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Unfinished business awaits 2018 Legislature

State lawmakers return to St. Paul Tuesday for the 2018 session. Tax conformity, transportation and internal reforms around sexual harassment rules are all on the agenda.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Lawmakers return to the State Capitol Tuesday for the 2018 session, with plenty of unfinished business to tackle.

There's very little chance they'll be staring at another shutdown scenario, because the state's two-year budget was set last year. But there will be plenty of issues competing for legislators' attention.

First things first, they've got to make sure their staff is paid. Gov. Dayton used line-item vetoes last year to strike the House and Senate operating budgets. It was a maneuver that landed Dayton in court, but after a protracted legal battle he prevailed.

"I'm grateful that Gov. Dayton said, 'Send me a clean bill and I'll sign it'," Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka told KARE. "I think in the first week or two you should see that."

Another huge issue is bringing Minnesota's tax code into conformity with the federal tax code. The conformity bill hasn't typically made headlines, but this year's version promises to be different because of the sweeping changes Congress made to the federal tax law in December.

"Most people, like 90 percent, are going to get tax relief from the federal government, but depending on how we do it in Minnesota, it could end up being a tax increase in Minnesota," Sen. Gazelka explained.

"And I don’t want that to happen. So, we have work on conformity, otherwise Minnesota’s taxes are super complex, but also make sure we don’t collect more taxes that we don’t need."

Harassment prevention

The interim was marked by the exit of two state lawmakers -- Republican Rep. Tony Cornish and Democrat Sen. Danny Schoen, both of whom resigned in the face of allegations of sexual harassment. The House, Senate and executive branch all reviewed policy and have recommended reforms that should, in theory, make it easier for victims to come forward and have their cases investigated.

All 134 members of the Minnesota House will have training on implicit bias and sexual harassment prevention Wednesday. House Speaker Kurt Daudt says he can't force members to attend, but he can make life harder for them in the House.

"If members choose not to participate in that they will be removed from their committee assignments and they can explain to their constituents why they don’t serve on any committees in the House," Daudt told reporters last week.

"That’s about as firm as I can make it, and if I could think of something more firm I would do it. Legislators don't work for me, so I can't fire them."

Amendments

Transportation funding will remain a point of contention. Some legislators favor a constitutional amendment to permanently dedicate all revenue from auto parts to roads and bridges. Such a proposed amendment would have to be submitted to voters.

Daudt said he would support a proposed constitutional amendment that would change the line of succession when the lieutenant governor's job becomes vacant.

"I do believe that governors should have the right to pick a lieutenant governor in situations like that," Daudt said.

Senate President Michelle Fischbach, a Paynesville Republican, became lieutenant governor automatically in January when Gov. Dayton appointed then-Lt. Governor Tina Smith to fill Al Franken's seat in the US Senate.

Lt. Gov. Fischbach drew a lawsuit when she decided to keep her seat in the Senate while filling the role of lieutenant governor. Ramsey County Chief Judge John Guthmann dismissed the lawsuit, saying the issue isn't "ripe" yet because Fischbach hasn't cast the deciding vote on any legislation since becoming lieutenant governor.

MNLARS angst

Lawmakers will also wade into issues that generated frustration during the interim, including the troubled rollout of the state's new vehicle licensing and registration system, known as MNLARS.

The state's I.T. agency, Mn_IT, is still working to fix connectivity problems and other issues that drew widespread complaints from deputy registrars and auto dealers in the latter half of 2017. The agency issued a road map for remedying issues, and said it would work with local license bureaus and auto dealers to eliminate the remaining bugs one at a time.

No other state has attempted such an update, which was intended to move the state's licensing and registration off main frame computer systems that are more than 30 years old. Much of the vehicle data has already been migrated to the new system, so scrapping the project isn't a viable option.

Republicans continue to call the Dayton Administration on the carpet over the issue, and have accused the state of wasting money during years of fits and starts. Mn_IT and the Dept. of Public Safety are seeking an additional $43 million to complete the project.

Elder abuse

Elder abuse will also remain on the front burner. Republican Sen. Karin Housley of St. Mary's Point has held several hearings on the issue, particularly the backlog of investigations by the state's Office of Health Facility Complaints, or OHFC. Sen. Housley, who is also running for the US Senate, has planned a series of listening sessions across Minnesota, on the issue of elder abuse.

Monday the Minn. Dept. of Health issued updated numbers on the backlog. In January the backlog numbered 3,147, including 2,321 in triage and 826 open investigations.

According to MDH, 2,034 of the triaged complaints had been reviewed and closed by Feb.12. Another 92 abuse complaints were recommended for on-site investigations. Another 194 cases require more analysis, and the Health Dept. expects that to be wrapped up by March.

Of the 825 open investigations at the start of 2018, 309 have been finished. The Health Dept. said it's on track to finish the rest by the end of the year, while continuing to receive new complaints.

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