at every point — from introduction and referral to conference committee — as well as the key things you should know about any legislative arena before diving in.  Participants will come away from the session with a checklist and work plan to implement these ideas right away – and make a positive difference for libraries!

For more information, including registration information, check out this blog post on ALA Washington Office's District Dispatch.

The following information was sent via e-mail on February 15, 2012, from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

The Legislature has been in session for three weeks, and bills are starting to move through the committee process.  The first committee deadline is March 16, 2012 -- one month from tomorrow. 

State of the State

Tonight (February 15, 2012) Governor Dayton will deliver his State of the State address before a joint session of the Legislature beginning at about 7pm.  You can watch it live on the Legislature's website. 

Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants

We had a hearing this morning (February 15, 2012) in the Senate Capital Investment Committee.  I testified along with Bob Boese, MLA legislative chair.  The only questions we received were about co-location of school and public libraries.  Our bill, SF 1867, is authored by Senator John Carlson (R - Bemidji).  Co-authors are Senator David Tomassoni (DFL - Chisholm), Senator Dave Senjem (R - Rochester), Senator Keith Langseth (DFL - Glyndon) and Senator Jeremy Miller (R - Winona).  All are members of the Senate Capital Investment Committee.

Dedicated Funding for School Technology and Library Media Resources

HF 2036 and HF 2075, the two bills I mentioned in my Feb 7, 2012 report that dedicate proceeds from the permanent school trust fund to technology and library media resources, were both heard in the House Education Finance Committee yesterday (February 14, 2012).  Patrick Plant, technology director for the Anoka-Hennepin School District, testified in favor of the bills on behalf of both MEMO and his school district.  The bills were laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill. 

Online/Digital Learning

HF 2127, a bill aimed at expanding online learning, was heard yesterday in the House Education Reform Committee.  A new version of the bill was offered by the author, Rep. Pam Myrha (R - Burnsville).  The main point of contention was the proposed removal of the current requirement that an online course be taught by a teacher licensed in Minnesota.  After a lively committee discussion, Rep. Myrha agreed to remove that provision from the bill.  Happily, unlike when the Senate companion bill was heard, there was no attempt to raid Regional Library Telecommunications Aid (RLTA) funds in order to pay for the development of a catalog of online courses.  The bill passed and was re-referred to the House Education Finance Committee. 

Broadband Task Force

Yesterday (February 14, 2012) the Senate Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee heard a presentation from the Governor's Broadband Task Force, which was appointed in November 2011 and issued an initial report in December 2011.  You can view the report and a schedule of upcoming meetings here.

The task force is chaired by former Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who is now president of the Minnesota Hi-Tech Association.  In testimony Kelliher said that the task force will be working this year to put together detailed recommendations for the 2013 Legislature on actions it can take to achieve the goals that were set forth in legislation passed in 2010, which include making Minnesota one of the top 5 states for broadband access by 2015.  Minnesota currently ranks 24th.  The task force will be looking at best practices throughout the country, including financial incentives to make broadband more widely available. 

Pay Equity

This morning (February 15, 2012) the House State Government Finance Committee heard HF 2033, a bill authored by Rep. Keith Downey (R - Edina) requiring that a study be conducted comparing total compensation of state employees to compensation for similar positions in the private sector and requiring that compensation for state employees be adjusted based on the study results.  The bill was supported by the Taxpayers' Association and opposed by AFSCME, the Pay Equity Coalition (of which MLA is a member) and Minnesota Management and Budget, the department charged with conducting the study.  The bill was amended so that the compensation plan based on the study would not automatically go into effect, but instead would be brought to the Legislature for approval.  It passed on a party line vote and was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, which will need to find a way to cover the $3 million cost of the study before the bill can advance to the floor. 

President Obama released his 2013 budget request on February 13, 2012, and has included $184.7 million for for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), which is administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).  This amount is equal to the funding amount in the current year's budget.  ALA's District Dispatch has posted a statement by current ALA President Molly Raphael about the President's budget request regarding LSTA here.  LSTA supports physical and electronic delivery in Minnesota and several other programs in the state.  These funds have also provided opportunities for libraries around the state to undertake new or innovative projects.  SELCO has been successful over the years with obtaining LSTA grant funding to assist libraries in automating with the SELCO ILS.

The following information was sent via e-mail on February 7, 2012, from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Tomorrow (February 8, 2012) the Legislature returns from a 4 day break for precinct caucuses, which were held this evening.  The next break in the legislative schedule will be for Passover and Easter in early April. 

Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants

Our bill, HF 1851, will be heard on Wednesday at 12:30pm in the House Education Finance Committee.  It is one of six bills on the agenda, so we will have a limited amount of time to make our case.  I plan to testify along with Nate Mathews, City Administrator for the City of Staples, which received a grant in 2008.  Our author, Rep. Carol McFarlane (R - White Bear Lake), liked the idea of having a testifier who would represent a success story. 

Dedicated Funding for School Technology and Library Media Resources

Over the last several years Rep. Denise Dittrich (DFL - Champlin) has repeatedly introduced legislation to dedicate the proceeds of the permanent school fund for school technology and library media resources.  Last week Rep. Dittrich introduced the same bill again.  It is HF 2075.   Interestingly, on the same day Rep. Pat Garofalo (R - Farmington), chair of the House Education Finance Committee, introduced a similar bill, HF 2036.  It dedicates any new revenue in excess of $28 per pupil to school technology and library media resources.  It's great to see the committee chair introducing a bill like this. 

Representative Tina Liebling spoke at the January 17, 2012 Board Meeting about advocacy and she offered insight on what you need to know to effectively educate your elected officials on issues that are important to you.  She also participated in a role playing of a visit to a legislator with members of the Board.  Both portions of the board meeting were taped and here are their SELCOtv episodes.

The following information was sent via e-mail on January 30, 2012, from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

The 2012 legislative session began last Tuesday (January 24, 2012.) The first week of the session was marked with a great deal of partisan rancor, leading one former legislator to publicly predict that the session will be "short, unproductive and vicious."

The Senate Rules Committee approved a reduction in the Senate's budget that will require 12-14 DFL caucus staff to be laid off, while there will be no layoffs of Republican staff.  DFL Senators objected strenuously, but the budget passed on a party line vote.

Today (January 30, 2012) the Senate will take up the confirmation of Public Utilities Commissioner Ellen Anderson and reportedly will refuse to confirm her on a party line vote.  (Note:  Commissioner Anderson was NOT confirmed.) Anderson is a former DFL senator from St. Paul who was appointed to the PUC last March by Governor Dayton. There is speculation that the refusal to confirm her is planned as retaliation for DFLers' refusal to confirm Carol Molnau as Commissioner of Transportation in 2008.  When the full Senate votes to refuse to confirm a commissioner, that person is ousted from his/her job immediately.

Other members of Governor Dayton's cabinet are rumored to be in danger of not being confirmed, including Commissioner of Education Brenda Cassellius.  Earlier today Senator Gen Olson, chair of the Senate Education Committee, moved to return the nomination of Commissioner Cassellius to the Education Committee, an indication that further hearings will be held on Cassellius' confirmation. 

Redesign Caucus

This morning (January 30, 2012) the House Redesign Caucus met to discuss a report that was released last week on redesigning local government services.  The report is based on a series of forums for local government officials held last fall by the Bush Foundation in conjunction with the Minnesota School Boards Association, the Association of Minnesota Counties and the League of Minnesota Cities.  One of the recommendations in the report was to "Consolidate library services across jurisdictions, e.g. schools, cities and counties."  No details are provided.  The discussion in today's meeting of the House Redesign Caucus was very general.  It focused on the challenges that must be overcome in order to foster greater collaboration and redesign of government.   There was no mention of the library consolidation recommendation.  I do not think that any legislation will be coming forward this session pertaining to library consolidation.  Here is a link to the report.

Redistricting

Because the Governor and the Legislature were unable to agree on a redistricting plan after the 2010 census, a court-appointed panel has been charged with redrawing legislative and Congressional district lines. The new districts will be released on February 21, 2012. Many incumbent legislators are waiting to see what the new districts look like before deciding whether or not to run for re-election. In a redistricting year we commonly see a higher than usual number of legislators deciding not to seek re-election. Four sitting legislators have already announced they will not seek re-election. They are: Rep. Mindy Greiling (DFL - Roseville), Senator Linda Higgins (DFL - Minneapolis), Senator Amy Koch (R - Buffalo) and Senator Gen Olson (R - Minnetrista). 

The following information was sent via e-mail on January 17, 2012, from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Session Overview

The 2012 legislative session begins on January 24, 2011 -- one week from today.   Due to a projected state budget surplus of $876 million, this will be the first session in several years where legislators are not forced to focus on cutting the budget.  Instead, the focus of the session will be on passing a bonding bill to fund capital projects, the Vikings stadium issue and government reform. 

Both the Governor and the Legislature have said that creating jobs is their top goal.  Not surprisingly, they are pursuing very different approaches to creating jobs. The Republican majorities in both houses of the Legislature have said that their priority this session is reforming government in order to reduce regulations and mandates.  They argue that this is the best way to create jobs in the private sector.  Last week Governor Dayton announced his jobs package -- a series of tax incentives for employers and a large bonding bill to create jobs in the construction industry. 

Bonding Bill

Today Governor Dayton released his proposed bonding bill.  It spends $775 million.  I am disappointed to report that it does not include any funds for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants.  We had good meetings with administration officials about the need for funding these grants, and I was hopeful that some level of funding would be included in the Governor's proposal.  The Minnesota Department of Education had requested $3 million for this program.  However, none of the bonding proposals submitted by MDE were included in the Governor's bonding proposal.  Republican legislative leaders criticized the Governor's proposal as too large and too focused on economic development projects rather than on repairing the state's infrastructure. 

Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants

Our bill to provide funding for these grants was pre-filed last week by our chief author in the House, Rep. Carol McFarlane (R - White Bear Lake).  The bill will be introduced officially on the first day of the session, but it has been already published and assigned a file number.  It is HF 1851.  Co-authors are Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL - St. Paul), Rep. Larry Howes (R - Walker) and Rep. Sondra Erickson (R - Princeton).  The bill was referred to the House Education Finance Committee. 

The American Library Association (ALA) Washington Office has posted information to its District Dispatch news blog about the $915 billion budget bill that passed by the U.S. House on Friday, December 16, 2011, and by the U.S. Senate on Saturday, December 17, 2011.  Specifically for libraries:

• $28.6 million was appropriated for literacy, with about $14.3 million going to low income school libraries
• The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) received $185 million for Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding
• The Government Printing Office (GPO) received $126 million
• Congressional Printing and Binding received nearly $90.7 million
• Superintendent of Documents received $35 million

To view the entire posting, click here.

The American Library Association's (ALA) Washington Office has issued the following alert regarding the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), H.R. 3261.  ALA is asking us to call our U.S. Representative and ask them to vote no on this bill.  I've excerpted the action alert in this posting.

On Thursday, December 15 at 10:00 a.m. (EST) the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary will meet to markup and potentially vote in committee on H.R. 3261, the “Stop Online Piracy Act” or SOPA. 

This egregious bill, introduced in October by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), not only threatens the future of the Internet as we know it, it jeopardizes protections currently enjoyed by individual citizens, as well as libraries. The bill has the potential to do significant damage in a number of ways – including the possibility of criminal prosecution of a library for streaming, censorship of internet activity, invasion of privacy rights, and even threatens national cyber security, among others.

Please call your U.S. Representative and ask them to vote “NO” on SOPA.

Talking Points:

• For libraries, the bill strikes at copyright protections by creating the possibility of criminal prosecution of a library for streaming.
• SOPA’s requirements to monitor internet traffic violates free speech and privacy protections, not to mention raises the significant likelihood of a “chilling effect” on using the Internet for commerce, communication and participation in a democratic society.
• SOPA’s monitoring of the internet equates to surveillance potentially inviting new forms of government intrusion (within and outside the U.S.).
• Such monitoring or regulating of the Internet creates cyber security vulnerabilities as noted in a letter (pdf) by top cyber security experts at Sandia National Laboratories (funded by the Department of Defense and Department of Energy).
• Finally, the predicted consequences of SOPA are far reaching. If passed, the potential for new jobs, innovative new ventures and economic growth would stifled.

If you do choose to call or contact your representative, I'd appreciate hearing about your experience.  Please feel free to email mscott@selco.info about your experience, even if it is just "I called."

The following information was sent via e-mail on December 1, 2011 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Late this morning (December 1, 2011) Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter delivered some much needed positive news about the state’s budget situation. In the weeks leading up to the forecast release most people predicted deficit news in the range of $500 million to $1.2 billion. This morning House K-12 Education Finance Chair Pat Garofalo tweeted his prediction that the forecast would project a deficit of $1.18 billion.  Instead, Minnesota is projected to finish the current biennium with an $876 million surplus.

The positive news is based largely on the fact that fiscal year 2011 closed with a $976 million balance due to larger revenue collections ($358 million) and reduced spending ($205 million) than originally projected. Revenue projections for the remainder of the current, FY 12-13, biennium are down $24 million, but spending is now projected to be $348 million lower than previously forecasted. The net result is an estimated $876 million on the bottom line when the FY 12-13 books close on June 30, 2013.

Under current law the entire amount of the projected surplus is dedicated to the state’s cash flow account ($350 million minimum balance) and the state’s budget reserve (enough to fund $648 million of a minimum requirement of $650 million).

If the February forecast shows an improvement to the bottom line then the school aid payment shift is next in line to be paid back under current law.

Both Commissioner Schowalter and State Economist Tom Stinson acknowledged that the economic outlook for the next year is much more bleak compared to last February’s projections. Overall economic growth was projected at 3% for the next year, but it’s now down to 1.7%. Wage and job growth projections are down sharply as well. Congressional decisions will also weigh on the forecast as the forecast assumes a continuation of the payroll tax cut enacted last year. If Congress lets that expire then GDP (Gross Domestic Product) will take a hit, and the February forecast could show a smaller surplus.

How are we doing on balance going forward? The current forecast projects a FY 14-15 deficit of $1.3 billion. It assumes $35.7 million in revenue, but $37 million in spending, not including inflation. Add another $1.3 billion in inflationary costs to keep up with projected CPI (Consumer Price Index) of 2.3% and 2.4% in FY 14-15. And the forecast assumes no plan to pay back $2.1 billion in recently enacted school payment shifts. These last factors are why you may hear some people talk about the FY 14-15 deficit in the realm of $4-5 billion instead of the official $1.3 billion figure.

Important for the coming session is news about the state’s debt capacity and the potential for a bonding bill. In light of the forecast Minnesota has $1.9 billion in available room for debt service. However, based on a 10-year rolling average of previous bonding bills the state would normally approve a $775 million bonding bill this coming session. Expect Governor Dayton to recommend a bonding bill in the neighborhood of this amount. The GOP legislative majorities may have a different perspective on this.

When asked what the best thing Minnesota can do with surplus to help the economy, State Economist Tom Stinson said the state should rebuild its budget reserve as called for under current law in order to prevent additional shocks and disruption from further budget cuts. He argued we need more continuity in our budgeting and state finances and a budget reserve helps provide that.

State Budget Director, Margaret Kelly, was asked where the reduction in expected expenditures came from. She said about 90% of it is in reduced Health & Human Services spending, specifically on the state’s early enrollment into Medicaid allowed under federal health care reform. She said the state now has six months of experience with this program and enrollments are coming in at a lower rate than initially projected.

The American Library Association's Washington Office is presenting a webinar entitled Education, Lobbying, and Advocacy-Oh My!: What’s Allowed (And What’s Not) When Reaching Out to Elected Officials.  This free webinar will be held on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 from 3:00-4:00 PM.  Registration information can be found here.  The description for the webinar is shown below.

Politicians, lobbyists and advocates alike use the terms “education,” “advocacy” and “lobbying” interchangeably.   But what do they all mean?  When associated with a government agency or a non-profit it can be very confusing to know what’s allowed – and what will land you in hot water.  In this session we’ll look at both the letter and the spirit of the law when it comes to lobbying and advocacy, as well as specific criteria you can use to assess your own situation.  Since local library supporters, whether staff, friends, trustee or board members, have the most influence in the legislative process, it’s important to know just how far you can go in connecting them with policymakers.  Believe it or not, you have more latitude than you think.  And, of course, as a private citizen no one can curtail your right to speak up and make a difference.

Please feel free to register to attend this webinar from the convenience of your desk.  SELCO staff have registered for this webinar and if there is interest, we could host a group here at our office.  If you are interested in attending this webinar with SELCO staff here at the office, please contact Michael Scott via email at mscott@selco.info.

The following information was sent via e-mail on October 25, 2011 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Note:  Elaine would appreciate receiving copies of any responses from your legislators that you might receive.  Her email is elaine@capitolhillassoc.com.  You may also send them to Michael Scott, mscott@selco.info, or to his attention at the SELCO office.

As you may have seen in media reports, legislators are considering raiding the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund to pay for a new stadium for the Vikings. This is certainly not what the voters were told this money would be used for when they passed the Legacy Amendment in 2008.  Raiding the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund for a stadium will reduce the funding available for arts and cultural programs throughout Minnesota, including those offered by libraries. 

Please call or e-mail your legislators and tell them that you oppose using Arts Fund money for a stadium. 

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts has an excellent tool on their website for constructing a letter to your legislator using your choice of talking points.  Click here to access this tool.

Minnesota Public Radio did a story on this issue on October 21, 2011.

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) issued the following press release announcing a Congressional briefing on October 17, 2011 to advocate for the inclusion of the Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLs) Act in the upcoming Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization.  Please note the call to action in the press release.

For Immediate Release
October 4, 2011

Contact: Jennifer Habley

AASL heads to Washington for congressional briefing

CHICAGO – On Monday, Oct. 17, 2011, representatives of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) will present a congressional briefing to advocate for the inclusion of the Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLs) Act in the upcoming Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization.

The briefing, “Education Reform and the SKILLs Act: An Analysis of Twenty-First Century School Libraries and Their Impact on Career and College Preparedness,” will cover how the SKILLs Act supports and sustains 21st century school libraries.  The act ensures that every school is served by a state-certified school librarian and the school library program has access to the resources students need to become lifelong learners.  Presented in conjunction with Representative Rush Holt (N.J.), briefing presenters include:

• Carl Harvey, school librarian, North Elementary School (Ind.), AASL president
• Donna L. Haye, assistant superintendent, Atlantic City Public Schools (N.J.), an AASL Distinguished School Administrator
• William A. Mayer, university librarian, American University (D.C.), international speaker and leader on the changing face of services in libraries
• Kathy Mortimer, parent from Henrico County Public Schools (Va.) an AASL National School Library Program of the Year
• Connie Williams, National Board Certified Teacher Librarian, Petaluma High School (Calif.), AASL legislative committee chair

The AASL Board of Directors has approved the dedication of Friends of AASL funds raised Sept. 1, 2011 through Aug. 31, 2012, to defray costs related to the briefing.  Donations to the Friends of AASL can be made at www.ala.org/aasl/friends. 

School librarians and school library stakeholders are encouraged to support the work of the congressional briefing by contacting their members of Congress and urging them to attend the briefing.  Contact information by state can be found at capwiz.com/ala/dbq/officials/?affiliate_lookup=1officials.  AASL also requests that stakeholders contact the U.S. Senators for their state and urge them to co-sponsor the SKILLs Act.  Immediate contact is critical as a draft of ESEA will be put to committee vote this fall. Talking points and a directory of elected officials can be found at capwiz.com/ala/callalert/index.tt?alertid=54125686.

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change and develop leaders in the school library field.

The American Library Association (ALA) Washington office has posted an update on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee bill that has cleared the Committee on September 21, 2011.  The bill designates at least $15 million for school libraries and holds Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding at $189 million.  Additional information about this bill can be found here.

This is only the first step in the process of making this funding a reality so please continue to contact your representatives and senators to ask them to support school libraries as well as continued funding for LSTA, an important source of funding for Minnesota libraries.

Update on a story posted on September 1, 2011 to SELCO's Advocacy page regarding funding for the Government Printing Office (GPO).  The update was posted on the American Library Association's (ALA) Washington office blog District Dispatch on September 16, 2011.  The U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations passed its Legislative Branch Appropriations bill with an increase in funding for the GPO at $116.8 million over the U.S. House bill amount of $108.1 million.  Thank you to everyone who contacted their Senators!

Received from the American Library Association's Washington Office via email on September 15, 2011.

Less than a week after President Obama called on Congress to pass a new jobs creation bill, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced the American Jobs Act (AJA) of 2011 (S. 1549).

This Senate version of the jobs bill includes $30 billion for K-12 education to retain or rehire educators including school librarians to prevent the layoffs of up to 280,000 educators including many school librarians.  Since school librarians across the country are losing their jobs due to budget cuts, it is critically important that as much of this money as possible be used to save their jobs.

The ALA asks all members to call their two senators and congressional representative at 202-224-3121 and urge them to support the AJA.   Tell your elected officials about what school libraries do in your community and how obtaining funds for construction through the AJA could improve the education of our students.

The AJA also includes an additional $25 billion to maintain and upgrade K-12 schools including school libraries to meet their 21st century demands and $5 billion for community colleges including their libraries.  
Please call your elected officials in Congress today!

A chart outlining the estimated jobs impact by state can be viewed here.  If you need to find your U.S. Representative and Senators, ALA has provided a tool to do so.

Andru Peters, City Council Member from Lake City and that community’s library appointee to the SELCO/SELS Board of Directors will assume a leadership role as the Chair of a new Advocacy and Legislation Committee.  The Board President, Judith Schotzko (Wabasha), has created this committee in order to expand organizational efforts regarding state and federal legislation and policies.  The Advocacy and Legislation Committee will be responsible for regional advocacy planning and providing advocacy recommendations to the SELCO/SELS Board of Directors.  At their upcoming meeting on September 26, the SELCO/SELS Executive Committee, 2011 will review a proposed list of committee responsibilities.

Thank you to Board Member Peters for his willingness to serve in this leadership role.