Legislative Updates

Health Care — Week of 5/6/2011

Overall Budget Update

With approximately two weeks remaining in the 2011 legislative session, the Republican-led legislature and Democratic Governor Mark Dayton remain worlds apart with respect the state budget. The legislature passed nine omnibus spending bills and an omnibus tax bill over four weeks ago and, while the conference committees have been meeting sporadically in the last few weeks, very little progress has been made. Governor Dayton has continued to insist that the Republican legislature agree to and pass a single legislative budget before he is willing to begin negotiations. Republican leadership has decried this approach and insisted that the Governor and his Commissioners work with the conference committees immediately.

Meanwhile, as the legislature appears in a holding pattern regarding the budget, the Republican leadership has supported the advancement and passage of significant non-budget related legislation. Both the House and the Senate have passed controversial legislation that would require the presentation of a government issued photo identification in order to vote while the House has passed two bills restricting abortion and the Senate is set to hear a bill advancing a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage. Democrats have been critical of these bills and have argued that Republicans have misplaced priorities. Republicans have responded that they are more than capable of multitasking and that it is within their constitutional authority to pursue other legislation while the budget is being negotiated.

Going forward in the last two weeks of the regular session the vast majority of legislative activation will occur in the budget conference committees and during House and Senate floor sessions. The policy committees have largely wrapped up their business and, with the finance and policy deadlines for bills to advance having passed, are unlikely to continue meeting. If the legislature and Governor are unable to agree on a balanced budget plan that accounts for the Minnesota's projected $5 billion revenue shortfall, the legislator will be forced into a special session. The Governor has the authority to call the legislature into special session when he chooses. In 2005 Governor Tim Pawlenty called the legislature into special session immediately following the end of the regular session while other governors have waited until there is an agreement with legislative leadership to call the session. The Governor and legislature has until midnight on June 30, 2011 to pass a budget and avoid government shutdown.

Health Care Budget

The Health and Human Services Omnibus bill Conference Committee continued its slow trudge towards the final weeks of session with little to show for their work to this point. The Conferees met briefly on Tuesday and again on Friday morning to take technical amendments to the House and Senate language. The effort being put in to amend technical corrections in each of the bodies own budget positions demonstrates the seemingly lost path that the conferees seem to find themselves on. Friday morning's meeting was the first time that the House and Senate conferees agreed on some identical provisions in their bill, albeit all small noncontroversial provisions.

Sen. Hann was absent from the Capitol mid-week as he spent two days in Washington D.C. meeting with congressional representatives to lobby on his Medicaid Waiver proposal. Hann talked with the capitol press this morning and highlighted that he felt there was support on the part of Minnesota's congressional delegation to support the House and Senate waiver efforts. He said however that he did not meet with CMS officials while out in DC, nor with any members of the executive branch. Rep. Abeler and Sen. Hann reiterated their plan to meet extensively next week to begin discussion on many of the more controversial issues in the Senate and House HHS positions and expected meetings to go into the weekend. Both chairs continue to insist that they will be done in time for the May 23 constitutional deadline.

Health Care Policy

The second policy committee deadline passed today with little movement in the Health care policy committees this week. Rep. Gottwalt held two committee hearings but did little in the way of controversial bills this week, outside of an exemption to the current hospital moratorium for additional beds at Prairie St. Johns hospital in Maple Grove.

The House Commerce committee did hear Rep. Loon's no fault auto insurance reform bill, HF 1395 on Wednesday afternoon. As expected Rep. Loon significantly amended the bill in similar fashion to the companion bill authored by Sen. Gazelka, limiting the impact largely to chiropractors and physical therapists. Although the result of the hearing was largely known prior to Wednesday's meeting with the bill being laid over, there was still considerable opposition to the reforms in the bill from Republican and DFL members, with much of the vocal opposition coming from Tax Committee Chair Rep. Davids. Commerce Chairman Rep. Hoppe said he looked forward to revisiting some of the issues next session.

Transportation

Lockridge Grindal Nauen's Dennis McGrann, as a member of the National Academy of Science and the Transportation Research Board's advisory panel participated in another review and analysis session at the National Academies in Washington DC the week of April 18, 2011 as part of a selection process for technical consultants for new TRB research projects. The Transportation Research Board is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council — a private, nonprofit institution that is the principal operating agency of the National Academies in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The National Research Council is jointly administered by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. TRB's varied activities annually engage more than 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest by participating on TRB committees, panels, and task forces. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation.