Throughout this week, the House has been spending long hours on the floor debating and voting on several omnibus bills. Each bill addresses either finance or policy provisions for major areas of the budget, including education, public safety, ag and veterans and state government finance. I thought it might be helpful to offer a few highlights of some of these bills.

On Wednesday, we passed the omnibus agriculture, veterans and military affairs finance bill. Despite facing targeted spending reductions of 6 percent to help address the $6.4 state budget deficit, the final bill actually increases both the Veterans Affairs and veterans-homes budgets by over 3 percent, and the military-affairs budget by 7.7 percent. At a time of war, it’s important to maintain and improve our commitments to our veterans, and this bill meets that benchmark. This bill holds Minnesota’s veterans homes whole, allowing them to maintain their current level of service, fully funds Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s recommended expansion of a veterans’ mental health program, and authorizes a $3 million enlistment incentive program.

Cuts were made to the agriculture budget, but the committee was careful to both protect jobs and fund essential programs. To help address the deficit, ethanol producer payments were delayed by 20 percent, to be paid back in the future. This program was started in the early days of ethanol production to provide an incentive for farmers to take a risk on this new industry. Even though ethanol production is beginning to become more profitable, some producers are still struggling. I appreciate the fact that this bill honors our commitment to ethanol producers.

The ag bill also includes important food safety provisions, funds the successful Livestock Investment Program, extends the Farmer Lender Mediation program for four more years, and makes investments in biofuels and green jobs.

We also passed a public safety bill that offers new protections for children against online predators. There are other provisions for sentencing guidelines and easing mandates on state agencies, emergency communications and criminal records maintenance and eligibility standards for a defendant to qualify for a public defender.

Finally, we passed three education bills: early childhood, K-12 education and higher education. Despite facing a historic budget deficit, we identified education for students of all ages as a top priority this session, and were able to protect all three budget bills from cuts.

The K-12 bill keeps funding at current levels for fiscal years 2010-11, and includes several mandate reductions that will reduce costs for school districts. The bill also paves the way for what is being called the “New Minnesota Miracle,” significant school funding reform that will be phased in over four years, beginning in 2014.

More details will be provided about all of the omnibus bills as we move toward the end of session. Each bill will next move to Conference Committee, where the differences with the Senate companion bill will be reconciled. There are significant differences between the House and Senate bills, including how we generate revenue and where we make cuts.

Considering this, I understand the final bill will be somewhat different, but I believe we can reach consensus on good legislation to send to the governor.

The 2009 session is scheduled to adjourn on May 18. Please continue to contact me with your questions and suggestions. As always, it’s an honor to serve. I can be reached at (651) 296-8216, or by e-mail at rep.robin.brown@house.mn.