March 1996
Legislative Watch
By Bruce Kleven
MAWG/MBGA Legislative Strategist
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Prairie Grains is the
official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain
Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat,
Inc., and the
Minnesota Barley
Growers Association.
MN legislative session short, but aggressive
The 1996 legislative session will be shorter than last year because it is an off-budget year, which means major budgetary items will not be considered. On the other hand, Minnesota lawmakers have adopted a very aggressive schedule, and a closer watch must be kept because legislators will spend more time with sweeping policy and technical change bills by the end of February.
When the session began on Jan. 16, a Senate Agriculture Committee chair had not been named. Senate DFL caucus members proposed merging the Ag and Environment Committees for the 1996 session, but this proposal met with stiff opposition from both agricultural and environmental groups. The main issue with selection of the chairman had to do with seniority. The full Senate decided to appoint Roger Moe (D-Erskine) as Ag Committee chairman for the 1996 session.
The biggest news in St. Paul at the start of the session was ethics violations. The reason this is big news is probably because there are so many negative incidents. Including former Sen. Joe Bertram, who pled guilty to stealing a leather vest amid testimony that he offered a bribe to the store owner to cover up the incident. The former Senate Ag Chair from Paynesville voluntarily resigned before the Senate Ethics Committee could make a recommendation. Legislative leaders are making "restoration of the institution" a top priority in 1996 (timely, given the November elections).
The Wetlands Conservation Act continues to be a hot topic this year. The compromise bill that would have eased some of the provisions in the act failed on the last day of the 1995 session. People on both sides have been working on this issue since last May. There are new proposals this year, even talk of a bill to repeal the act entirely. Politically, however, repeal is virtually impossible, since the Governor has vowed to veto any bill that weakens the current "no net loss" policy.
Sen. LeRoy Stumpf (D-Thief River Falls), Rep. Jim Tunheim (D-Kennedy) and Rep. Tim Finseth (R-Angus) continue to lead wetlands reform efforts. Points of contention include: replacement of wetlands along road projects; drainage ditches; state versus local wetlands control; which agencies should have wetlands enforcement authority; and the size of the de minimus ("very little") exemption.
The Minnesota Corn Growers Association will continue its fight against the Amoco Oil Company. Last year, Amoco tried to gain an exemption from the state's mandatory oxygenated fuel requirement.
Last year a bill was introduced that would give townships authority to enact ordinances governing livestock operations. Each township could pass different livestock zoning ordinances. Passage of this bill would be just like having a different speed limit every six miles.
The MDA has announced some of the legislation it will be introducing this year, including: 1) a $41 million increase in bonding authority for the Rural Finance Authority; 2) a $20 million increase in funding for the Livestock Best Management Practices loan program; and 3) reduced penalties for producers who accidentally ship adulterated milk.
One of the proposed bills in the hopper this year relates to posting land for hunting. The current law places the burden on landowners to post property to keep hunters out. The proposed bill would require hunters to ask first and landowners would not be required to post land.
Any bills relating to agriculture must be debated and passed in committee by Feb. 16. The short timeline will most likely prevent any controversial bills from moving forward without adequate time for debate.
The legislature will also consider the following non-ag, but highly publicized bills: raising the speed limit, school vouchers, building a new stadium for the Twins, and dealing with federal budget cuts.