A
weekly
message
from
your
Senator
Dear
Constituents
and
Friends,
Many
of
you
have
reached
out
to
me
expressing
your
perspective
on
the
REAL
ID
legislation
that
failed
on
the
Senate
floor.
REAL
ID
compliance
is
needed
so
that
Minnesotans
can
continue
to
board
airplanes
and
visit
their
family
members
on
military
bases
with
ease.
Unfortunately,
I
could
not
support
a
bill
that
brought
Minnesota
in
compliance
with
the
requirements
of
REAL
ID,
but
inserted
immigration
issues
unnecessary
to
implement
the
law.
I
have
always
been
supportive
of
a
REAL
ID
bill.
I
voted
to
pass
a
clean
bill
in
2016
that
unfortunately
got
bogged
down
in
conference
committee
with
the
House
requiring
divisive
immigration
language
to
be
in
the
bill.
I
believe
that
we
need
to
separate
the
issues
of
REAL
ID
and
immigration
policy.
I
voted
YES
to
support
an
amendment
to
strip
the
unnecessary
immigration
policy
from
the
REAL
ID
bill.
Unfortunately,
a
clean
bill,
without
unneeded
immigration
language,
ended
up
failing
on
a
party
line
vote.
Like
you,
I
want
a
clean
REAL
ID
bill
that
does
not
continue
to
jeopardize
Minnesotans'
access
to
airplanes,
military
bases,
and
federal
buildings
in
perpetuity.
I
assure
you
that
I
am
committed
to
work
for
a
bipartisan
solution
to
clean
up
the
bill
and
repass
it
this
session
to
ensure
Minnesotans
can
board
airplanes
and
visit
their
loved
ones
on
military
bases.
Thank
you
for
your
continued
engagement
and
rest
assured
I
will
work
hard
to
get
this
issue
resolved
before
we
adjourn.
Sincerely,
Melisa
REAL
ID
stalled
by
controversial
language
The
REAL
ID
bill
(SF
166)
failed
to
pass
in
the
Senate
this
past
week
due
to
controversial
language.
This
topic
has
been
a
point
of
discussion
for
many
years
in
Minnesota’s
previous
attempts
to
align
with
federal
REAL
ID
standards.
An
amendment
was
proposed
by
the
Senate
DFL
to
attempt
to
remove
this
disputed
language
failed
and
the
bill
did
not
progress
any
further.
We
expect
to
revisit
the
topic
of
Real
ID
later
this
session.
History
is
made
as
MN
allows
liquor
sales
on
Sundays
Governor
Mark
Dayton
signed
the
Sunday
sales
bill
into
law
on
Tuesday
after
its
passage
in
the
House
and
Senate.
The
law
removes
the
ban
on
alcohol
sales
on
Sundays
which
first
passed
before
Minnesota
received
its
statehood.
Polls
demonstrate
two-thirds
of
Minnesotans
support
the
act
to
allow
liquor
stores
to
open
on
Sundays.
The
law
is
expected
to
stimulate
the
economies
of
border
towns
as
citizens
will
not
be
travelling
across
state
lines
to
buy
liquor.
Cities
do
still
retain
some
control,
however,
in
whether
or
not
to
pass
ordinances
to
keep
local
liquor
stores
closed
on
Sundays.
Family
and
municipal-owned
liquor
stores
were
the
strongest
critics
of
the
bill
as
they
projected
increases
in
overhead
and
operation
costs.
However,
many
saw
the
ban
on
Sunday
sales
as
outdated
and
depriving
liquor
stores
of
opportunities.
The
law
will
go
into
effect
Sunday,
July
2nd.
Tobacco
tax
cuts
proposed
The
Senate
Tax
Committee
heard
several
bills
regarding
reducing
taxes
on
a
variety
of
tobacco
products.
The
first
bill
(SF
1051),
proposes
a
frozen
tax
rate
on
cigarettes
and
another
is
aimed
at
reducing
the
tax
on
premium
cigars
(849).
Additionally,
the
third
bill
heard
is
directed
at
the
growing
e-cigarette
industry.
The
language
of
the
bill
would
tax
the
nicotine
used
in
e-cigarettes
rather
than
tax
all
e-cigarette
products
at
95%
of
the
wholesale
price.
Supporters
of
these
bills
argue
that
the
current
taxes
on
tobacco
products
are
regressive
and
disproportionately
affect
lower-income
users.
Furthermore,
they
believe
this
bill
will
help
set
a
precedent
in
order
to
move
Minnesota
towards
a
more
progressive
tax
system.
Opposers
used
statistics
to
counter
the
positive
aspects
by
pointing
out
the
reduction
in
teen
smoking
after
a
bill
passed
in
2013
raised
the
tax
on
tobacco.
Data
further
demonstrates
high
prices
are
the
best
obstruction
to
youth
smoking
and
the
most
effective
in
encouraging
smokers
to
quit
smoking.
All
three
bills
were
laid
aside
and
will
be
considered
for
inclusion
in
the
omnibus
tax
bill.
Light
rail
and
transportation
funding
discussed
Two
bills
opposing
light
rail
transit
(LRT)
were
heard
in
the
Senate
this
week
along
with
the
introduction
of
a
Senate
transportation
resolution.
The
first
bill
would
create
criteria
for
new
LRT
lines
in
order
to
receive
operations
funding.
The
state
currently
funds
50
percent
of
LRT
operations
and
light
rail
use
has
increased
steadily
every
year
since
its
inception.
The
bill
aims
to
make
it
more
difficult
for
LRT
lines
to
qualify
to
receive
state
funding
for
operations
(SF
150).
The
second
bill
limits
the
use
of
public
money,
local
and
state
alike,
for
construction
of
new
light
rail
lines.
The
language
requires
the
state
legislature
to
approve
funding
for
construction
and
removes
Hennepin,
Anoka,
Ramsey,
and
any
other
county’s
ability
to
utilize
their
own
resources
to
build
LRT
projects
(SF
1769).
The
introduced
Senate
resolution
requests
President
Trump
to
redirect
the
$900
million
of
federal
funding
for
the
Southwest
Corridor
project
into
a
block
grant
to
improve
Minnesota’s
roads
and
bridges.
This
proposed
redirection
would
counter
laws
regulating
the
use
of
the
funds.
The
current
regulations
state
the
federal
funds
are
specifically
meant
to
be
used
for
rail
projects
and
cannot
be
used
by
states
for
other
projects.
Omnibus
elections
bill
moves
forward
An
omnibus
elections
bill
has
been
moved
to
the
Senate
Finance
Committee
after
being
passed
through
four
other
committees
(SF
514).
The
bill
is
controversial
as
one
of
its
main
components
includes
the
creation
of
a
provisional
ballot
system.
Minnesota
is
among
the
minority
regarding
provisional
ballots
as
several
other
states
have
such
systems.
Provisional
ballots
are
votes
cast
by
anyone
with
a
challenged
status.
While
the
meaning
of
“challenged
status”
is
broad,
it
typically
encompasses
issues
with
voter
misinformation,
voter
mistaken
identity,
and
vote
challenges.
Currently,
Minnesota
resolves
cases
such
as
these
with
a
procedure
of
questioning
and
allowing
a
voter
to
testify
their
eligibility
under
oath
in
the
presence
of
a
election
judge.
Local
law
enforcement
and
county
officials
then
follow
up
on
the
voter
to
reassure
of
their
honesty.
The
bill
attempts
to
change
this
method
by
simply
requiring
a
challenged
voter
to
cast
a
ballot
and
then
its
credibility
is
either
accepted
or
denied
by
a
public
official.
Another
provision
of
the
bill
will
attempt
to
curb
unexpected
challenged
voter
status
by
requiring
the
informing
of
all
those
with
challenged
status
of
their
current
position.
Challenged
voters
will
then
be
allowed
time
to
dispute
their
status
before
election
day.
Increased
funding
proposed
for
low-income
students
to
participate
in
AP
&
IB
programs
A
bill
aiming
to
encourage
low-income
and
disadvantaged
high-school
students
to
enroll
in
Advanced
Placement
(AP)
and
International
Baccalaureate
(IB)
was
proposed
this
week.
Funding
would
be
increased
for
AP
and
IB
STEM
courses
and
the
expanded
use
of
grants
would
seek
to
lower
barriers
for
low-income
students
to
register
in
upper-level
classes.
The
bill
intends
to
grow
the
number
of
low-income
and
disadvantaged
students
in
AP
and
IB
STEM
college
programs
and
drive
them
towards
future
careers
in
STEM
fields
(SF
1056). |