STEVENS COUNTY

REPUBLICANS

29841 US HWY 59

MORRIS,  ,MN.

56267 

  News from

 State Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen

Serving The Counties of Todd, Douglas, Grant, and Stevens

2010 LEGISLATIVE WEEK 3 IN REVIEW

Dear Friends:

It was another interesting week in St. Paul. Here is an update on some of the top issues.

BONDING. On Monday, the Senate approved a Capital Investment bill topping $1 billion in spending. Curiously, the House and Senate DFL decided to play political games with the bill after hurriedly working it through the legislative process. Although the bill was approved by both bodies and Gov. Pawlenty’s veto was imminent, a little-used ploy brought the bill back to the Senate. House and Senate negotiators are now talking with the Governor about reprioritizing projects in the bill and trimming it down to a more affordable figure. We should see a more sensible bill reemerge on the Senate floor next week.

GAMC. As expected, the DFL majority in the Senate forced a veto override to restore funding to the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program. The House will likely attempt the override next week. There is a lot of misinformation out there about the program, so I wanted to pass on some background and my thoughts.

GAMC is a state-funded program that pays for certain health care services for low-income, single, childless adults. It is one of three programs Minnesota uses to distribute public health care benefits. It was created in 1975 as a joint program with counties to help the disabled. Over the years, eligibility grew and the state became responsible for the full tab. The program’s 35,000 enrollees claim but aren’t required to have a medical diagnosis of disability, are often chemically dependent, and have incomes below 75 percent of the poverty line. Today, the program grows at about 36 percent each two-year budget cycle and is on track to cost the state $1 billion next year. It was with an eye to reform and cost-effectiveness that Gov. Pawlenty unfunded the program and sought to move people from GAMC to MinnesotaCare. The costs of care in the MinnesotaCare program are significantly less on a per-patient and per-visit basis than in the GAMC program. Considering our current $1.2 billion budget deficit and probable $5 billion deficit ahead, I think this was a necessary move.Many on both sides of the aisle tried to work with DFL leaders who seem driven by politics to restore at least partial funding to the program. But what they brought to the Senate floor and ultimately sent to the Governor offered no reform and continued to drive our budget further into debt.  For these reasons, I voted against this bill and to uphold the Governor’s veto.

VOTER PHOTO ID. In the House, an amendment was offered on an elections bill (HF 2552) which would have required voters to present a valid photo identification card to vote. Unfortunately, the amendment failed mostly along party lines.  I am a coauthor of this legislation in the Senate and will offer a similar amendment on future election bills.  I feel that this is a common sense policy and protects the integrity of our elections.  A valid photo ID is required for nearly everything in our society these days and I do not see how it will harm or disenfranchise any legal citizen from voting.

BRONZE STAR LICENSE PLATE. I am authoring a bill that would allow bronze star recipients to have a specialized state license plate that displays their medal. Earlier this year, I was approached by a constituent with the idea who was a bronze star winner. I thought it was a great idea because it allows the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much to receive some well deserved recognition and honor. We passed our first hurdle and the bill was unanimously approved in the Agriculture & Veterans Budget and Policy Committee.  It has been referred to the Transportation Committee and I will keep you updated as it progresses. The bill is supported by the American Legion and has no cost to taxpayers.

Thanks for taking the time to read my update and please feel free to contact me with your questions and comments.

Sincerely,

Bill

===========================================

State Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen encourages and appreciates constituent input, and can be reached at 651-297-8063, by mail at 123 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther

King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155, or via email at sen.bill.ingebrigtsen@senate.mn.