tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:14:56 +0000Friends Action Network News and Updateshttp://mnscufan.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)Blogger123125blogspot/Phfahttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-3304082300893243644Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:35:00 +00002009-06-18T15:37:13.863-05:00Request for $403.6 million in building and remodeling projects approved by Minnesota State Colleges and Universities trusteesThe Minnesota State Colleges and Universities will seek authorization for $403.6 million in funding next year for construction and remodeling projects across the state. The Board of Trustees Thursday approved a list of 31 projects that will be submitted for funding.The request to the Legislature is for $305.8 million in state general obligation bond financing with $97.8 million in debt service http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/AtusexWW3xk/request-for-4036-million-in-building.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/AtusexWW3xk" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/06/request-for-4036-million-in-building.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-2395379078679237077Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:57:00 +00002009-06-17T11:01:49.815-05:00Unallotment announcedGov. Pawlenty today announced further cuts to state government and aid to local governments through the unallotment process in order to resolve the remaining $2.7 billion budget deficit. Many of the cuts will go into effect July 1, 2009, the beginning of the 2010 fiscal year, however many of the cuts will be made in the second year of the biennium due to interaction with the federal stimulus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/Rf4QlecPQPU/unallotment-announced.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/Rf4QlecPQPU" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/06/unallotment-announced.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-440378498092478287Tue, 19 May 2009 14:18:00 +00002009-05-19T09:21:29.649-05:00No global agreementThe 2009 legislative session came to an end at midnight last night with no global agreement. Legislative leaders and the governor were not able to resolve their differences, so the governor has said he will unallot the gap remaining after the line-item vetoes in the spending bills. It is anticipated that the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system will receive an unallotment of http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/Gskx9RRA5Kg/no-global-agreement.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/Gskx9RRA5Kg" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/05/no-global-agreement.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-1944985161248284262Mon, 18 May 2009 14:27:00 +00002009-05-18T09:32:30.366-05:00Final day of sessionToday is the final day of the 2009 legislative session. Lawmakers have until midnight tonight to wrap things up. The tax conference committee will be meeting this morning at 9:00 in room 15 of the Capitol. The Senate also goes into session at 9:00 a.m. and the House goes in at 9:30 a.m.On the House floor last night, members tried to override the governor's veto of the tax bill. 90 votes are http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/21TxCRwk5Ag/final-day-of-session.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/21TxCRwk5Ag" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/05/final-day-of-session.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-152643204072090010Fri, 15 May 2009 17:57:00 +00002009-05-15T12:58:11.182-05:00Governor vows to end session on timeYesterday at the CapitolGov. Tim Pawlenty said yesterday that he will use line-item vetoes and his authority to unallot to balance the state budget deficit. He said there will not be a special session or government shutdown. The Legislature has passed budget bills that leave a $3 billion shortfall between spending and revenues. The tax bill passed by the Legislature attempts to resolve that http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/aHXbg9qbTY8/governor-vows-to-end-session-on-time.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/aHXbg9qbTY8" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/05/governor-vows-to-end-session-on-time.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-2359649567046597024Thu, 14 May 2009 15:17:00 +00002009-05-14T10:20:09.869-05:00Busy day- major bills pass both bodiesYesterday at the CapitolIt was a busy day as both the House and Senate processed multiple conference committee reports and bills and sent them on their way to the governor.Higher Education bill approved - heads to governorThe House and Senate approved the higher education conference committee report yesterday. After Senate author Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, explained the bill, the full Senate http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/ljfJFbtLKdE/busy-day-major-bills-pass-both-bodies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/ljfJFbtLKdE" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/05/busy-day-major-bills-pass-both-bodies.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-3792470250922162367Wed, 13 May 2009 16:40:00 +00002009-05-13T11:45:03.420-05:00Agreements reached on bonding and higher education billsAgreement on bonding billThe capital investment conference committee approved the bonding report just before midnight last night. The total bill authorization is $343.5 million, of which the general obligation bond proceeds is $279.8 million. Included in the bill is $40 million in HEAPR for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. All five of the 2008 vetoed projects are also in the final http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/wEeBCU1o60c/agreements-reached-on-bonding-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/wEeBCU1o60c" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/05/agreements-reached-on-bonding-and.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-465144871319213234Tue, 12 May 2009 14:00:00 +00002009-05-12T09:03:05.039-05:00Conference committees continue to meet; Pension bill movesThe higher education conference committee ended up not meeting yesterday. At approximately 12:45 this morning, conferees indicated they would continue working toward an agreement and come back for a meeting at 8:30 this morning. Legislative leaders had hoped to have all major spending bills wrapped up by the end of today. Stay tuned.The capital investment conference committee scheduled to meet http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/R2GFrIjEbc4/conference-committees-continue-to-meet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/R2GFrIjEbc4" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/05/conference-committees-continue-to-meet.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-7201646139398796829Mon, 11 May 2009 13:35:00 +00002009-05-11T08:39:34.344-05:00Final week of regular sessionWe are headed into the final week of the regular session, with only eight days before adjournment. After the House and Senate approved the tax conference committee report Friday night, Gov. Pawlenty made good on his promise to veto the bill, which he did immediately in the early hours Saturday morning.If you've got your scorecard out, not a lot of the major spending bills have the governor's http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/pkya88AWIZk/final-week-of-regular-session.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/pkya88AWIZk" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/05/final-week-of-regular-session.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-9175183953530217310Fri, 08 May 2009 16:07:00 +00002009-05-08T11:10:10.129-05:00Higher education conferees move provisionsYesterday at the CapitolThe higher education conference committee met yesterday and made progress on many provisions in the bill. Conferees adopted the language that requires the Pell grant surplus to stay in the state grant program. Conferees also deleted the language that states the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities cannot fill administrative or managerial positions or use search firms http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/B68m2QH76TI/higher-education-conferees-move.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/B68m2QH76TI" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/05/higher-education-conferees-move.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-6983714913524343768Thu, 07 May 2009 13:40:00 +00002009-05-07T08:42:45.334-05:00Action continues at the CapitolYesterday at the CapitolThe capital investment conference committee met yesterday and discussed a number of topics, including flood mitigation, commuter and passenger rail projects and transit projects. The House made two offers, both of which included the five vetoed projects from 2008 and $40 million in HEAPR for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. The Senate now has the gavel and http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/nlMaxXCsT6M/action-continues-at-capitol.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/nlMaxXCsT6M" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/05/action-continues-at-capitol.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-8062020168468235697Wed, 06 May 2009 13:32:00 +00002009-05-06T08:34:19.223-05:00Bonding committee comes closer to agreement; Higher education meets todayYesterday at the CapitolThe bonding conference committee met yesterday afternoon, and the Senate had the gavel. The Senate made an offer and lowered their overall bill proposal to $279.5 million, down from $300 million. This compares with the House offer on April 23 of $275 million. While the Senate and House are close on the total bill, they still differ on a number of projects throughout the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/hN4gMpu9TJI/bonding-committee-comes-closer-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/hN4gMpu9TJI" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/05/bonding-committee-comes-closer-to.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-2544589270549516735Tue, 05 May 2009 14:11:00 +00002009-05-05T09:13:52.648-05:00Conference committees continue to actYesterday at the CapitolHigher Education Conference Committee UpdateThe higher education conference committee met yesterday and continued discussions on provisions in both bills. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Vice Chancellor and CIO Ken Niemi spoke on how technology dollars have been spent. He highlighted infrastructure, necessary projects and the need for a secure system. Conferees http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/HsU1X9uAMd4/conference-committees-continue-to-act.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/HsU1X9uAMd4" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/05/conference-committees-continue-to-act.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-9047312522950417093Mon, 04 May 2009 15:35:00 +00002009-05-04T10:37:10.101-05:00Session in the final countdownWith two weeks to go before regular session adjournment, the Legislature is on track to finish on time, but unless legislative leaders and the governor can agree on how to resolve the $6.4 billion budget deficit, we could be headed into overtime. Thursday is the fifth and final committee deadline, when conference committees are to have their bills to the floor. The Higher Education Conference http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/i_t4hjQGknc/session-in-final-countdown.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/i_t4hjQGknc" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/05/session-in-final-countdown.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-1657146862025847716Fri, 01 May 2009 14:48:00 +00002009-05-01T09:49:40.341-05:00Update from the CapitolYesterday at the CapitolThe higher education conference committee met again yesterday and discussed multiple provisions in the bill. Proposals were made, but nothing was accepted and no action has been taken other than the same and similar provisions between the two bills that were adopted Wednesday. Conferees are scheduled to meet today at 11:00 in room 118 of the Capitol.The Legislative http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/vwHmZ340ZoY/update-from-capitol.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/vwHmZ340ZoY" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/05/update-from-capitol.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-4154939786043796290Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:58:00 +00002009-04-30T09:01:26.123-05:00Higher education conference committee begins; Bioscience grants availableHigher education conference committee meetsConferees for the higher education bill met for the first time yesterday afternoon and walked through the differences between the House and Senate bills. Conferees also adopted language that is the same and similar in the two bills. Co-chairs Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, and Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, explained that they will conduct an open http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/BIVPWLcMvkc/higher-education-conference-committee.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/BIVPWLcMvkc" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/04/higher-education-conference-committee.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-7464848428300083377Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:51:00 +00002009-04-29T12:54:16.989-05:00Trustees confirmed; Session nearing endYesterday at the CapitolTrustees confirmed by full SenateThe full Senate confirmed Cheryl Dickson, Jacob Englund, Clarence Hightower, Allyson Lueneburg, Louise Sundin and Terri Thomas as members of the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. David R. Metzen was also confirmed as director of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.Less than three weeks remain to reach http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/C7j00Uufnm4/trustees-confirmed-session-nearing-end.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/C7j00Uufnm4" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/04/trustees-confirmed-session-nearing-end.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-7125075640251534505Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:40:00 +00002009-04-28T09:43:16.240-05:00Governor's opinions on bonding; Higher education conference committee to beginYesterday at the CapitolThe capital investment conference committee met yesterday and heard from Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Tom Hanson regarding Gov. Pawlenty's letter sent April 24. Commissioner Hanson reiterated that a $275 million bonding bill is too large, and emphasized that projects should be "shovel ready." The Governor has said he is not in favor of projects that build "http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/02lD0kuRDf8/governors-opinions-on-bonding.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/02lD0kuRDf8" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/04/governors-opinions-on-bonding.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-412138042282619785Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:54:00 +00002009-04-27T09:56:17.956-05:00Higher education conferees are namedYesterday at the CapitolThe Capital Investment Conference Committee met Friday night and the Senate had the gavel. For the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, the Senate's proposal did not change from the last Senate proposal of $45 million in HEAPR and the five vetoed projects from last session. Gov. Pawlenty has indicated his priorities for a bonding bill are asset preservation http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/6nP-xL_g2Fw/higher-education-conferees-are-named.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/6nP-xL_g2Fw" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/04/higher-education-conferees-are-named.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-1085809559666557495Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:31:00 +00002009-04-24T08:33:33.286-05:00More bills passed on House and Senate floor; Bonding is closerYesterday at the CapitolLawmakers give approval to omnibus appropriation billsThe House and Senate spent the entire day in floor session taking up multiple omnibus appropriation bills. The House passed the K-12 Education Finance bill, the State Government Finance bill, and the Early Childhood Finance bill. The Senate passed the Environment bill and the Transportation bill. Conference committees http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/N3eo3gW9vdk/more-bills-passed-on-house-floor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/N3eo3gW9vdk" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-bills-passed-on-house-floor.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-2573015936629712181Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:58:00 +00002009-04-23T14:00:36.685-05:00House passes higher education billYesterday at the CapitolHouse passes higher education bill - heads to conference committeeThe House passed the higher education omnibus bill off the floor yesterday evening by a vote of 86-46. Many amendments were discussed, but not many were adopted. The amendments that were adopted include Rep. Keith Downey's, R-Edina, amendment that requires the University of Minnesota to submit an expenditurehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/GcoI62A9qnU/house-passes-higher-education-bill.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/GcoI62A9qnU" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/04/house-passes-higher-education-bill.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-3980735553560498262Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:19:00 +00002009-04-22T09:22:05.257-05:00Tax committees meet; Faint signs of economic improvementYesterday at the CapitolSenate Tax Committee unveils tax bill - House Tax Committee approves billSenate Tax Committee Chair, Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, released the Senate's tax proposal yesterday. Under the bill, income tax rates are set at 6 percent, 7.7 percent and 8.5 percent. The bill also creates a fourth tier with a rate of 9.9 percent for single taxpayers making $141,250 in taxable net income http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/SHdGTJV1Dtg/tax-committees-meet-faint-signs-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/SHdGTJV1Dtg" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/04/tax-committees-meet-faint-signs-of.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-809645962394418714Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:50:00 +00002009-04-21T08:50:55.964-05:00Bills continue to moveYesterday at the CapitolHouse higher education omnibus bill headed to the floorThe House Ways and Means Committee approved the higher education omnibus bill last night, it now heads to the floor. There was one amendment to the bill regarding the language on tuition guarantee. Instead of implementing a stable four-year tuition rate guaranteed, the language now reads that students must be offered http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/FLgZiN-y-rU/bills-continue-to-move.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/FLgZiN-y-rU" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/04/bills-continue-to-move.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-928146573493325687Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:37:00 +00002009-04-20T11:38:00.882-05:00Ways and Means to take up higher education ominbus billToday at the CapitolThe House higher education omnibus bill will be taken up in Ways and Means this afternoon. The committee is scheduled to meet at 3:00 or immediately following session if the floor session continues past 3:00. The House goes into session at 1:00 p.m. and the Senate is scheduled to meet at 11:00 a.m.At the Capitol:Legislative schedules are available for the House and Senate.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/4l6aFxLu14Q/ways-and-means-to-take-up-higher.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/4l6aFxLu14Q" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/04/ways-and-means-to-take-up-higher.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-4562639363158371020Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:29:00 +00002009-04-17T11:31:58.594-05:00Trustees confirmed; Senate bill going to the floorYesterday at the Capitol Senate Higher Education Committee forwards nominations for Board of Trustees to full Senate for confirmationThe Senate Higher Education Budget and Policy Division forwarded the names of Cheryl Dickson, Jacob Englund, Clarence Hightower, Allyson Lueneburg, Louise Sundin and Terri Thomas to the full Senate for confirmation of their appointment to the Minnesota State http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~3/HQdikLc6IPo/trustees-confirmed-senate-bill-going-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mnscufan)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Phfa/~4/HQdikLc6IPo" height="1" width="1"/>http://mnscufan.blogspot.com/2009/04/trustees-confirmed-senate-bill-going-to.html