Page 2

2323 MN Senate
Building Capitol Update—April 19, 2018
95 University Ave W
St. Paul, MN 55155

• I serve on the following April 19, 2018 SD 50 —Bloomington, Richfield

committees: Health and
Human Services Policy &
Finance, E-12 Education
Finance, and Local Gov-
ernment.
• The third committee
deadline is Friday, April
20th.
• I’m also looking forward
to meeting with Blooming-
ton and Richfield residents
about issues that are being
discussed this year.
• My Senate website is
www.senate.mn/
senatorwiklund
How to contact me
at the Capitol:
Phone:
651-297-8061
E-mail:
sen.melissa.wiklund
@senate.mn
E-12 Education Supplemental Budget
On Monday, in the E-12
Education Finance Committee,
members were taken through
the proposal for the E-12 Edu-
cation supplemental budget bill.
This proposal came in the form
of an amendment by the chair of
the committee, Senator Carla
Nelson (R-Rochester).
Wednesday night, additional
amendments were debated and
the bill passed.
Supplemental budget re-
quests are common in the sec-
ond year of the biennium to
address changes that have oc-
curred since the budget was
passed in the first year. Differ-
ent budget jurisdictions will pass
all of their supplemental bills,
and those bills will be assembled
into one omnibus supplemental
budget bill that will likely be
voted on later in the legislative
session.
I have serious concerns
about how this bill would serve
our schools, particularly with
regards to school safety and
controversial policy language
that should not be included in a
budget bill to begin with. While
it did fund some good programs,
I voted against this bill, and will
continue working with my col-
leagues to better address Min-
nesotans’ priorities.
The budget bill creates a
new form of state aid, specifical-
ly focused on school safety, but Governor Dayton delivers his State of the
the amount of funding put for- State Address in the House Chamber
ward is much smaller than had
been discussed. Further, this
funding cannot be used for policies and state rules.
school climate issues (anti-
bullying efforts, for example). Having served on a school
board, I am familiar with how
Perhaps the most controver- budget and policy decisions like
sial item would require districts these can affect schoolchildren
to develop an “Academic Bal- in very real ways. In the remain-
ance Policy”. School districts ing weeks of the legislative ses-
are already equipped to handle sion, I hope that we can contin-
this issue through school board ue to work and improve this bill.

Representative
Linda Slocum
(50A)
651-296-7158 Committee Work Changes Focus
rep.linda.slocum The first two committee the E-12 Education budget bill Minnesota History:
@house.mn deadlines (March 22nd and (detailed above), the Health and
On April 23rd, 1992,
March 29th) were the dates by Human Services Finance and
Representative which policy bills must have Policy Committee has been Governor Arne Carlson
Andrew Carlson been heard in policy committees looking at proposals for a sup- signs the HealthRight bill
(50B) in both the House and the Sen- plemental budget, as well. into law. Providing
651-296-4218 ate. Policy bills that did not meet medical insurance for low
rep.andrew.carlson
@house.mn
As a result, the Local Gov- the deadlines earlier are likely -income Minnesotans, the
ernment Committee will not dead for the remainder of the program is now known
regularly meet for the remain- session, but can be re-
der of session. In addition to introduced next year. as MinnesotaCare.
Page 2 Capitol Update —April 19, 2018

Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity has been talked about quite a
lot in the news lately. While much of the cover-
age has been centered around cases relating to
companies like Facebook and Target, there are
serious issues within state government, as well. I
have been advocating and working with fellow
legislators to address serious identified concerns
and better prepare the State of Minnesota to
face these threats.
I was extremely disappointed last year when
the budget included no new funds for cybersecu-
rity. This session, we should allocate the $19.7
million Gov. Dayton has requested, and ensure
that the work to reduce state government’s risk
exposure moves forward.
On Wednesday morning, I attended a panel
discussion hosted by MN.IT focusing on cyberse-
curity. The panel included Minnesota Secretary
of State Steve Simon, MN High Tech Association
CEO (and former Speaker of the House) Marga-
ret Anderson Kelliher, and Patrick Joyce, VP of
Global Information Technology and Chief IS
Officer with Medtronic. The discussion provided
an excellent overview of the current landscape
of cybersecurity threats, as well as how those
threats impact state government functions and
private sector tech industries.
Minnesota’s IT systems are responsible for
millions of Minnesotans’ private data, more than
$28 billion in annual transactions, and more than
300,000 daily transactions. These systems are
vital for basic government functions, and we
need to ensure that they are protected.
I have worked closely with Sec. Simon and
other legislators to advance this discussion, and I
hope that we will address these issues this year.

Bonding Bill Process Takes Shape

Although the legislature did pass a bonding
bill last year (which I’m glad to say included fund-
ing for the Mall of America Transit Station),
bonding bills are traditionally discussed in the
second year of the biennium. Although I don’t
serve on the Capital Investment Committee, I
am focused on working with my colleagues to
ensure that a bill that invests in crucial projects
comes forward.
Committee Chair Senator David Senjem (R-
Rochester) recently announced committee hear-
ings, even though Governor Dayton announced
his bonding proposal several weeks ago. Com-
mittee hearings are a good start, but I’m hopeful
that whatever emerges will be fully vetted, and
not the product of hectic last-minute negotia-
tions. In recent years, lack of transparency and
clarity has lead to the defeat of bonding bills.
Because bonding requires the state to take
on debt, bills must pass with a 60% majority. In
the Senate, 41 members must vote in favor.
Given the current makeup, this also means that
bills must receive bipartisan support. I’ve heard
from many district residents about important
projects that have applied for funding, and I will
be watching this process closely.

Looking Ahead...
April 20th is the third committee deadline. This means that all
appropriations bills must be passed out of committees, with the
exceptions of the Capital Investment, Finance, Taxes, and Rules
Committees. Once that deadline has passed, my committee work
will likely be finished for the year, and we will spend more time
debating and passing bills as a full Senate. I look forward to meet-
ing with constituents for Water Action Day, and constituents rep-
resenting the MN School Social Work Association and the MN
School Psychologist Association. Next week, I’m also planning on
meeting with other Metro area Senators to discuss regional park
system bonding requests. If you have time, I hope you’ll stop by
Senator Wiklund confers with Senator Susan
the Capitol and say “Hi!” otherwise, I’ll see you around town! Kent (DFL-Woodbury) on the Senate floor