We Could Use Another Trifecta

        It could have been worse. You hear that a lot around here, testament to the stoicism it sometimes takes to live on the northern Great Plains. It could also be said about the legislative session that just wrapped up.

            This was not a budget year, so the main priority was to pass a bonding bill that invests in our state’s infrastructure. The $1.2 billion bill that made it through is nothing to sneeze at, and it required a measure of bipartisanship to make it happen. Back when I was doing government relations work on behalf of public higher education, getting legislators to work across the aisle on bonding wasn’t that difficult because it gave many of them a chance to bring home something for their district. Our former Sen. Keith Langseth was a master of the bonding process, and a recent chat with him confirmed that the key to success lay in his relationships with some key Republican legislators. In recent years, though, it has seemed like Republicans are more intent on denying victories to the opposition than serving their constituents.

            Clay County did well in the bill, with money for flood mitigation (maybe someday the diversion will actually get finished) and for a new Non-Secure Juvenile Facility that should help troubled youth get their lives back on track. Overall, the most significant portion of the bill was the $400 million allocated for water infrastructure. Providing clean drinking water and properly managing wastewater should be the least we expect of government, and this should help – unless your water comes through a lead service line. The bill contained only a paltry sum for replacing those.

            Moorhead’s hopes for attracting a sustainable aviation fuel plant may have gained some momentum thanks to legislation which, among other things, aims to make the industry more eco-friendly and locally beneficial. Otherwise, the story on environmental legislation is mostly about what didn’t happen, for good or ill.

            Efforts to keep young people safe also saw decidedly mixed results. Legislation was passed against such online hazards as “nudification,” grooming, and “sextortion,” but the larger problem of internet addiction remains. Most glaringly, the horrific shooting at the Annunciation School failed to persuade Republican legislators to do anything meaningful about gun violence prevention. There will be enhanced security measures at the Capitol in response to the assassination of Melissa Hortman, which is good, but the rest of us are as exposed as ever.

            Fraud, of course, has been a huge issue in Minnesota, and the legislature took steps to combat it, notably creating an Office of Inspector General. One of the best things to come out of the whole session was funding to help counties modernize their antiquated IT systems. If those upgrades help counties to prevent Medicaid fraud, great, but even more important, this should alleviate some of the new burdens placed on social services by the federal Big Betrayal Bill.

            Rep. Heather Keeler is leaving the legislature, but she can be proud knowing that some steps were again taken to address homelessness and housing assistance. Looking ahead, though, we need a more aggressive approach to building housing to really address the issue of affordability.

            Rep. Keeler and Sen. Rob Kupec have served us well in the legislature and shown that things can get done even in the absence of a solid majority. What was accomplished this session was not nothing, but it was also not enough. If Minnesota’s legislature is ever going to do big things again, we need to hold those seats and continue to rebuild support for the DFL in rural areas.

Paul Harris