Capitol update for April 3, 2009

This week at the Capitol, committees packed their schedules in preparation for the coming spring break, beginning on Tuesday, April 7 at midnight. The delay in this week’s update was due to the detailed analysis of the budget, included below!

Of most interest to early childhood advocates was the release of the Senate Omnibus Education Bill on Wednesday, which included a comprehensive package of policy changes, as reported in last week’s update, as well as $14 million in spending.

Not only did the Senate not include any cuts to early childhood on the education side of the ledger, but, under Sen. Tarryl Clark’s leadership, the Senate also recommended continuing the Pre-k Allowances pilot project for another year, expanding the Allowances into several other areas of the state in FY 2011, and also adding them to the base budget beginning in the same year. In conjunction with the Allowances, $500,000 was included in the next biennium for the Parent Aware quality rating system, plus $1 million each additional year going forward. The final bill passed out of the Senate E-12 Education Budget Division on Thursday, was heard and passed out of full Finance on Friday, will be heard in Taxes on Monday, and hopefully pass the full Senate prior to the break. Whew!

Switching to the human services side of things in the Senate, Sen. Berglin is not expected to release her budget prior to the break. While child care has typically not fared as well in the Senate, this year the federal stimulus dollars may help reverse this trend to some degree. On Thursday, representatives of Child Care WORKS, the Minnesota Child Care Association, and the Minnesota Child Care Resource and Referral Network testified before the Senate Health and Human Services Budget Division in support of legislation to direct the $26 million in child care development fund dollars included in the federal stimulus package. Along with our allies, we are recommending using the $3.4 million in required quality set aside dollars to continue the Family, Friend and Neighbor grant program, fund Parent Aware, and fund provider training in preparation for a statewide QRS. The bill also specifies that the remaining $22.6 million should be spent to increase provider reimbursement rates, eliminate the basic sliding fee waiting list, and continue the School Readiness Connections pilot. It was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill.

Over in the House, Rep. Nora Slawik’s committee heard the House companion to the federal stimulus bill, several bills related to child care licensing, and Ready 4 K lobbyist Eric Haugee testified in support of legislation charging the Early Childhood Advisory Council to conduct a comprehensive inventory of early care and education program funding and usage. Both it and its Senate companion passed their committees, and are waiting for votes on their respective floors.

Coming Up @ the Capitol

Like springtime in Minnesota, expect a somewhat unpredictable week. Will is rain? Will it snow? Maybe the sun will come out? While you should check out the legislative schedule pages for up-to-date hearings, the following items are currently scheduled.

What you can do

Visit the Capitol to see the action up close. You can always stop by your legislators' office or send them a note on the House or Senate floor. For information on the state legislature, including directions to the State Capitol and State Office Building, visit the Legislature's website.