It’s business as usual – sort of – at the legislature.

Monday, November 05, 2001

It’s business as usual – sort of – at the legislature. There’s still a sense of uneasiness at state buildings resulting from the September 11 attack and subsequent anthrax reports. Doors are locked and employees are required to wear ID cards and use them to gain access to buildings. Even so, most staff remain upbeat and many committees have been meeting in preparation for the 2002 session, both in St. Paul and in communities around the state.

Last week, members of the House Commerce Committee reviewed potential legislation affecting credit insurance and data disclosure. Credit insurance is like life insurance and is often offered to borrowers who take a new loan, including mortgage, auto and personal loans. With a credit life policy, the sole beneficiary is the lender. Upon your death, the insurance company would pay off the outstanding balance on your loan. The problem is, many consumers may be unaware that they are taking out such a policy when they make a loan even though they have the option to decline. It’s easy to miss when you’re asked to sign countless confusing forms. Potential legislation is aimed at making the offer of credit insurance more explicit at loan time.

The committee also looked at data privacy issues in light of new federal law that went into effect this summer. Under the new law, a financial institution must clearly disclose consumers’ rights regarding the use of their personal financial data. You have the right to tell an institution that you do not want it to disclose your records. There might be legislation in 2002 to try and make Minnesota’s data disclosure laws even tougher.

Tobacco road?

Minnesota House Majority Leader Tim Pawlenty recently floated an interesting idea. He proposes to &uot;sell&uot; the state’s estimated $6 billion tobacco endowment to investors and use the proceeds (about $1.5 billion) to improve the state’s transportation infrastructure. The money exists as a result of the state’s tobacco lawsuit settlement which required the tobacco companies to pay the state a set amount over 20 years. Pawlenty reasons that the actual value of the settlement is billions less because future dollars have less value (due to inflation) than dollars today. Other states (including Wisconsin) have gone this route. What do you think?

Get out and vote

Don’t forget, there’s an election Tuesday. Local elections – especially school elections – are very important and too often overlooked. And be sure to cast a vote regarding the local levy question. Remember, for every dollar residents here invest in our schools via this levy, the state will match it dollar for dollar. That’s a good deal.

I welcome your input and ideas. Please call me at home at 377-9441 or at the legislature, toll-free, at 1-877-377-9441. My legislative office address is 579 State Office Building, 100 Constitution Ave., St. Paul, MN 55155. My e-mail address is: rep.dan.dorman@house.leg.state.mn.us.

Rep. Dan Dorman represents Freeborn County in the Minnesota House of Representatives.