The Minnesota legislature begins its final week of the 2024 session today, and it figures to be another series of long nights at the State Capitol as the members of the House and Senate start the process of reconciling the bills that have been passed and ironing out the differences in conference committees.
As a member of the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee, Representative Kristi Pursell (D-Northfield) of District 58A has been named one of five representatives to the Environment and Natural Resources Conference Committee. That group will be tasked with settling the differences between the two bills, both of which include provisions to prepare the state for climate change, protect pollinators, manage the spread of Emerald Ash Borer, and has language that bans non-essential use of PFAS substances, which have commonly been called “forever chemicals.”
Despite the fact that both the House and Senate are controlled by the Minnesota DFL party, Pursell said there are always profound differences in the bills, and different priorities between the two houses. The first task ahead of the committee, she said, will simply be figuring out what those differences and priorities are.
“At this point, we’re just trying to figure out the status of things in the Senate bill. They take oral amendments, they take amendments on the floor, and then they legislate till 4:00 in the morning. Sometimes it’s hard to even tell what got tacked on to their bill so we’re in the process of trying to suss out what is in their version of the bill and what’s in our version of the bill.”
The committees will likely meet 2-3 times, looking at the House and Senate versions of the bill side by side, debating the differences, and in some cases, she said, hearing live testimony, so each side can learn as much about the other side’s bill as possible. With that said, however, there can be quite a bit of work done before the committee meets in order to present the members with a report setting out the fundamental issues. Pursell said that behind-the-scenes work can be very helpful.
“That there’s a lot of pre-conferencing that the chairs do and looking at spreadsheets and having staff do that process of figuring out what the differences between the two bills are. So, it was fairly streamlined.”
Representative Pursell said she is hoping to be named to the Agriculture-Commerce-Climate Energy Conference Committee, as she was in 2023. Pursell is the Vice Chair of the House Ag Committee and has quite a few provisions in the Ag Omnibus bill that she would like to see preserved.
The legislature is constitutionally mandated to adjourn at midnight on Monday, May 20th, one week from tonight.
Rich Larson’s full conversation with Representative Kristi Pursell can be heard here
Prevention Champions praised for work with those with substance abuse issues
This week, May 12th – 18th is National Substance Abuse Prevention Week. In celebration the Rice County Chemical and Mental Health Coalition has recognized Toby Anderson, Recovery Care Coordinator with HealthFinders Collaborative; John Sherwin, Chief of Police for the City of Faribault; Eric Swan McDonald, Science Teacher at the Northfield Public Schools Area Learning Center (ALC); and the Recovery Staff at the Community Action Center as 2024 Prevention Champions
A statement released by Healthy Community Initiative said the recipients were recognized for their significant contributions in reducing risk factors for alcohol and drug abuse, supporting recovery, promoting mental health and well-being, and building assets for youth and other community members.
Anderson was praised by the Northfield Union of Youth Executive Director Kelli Podracky for his dedication to youth dealing with chemical dependency.
Northfield Chief of Police Marke Elliott praised Chief Sherwin for his championing of the Police Assisted Recovery Program, which can help some drug offenders get the help they need and avoid jail time.
Eric Swan McDonald led a weekly class called Youth Connect that provided a safe space for students to discuss chemical health related issues, said Jenn Toth, the school social worker at the Northfield Alternative Learning Center.
The Recovery Staff at the Community Action Center was recognized for addressing the needs of participants in supporting them through mental health and chemical use struggles by Ashley Gardner, HCI’s Network Impact Coordinator for the Rice County Chemical and Mental Health Coalition. She said the recovery staff members have made a huge difference in people’s lives by meeting them where they are and by finding creative ways to provide them with the support they need.
The awards were presented in late April and early May.
School Board will vote on budget, ice arena letter approvals tonight
The Northfield School Board will meet tonight in the boardroom of the Northfield School District office building.
Among the items on tonight’s agenda, the Board will be asked to approve a letter of commitment to the Northfield City Council regarding a 20-year lease in a new Northfield Ice Arena, and they will be asked to approve the revised 2023-2024 Child Nutrition Fund and Community Education Fund Budgets.
The Board will also hear a presentation on the proposed 2024-2025 General Fund Budget, an update report from the District Youth Council, and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann will provide the Board with an update on the educational campaign for the Northfield High School referendum which will be on the ballot this November.
The School Board will always invite public comments from those who live in the Northfield School District. Time for those comments is scheduled at the beginning of each meeting. Registration is required to address the School Board. Those wishing to do so may sign up beginning at 5:30 pm.
Tonight’s meeting will begin at 6:00
KYMN Daily news 5/13/24
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
