By Dan Dorman, state Representative

It’s a sure sign of spring &045; lawns turning green, robins beginning to nest, the Minnesota House acts on major finance bills and the floor speeches are getting longer.

Last week, members spent hours on the House floor passing major omnibus finance bills for K-12 and higher education, judiciary finance and health and human services. Remember, these supplementary bills were drafted taking into account Gov. Pawlenty’s recommendations and the need to address a $160 million deficit. The next step is to compare the bills with Senate versions, after which, differences will be worked out in conference committees. With committee work all but done, most activity in the House is occurring on the House floor.

Remember, the final date the House can meet is May 17. The Senate has not yet passed any of their bills.

Here’s a look at the major House finance bills:

ANTI-CRIME LEGISLATION &045; The House passed a wide-ranging anti-crime measure that toughens penalties on violent sexual predators and addresses the growing public safety problem of methamphetamine production. The legislation includes life sentences for aggravated first degree criminal sexual conduct. It also increases penalties for possession of precursor elements for manufacturing methamphetamine.

Included in the bill was my legislation to ban the sale of mobile infrared transmitters, or MIRTs, a device that allows individuals to change signal lights at intersections wired to receive such transmissions.

DRUNKEN DRIVING &045; The House approved new drunken driving legislation that will decrease the allowable blood-alcohol standard from .10 to .08, but without implementation until September 2007.

The bill was approved with a lopsided yes vote and will now go to a joint House-Senate conference committee to work out differences. The Senate earlier passed 0.08 with an effective date of Aug. 1 of this year. There was an amendment offered on the floor to change our date to Aug. 1 of this year.

I voted for this amendment.

K-12 OMNIBUS BILL &045; The House passed a K-12 education finance bill that does not cut per pupil funding.

Further funding is provided for telecommunications access and online learning in rural schools. The bill also funds some of Governor Pawlenty’s education initiatives, including a measure that will allow schools to take away the driver’s license or permit of a student who repeatedly misses school. I raised concern about a part of the bill that raises school levy authority by $27 million when we didn’t do it last year. These are levies that can be approved by a school board without voter approval. I’m not sure why a property tax increase was unwarranted last year, but okay the next.

Following this logic, I offered an amendment (that failed) that would have allowed local districts to pass a 4 percent increase to the basic formula without a referendum. Had this amendment passed, it would have freed up about $80 million in one-time money. I also voted for an amendment (failed) that would have allowed for all-day kindergarten starting in 2006.

HEALTH and HUMAN SERVICES &045; The House passed a health and human services finance bill that targets high health care costs while extending protections to vulnerable populations.

The cost containment package reduces mandates that require insurers to pay for certain procedures, creates a pilot program for small businesses to give them flexibility in choosing affordable health insurance for their employees, and allows for-profit health insurance plans to compete in Minnesota.

The bill calls for no rate reductions in nursing home reimbursement rates as was proposed by the Governor, and it includes $1.7 million in relief to help nursing homes pay the higher costs of liability insurance.

The bill also maintains the reimbursement rate local pharmacists receive from the state for government funded health care insurance programs.

I wish it would have included my legislation to exempt pharmacists from the 2 percent health care provider tax.

The biggest problem I had with the bill however was the use of $70 million in funds from the Health Care Access fund.

I could not vote for this shift which makes next year’s problems worse.

I voted no on the

bill.

Got a question or concern? Write me at 579 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155, or call me, toll-free, at 1-877-377-9441. My e-mail address is rep.dan.dorman@house.mn.

(Dan Dorman is the state representative for District 27A, Albert Lea.)