Here's a roundup of things I found that lawmakers are going forward with that are affecting people in serious ways but don't seem to be getting much publicity.
Tea Party fans might like this one. HF 88 eliminates a mandate by the state to make schools spend $3 per pupil on counselors, no matter the need.
Proponents say it's one mandate schools continually asked to be let out of. Opponents of the measure say it will make counselors even less available to kids in school who have various troubles. They note Minnesota is 49th nationwide in ratio of counselors to pupils.
But this plan passed the House with members of both parties. It must find a sponsor in the Senate.
It sounds like it could be dangerous and snipping more holes in the safety net. At the same time, schools and their taxpayers have usually favored local control. This doesn't prevent schools from funding counselors on their own, just takes that state mandate away.
It's important to note the bill did not cut the $30 Safe Schools levy, it just removed the $3 mandate on counseling services.
Here's the 75-54 vote.When you get here, you need to scroll down just a bit to see the vote on HF88. They don't have it up on the easy site yet.
Mankato area Democrats voted against. Republicans mostly vote in favor.
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Everyone seems to want governments to cut costs, but every mandate has its own special interest group. A careful discussion of pay equity laws would have revealed the huge cost over the past 25 years. Unfortunately, the discussion immediately went to the "How can we possibly do this!" phase without a serious discussion.
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