Chicano Latino Affairs Council > Legislation

Chicano Latino Affairs Council, State of Minnesota

60 Empire Drive, Ste 203
Saint Paul MN 55103

T: 651 296.9587
1 888 234.1291
F: 651 297.1297

clac.desk@state.mn.us

Overview of the Legislative Process

Bill Tracking

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Other Links:

State of Minnesota Governor's Office

State of Minnesota Website

87th Legislative Session Summary August 2011

Government Shutdown
Due to impasse between the Republican majority in the Legislature and Governor Dayton over the State Budget, there was a government shutdown from June 30th to July 21st, 2012. CLAC was consequently closed during that period and its staff was not permitted to work throughout the whole period. The only activity carried out by CLAC staff was the Executive Director’s participation on conference calls, usually conducted by M&B Commissioner Schowalter, to inform all agencies on developments regarding the shutdown as well as plans to follow once the agencies returned to normal activities.

Budget and Special Session State Government Finance Bill
CLAC and the other 3 Councils were under threat of being placed under the control of Humanities Center by the latter receiving our appropriations instead of the Councils directly, Chair of Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans Ilean Her and I testified before the Conference Committee that this system would not work well and would distort the agency status of the Councils. Jose Trejo, former Council Chair, and other community members also wrote to the Committee complaining about this change.
In spite of the changes to the SF1047 made in regards to the Humanities Center oversight, the text still called for a 20% cut in the Councils’ budgets, a report on use of appropriation money by Jan 30, 2012 and for a Sunset Review in June 2012. This and other Bills were vetoed by Gov. Dayton.
During a Special Session, the text above was passed as Special Session State Government Finance Bill with the following modification: 20% cut was changed to 5% cut. We are still expected to submit a report to the Legislature on Jan 30, 2012 and are due for a Sunset Review by a Sunset Commission in June 2012.

Job Training bill HF645
Rep. Mullery submitted to the House of Representatives a job-training bill recommended by CLAC, CAPM and CBM. This collaborative effort was put together by CLAC. Unfortunately the HF645 did not receive any support and failed to be approved. Nonetheless, it can be resubmitted in 2012.
CLAC was able to gain support and testimony from MnDOT that, if this training took place with the funding requested from the Legislature, there would be jobs available for Latino and other minority workers. CLAC has also been talking with Met Council to gain additional support at the next legislative session.

Education
ED was asked to be part of Commissioner Cassellius working group on state funding. Commissioner congratulated and thanked ED for CLAC’s contribution to the understanding of Latino students’ needs and potential contributions.
CLAC convened meeting of top education Latino experts in the Twin Cities to gather insights, which can help us recommend a bill at the Legislative session in January 2012. CLAC also identified best practices in both Minnesota and other states, which have been successful in reducing the achievement gap among Latino students, especially, as well as among other minority students. These best practices (for instance Northfield’s TORCH program has shown improvements in 2 years from a HS graduation rate of 35% to 90%) can substantiate a return on investment for legislators to consider if they were to approve such a bill.

The eighty-eighth session of the Minnesota Legislature is scheduled to convene on Jan. 24th, 2012
Hector Garcia, CLAC Executive Director

Past Legislative Sessions

The 86th Legislative Session (2010)
One of CLAC's main goals is to engage the Latino community through public service, ensuring the access to information pertaining to the Latino population in Minnesota, as well as serving as liaison between the community and state representatives. Among its duties, CLAC reviews budgetary and policy decisions in five main areas of concern for the Latino community: Economic Development, Education, Health, Housing, and Immigration.

Click Here to download CLAC's 2010 Legislative Recommendations

2008 Minnesota Legislative Recapitulation: Impact and Relevance to Minnesota’s Latino community.
The 2008 Minnesota Legislative Session was unusually eventful and productive as state policymakers led the way to meet the state’s challenges. Under normal circumstances, the legislature would have focused exclusively on bonding. But the agenda this year was not that simple. State lawmakers and Governor Tim Pawlenty had to solve the state’s budget deficit, legislate on bonding and tax laws, and discuss other critical legislation. Among the salient issues of this legislature: the overridden veto of the transportation finance bill to maintain and repair the state’s infrastructure and the health care system reform. In total, 1,704 files were introduced in the House and 1,532 in the Senate. Out of these bills, 200 were sent to the Governor Pawlenty and 190 were signed into law. Further, Governor Pawlenty full or line-item vetoed 34 bills, for a total of 70 during his administration.

During the 2008 Legislative Session, CLAC tracked more than 100 bills, attended various legislative hearings, and met with 25 state representatives and senators, and two congresspersons to present solutions and ways to improve education outcomes for Latino students. Our issues brief on education PRE K-12 EDUCATION: Working towards the educational achievement of Latino students in Minnesota, our 2008 policy agenda, and reports on the communities visited during the 2007 summer were presented to committee chairs on education and other lawmakers. Additionally, all state legislators and senators, as well as the office of the Governor received the Council’s position on immigration reform, stressing the need for a dialogue around this issue and a comprehensive policy change based on the country’s tradition on civil and human rights.

The area of particular interest for CLAC was predominantly education, although health care, housing, immigration reform, and economic development were also monitored closely. Through CLAC’s new Click-CLAC, a bi-monthly legislative update, we were able to summarize the most relevant initiatives during this session. In February, CLAC supported a state Senate resolution introduced by state Senator Patricia Torres Ray, DFL-62 for collaboration between the state Senate, the Council on Black Minnesotans, the Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans, Chicano Latino Affairs Council, and the Office of the Ombudspersons for Families. The resolution aims at strengthening collaboration between these agencies and the state Senate to address socio-economic problems that are of mutual concern. Under this resolution, CLAC testified on behalf of all the state councils before the state Senate Committee on Education to support a bill mandating an Academic Achievement Plan for school districts to eliminate disparities in academic performance.

In regards to Minnesota’s budget situation and action taken this legislative session, state policy makers faced yet another year of a budget shortfall. This year’s deficit amounted to $935 million, respectively. In an effort to balance the budget, Governor Pawlenty and state Legislators used funds from the state’s budget reserves and proposed a series of budget cuts; there was no action to raise revenues. While their action corrects the budget crisis in the short run, it does not provide an equitable or fiscally responsible solution to what appears as more of a structural problem at hand.

CLAC Legislative Issues: A Review of the Session
CLAC advocated for the inclusion of the following legislative goals in the areas of PK-12 and Higher Education. To see CLAC’s position on education click here and to see other policy issues click here.

PK-12 Education

Increase funding for Early Childhood Education
Provide clear guidelines to schools with a significant percentage of Latino student enrollment in the allocation and channeling of funds that increase Latino student success
Support the recruitment of certified bilingual/bicultural competent teachers in school districts with growing and diverse student enrollments
Identify best practices and benchmarks that support parental and community involvement, and encourage student engagement and academic success

Higher Education

Expand Post Secondary Education Opportunities (PSEO) in high school
Passage of the MINNESOTA Dream Act

Some of CLAC’s legislative goals and recommendations in education this session were introduced as part of the Education Omnibus Policy Bill, particularly related to finding ways to close the achievement gap for Latino students. Nevertheless, many of the provisions addressing some of the problems affecting educational disparities did not pass during this session. However, other important outcomes relevant to education and other areas like health and housing were achieved and are summarized in the following sections.

On the issue of immigration in Minnesota, CLAC added its voice in support of the need for a comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level. The Council also encouraged measures aligned with the American tradition of respecting human rights and civil liberties, and recognizing immigrant contributions to the state’s economy.

To download the 2008 Legislative Summary, Click Here

Click CLAC 2008 legislative updates (PDF]

Issue 6, May 22, 2008 (Legislative Session wrap up)
Issue 5, May 07, 2008
Issue 4, April 9, 2008
Issue 3, March 26, 2008
Issue 2, March 12, 2008
Issue 1, February 26, 2008

85th Legislative Session: 2007, first year of the Biennium
The 2007 Legislative Session came to a close and despite some shortfalls regarding increases in the appropriations for education, health, and transportation, the following summary highlights the main bills and outcomes that CLAC monitored during the 85th Legislative Session and believes will also benefit the Latino community.

Although the integrality of the Dream Act language was not included in the Higher Education Omnibus Finance Bill, there is still a possibility for non-documented students to enroll and pay a state tuition rate in seven two year institutions. Also, funds will be allocated for economic development and the creation of new jobs. The "Freedom to Breathe Act" banning smoking in bars, restaurants and bingo halls statewide will be an important incentive to improve the health of the Latino community. For more information, click here

Legislative Report, September 2007: Summary of the Special Legislative Session
Legislative Report #2, September 2007: Summary of the Special Legislative Session

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