A look at greater Minnesota legislative issues

ST. PAUL - Here is a look at how some issues of special interest to greater Minnesota residents fared in the Minnesota Legislature after lawmakers passed a two-year, $42 billion budget:
• Nursing homes received a $138 million boost, which especially helps rural facilities that have been threatened with closing because of difficulty paying enough to retain staff. However, no new money was approved for other long-term care needs, such as workers who take care of people at home.
• MinnesotaCare will remain as a state-subsidized health insurance program, although costs will go up. It is heavily used in greater Minnesota.
• State payments to local governments will remain the same. Republicans wanted to cut aid to some big cities and the Senate Democrats sought to increase aid by nearly $46 million.
• Tax credits to help housing be built in areas with workforce shortages got no money because no tax bill passed.
• Grants to build housing will be $2 million a year, for all of the state, a fraction of what was requested.
• High-speed Internet expansion, known as broadband, ended up at $11 million, well below the $100 million advocates wanted.
• Job training programs, which rural lawmakers say are important in their areas, would get $900,000 each of the next two years, while supporters wanted $15 million for the two years.
• The only new money for transportation programs was $12.5 million for streets in small cities; transportation advocates wanted to commit billions of dollars over 10 years.
• $5 million will be spent on greater Minnesota transit.
• $5 million will go to make railroad crossings safer.
• Nearly $1 million will be used to establish emergency response teams in St. Cloud and Duluth. Among other incidents, they could respond to oil train accidents.
• No farm property tax relief passed. A plan would have eased property tax burdens by exempting farmland from school construction levies.
• Two-year state technical colleges will freeze tuitions, but tuitions will go up elsewhere.
• All school boards could be given permission to levy a tax to repair or maintain facilities. Large schools could do that in the past, but small districts needed to have the public vote.
• $19 million was approved for bird flu response, mostly for low-interest loans and mental health aid for farmers whose flocks were affected.
• With the tax bill collapse, no funds were approved for Moorhead, East Grand Forks, Dilworth, Ortonville and Breckenridge to provide tax breaks to companies that located there instead of North Dakota or South Dakota.
• Schools could start classes on Sept. 1 this year. Schools normally must start after Labor Day, but lawmakers approved the Sept. 1 provision since the holiday is late this year.
• Dentists will receive 5 percent more for taking care of poor patients, a far smaller increase than supporters wanted.
• Buffer strips around Minnesota water will need to be at least 16.5 feet except along private ditches. However, money to enforce the law did not pass during the regular session.
• Researchers may grow industrial hemp, but it will not be open for general farming.
• Firearm silencers, or suppressors, will be allowed.
• Money to reroute U.S. 53 in northern Minnesota was not approved since there was no major transportation bill. The highway needs to move because a taconite mine is expanding over the highway’s right of way.
• Six school districts on four-day weeks received permission to continue the schedule until 2020.
Note: This list includes some vetoed provisions, but they are expected to be approved during a special legislative session.