Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities

CGMC in Brief
January 6, 2011 Contact: Tim Flaherty
651-225-8840

House tax House members serving on the Tax Committee won’t have far to drive to get
committees lean to their meetings, as 19 of the 29 members hail from the Twin Cities metro
area. The committee, which is chaired by greater Minnesota representative
metro
Greg Davids, (R-Preston) has 17 Republicans and 12 DFLers. Of the 17
Republicans, 11 represent a metro district. The five greater Minnesota
Republican members other than the chair come from Big Lake, Mazeppa,
Mora, St. Cloud and Princeton. The DFL members are comprised of four
suburban, four greater Minnesota members and four from Minneapolis/St.
Paul.

The House Property Tax Division has a little more balance. The division is
chaired by Rep. Linda Runbeck (R-Circle Pines), and is split nine to seven in
favor of the GOP. There are five greater Minnesota Republicans and two
greater Minnesota DFLers. The overall geographic split is seven suburban, six
greater Minnesota and two Minneapolis/St. Paul members.

The Senate Tax Committee, chaired by Julianne Ortman (R-Chanhassen), has

a much better geographic balance, with six greater Minnesota senators, six
suburban and one from Minneapolis. The committee is split eight Republicans
to five DFLers. The eight Republicans are split equally between suburban and
greater Minnesota.

Dayton makes key Gov. Dayton has made several appointments over the past few weeks. Key
appointments appointments include Commissioner of Revenue Myron Frans, a former tax
attorney and current manufacturing CEO, Minnesota Management and Budget
Commissioner Jim Schowalter, who was previously the Deputy
Commissioner for this department, and MPCA Commissioner Paul Aasen,
who served under Gov. Jesse Ventura as Director of Government Relations
and Policy and has previously worked for the MPCA as an environmental
scientist.

SAVE THE DATE: Please save the date for CGMC’s Legislative Action Day, which will be held
Legislative Action February 9 in St. Paul. Legislative Action Day is hosted at the Flaherty &
Hood offices in St. Paul and includes a strategy session followed by time to
Day
lobby your local legislators at the Capitol. Afterwards, CGMC members and
their legislators dine together at Mancini’s Steakhouse. We are happy to
announce that Sen. Minority Leader Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) has already
confirmed his attendance to our daytime session. Save the date and stay tuned
for more information!

The CGMC in Brief is prepared for the 77 member cities of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities by Flaherty & Hood, P.A.
Water sustainability Yesterday, CGMC lobbyists attended the House Environment Committee
plan unveiled, meeting where Dr. Deb Swackhamer from the University of Minnesota’s
Water Resource Center unveiled the final version of the 25-year water
receives cool
sustainability plan for Minnesota. As more fully described in the November
reception in House 18, 2010 CGMC in Brief, the legislature appropriated money to the University
of Minnesota’s Water Resource Center to create a roadmap for the sustainable
management of water in the state for 25 years with guidance on policy and
funding.

Due to time constraints, the committee did not have much time to discuss the
plan. At least one member, Rep. Torkelson (R-Nelson Township), a farmer,
expressed concern that Twin Cities residents use more water than the rest of
the state while paying less for it than what it costs to produce; the plan does
not appear to present strategies on addressing this issue.

The plan and supporting documents are available on the Water Resource
Center website at http://wrc.umn.edu. CGMC staff will be reviewing the plan
and providing more information on potential impacts to CGMC cities. The
Water Resource Center will be accepting comments through January 31 and
will forward them to the legislature. If you have any questions regarding the
framework, please contact Elizabeth Wefel at eawefel@flaherty-hood.com or
651-225-1139.

Wild rice sulfate In 1973, the MPCA adopted a 10 mg/L sulfate standard for water used in wild
regulations rice production. At the time and even today, however, there is little scientific
data regarding an appropriate level of sulfate in waters where wild rice is
challenged in court
grown. The 10 mg/L standard is quite low and would be nearly impossible for
wastewater treatment facilities (WWTF) to meet, but in the past the standard
mattered little because the MPCA rarely enforced it.

With the proposed development of several non-ferrous mines in northern

Minnesota, the sulfate regulation is undergoing heightened scrutiny. The
MPCA has stated that it is concerned about the level of sulfate that may occur
with mining operations, but it is not planning to enforce the standard against
WWTF. With the regulation still in the rule books, however, it is possible that
enforcement may occur in the future.

In response to the threats of enforcement against mines, the Chamber of

Commerce has filed a lawsuit in state court challenging the regulation. The
lawsuit claims that the standard is outdated, not based in science and designed
for commercial rice paddies, not natural stands. The Chamber has also filed a
petition asking that the MPCA speed up its review of the wild rice regulations.

CGMC’s environmental lobbyist recently met with the Chamber’s

Environmental Policy Director to discuss the lawsuit. CGMC will continue to
monitor the MPCA’s movements on sulfate regulations in wild rice waters. If
you have additional questions, please contact Elizabeth Wefel at
eawefel@flaherty-hood.com or 651-259-1924.

The CGMC in Brief is prepared for the 77 member cities of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities by Flaherty & Hood, P.A.