|
Catholic organizations seek to protect state's poor this session |
|
|
|
By Maria Wiering
|
|
Thursday, 04 February 2010 |
 Ensuring health care, reducing poverty and supporting nonpublic education will be among top priorities for two Catholic public policy groups when the state Legislature convenes Feb. 4.
The focus of this legislative session will be a bonding bill, which
will invest funds into Minnesota’s infrastructure, such as roads and
bridges. Gov. Tim Pawlenty released his proposal for the bill Jan. 15,
calling for $685 million in general obligation bonding. House Speaker
Margaret Anderson Kelliher said she expects her chamber to pass a $1
billion bonding bill.
For the state, a bonding bill is like taking out a home mortgage to pay
for a home — it is an investment in things the state needs and expects
to pay for over time, like public roads, buildings and bridges, said
Patrick Ness, public policy manager for the Office for Social Justice,
the public policy arm of the Twin Cities’ Catholic Charities.
He was speaking at a Jan. 19 OSJ-hosted 2010 legislative briefing.
As it prepares a bonding bill, the Legislature also faces a projected
$1.2 billion budget deficit for the current fiscal year of 2010-2011,
and a projected $5.4 billion deficit for 2012-2013. The Minnesota
Constitution requires the Legislature to balance the budget, but it
would not be required to do so for the current fiscal year until it
ends on June 30, 2011.
“We’re already preparing for . . . significant cuts to Minnesota safety
net programs,” said Alexandra Fitzsimmons, MCC policy director. “It’s
nice when we get to be more proactive, and have that kind of approach,
but this is going to be defensive posturing and trying to protect . . .
different programs that will likely be affected by any proposed cuts.”
MCC is the Minnesota bishops’ public policy arm.
Be heard on the hill
Save the date for three upcoming events in which Catholics plan to help shape Minnesota public policy.
» Feb. 25
ACCW (Archdiocesan Council for Catholic Women) Legislative Day. Best Western Kelly Inn, St. Paul. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost $10. To register call (651) 291-4545.
» Feb. 27
“If not we, then who? If not now, then when. A Minnesota Without Poverty Event.”
6 to 9 p.m. at Olson Campus Center, Luther Seminary. RSVP to
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
» March 25
Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC) Day on the Hill. Visit www.jrlc.org for more information or to register for the event.
|
Health care for the poor
Health care for the poorest Minnesotans will be a chief issue in the first weeks of the session.
OSJ will be among the leaders at a Feb. 4 rally to support funding for
General Assistance Medical Care, or GAMC. In order to qualify for GAMC,
one’s assets must be less than $1,000. Ninety-two percent of GAMC
recipients have incomes less than 25 percent of the federal poverty
guidelines.
Pawlenty cut the program’s budget in his June 2009 unallotment of the
state’s budget for the current fiscal year. Funding for GAMC is
expected to expire March 1.
Although the session has yet to begin, lawmakers are crafting proposals
to address health care for the estimated 33,000 individuals enrolled
each month in GAMC.
MCC hopes to support a bill that would provide health care for this
demographic that would not also provide for state-funded abortions,
Fitzsimmons said.
The conference is also working on legislation that would support
low-income women and families. It is seeking to repeal the Minnesota
Family Investment Program’s family cap, which denies cash assistance to
children born 10 months or more after a family has enrolled in the
program, and promoting the Minnesota Pregnant Women and Parent Support
Act, which would offer additional health care and supportive services
for pregnant women.
Focusing on programs to help lift Minnesotans out of poverty, OSJ plans
to work toward passing a bonding bill with housing and job
opportunities for low-income Minnesotans and protecting the interests
of low-income Minnesotans as the budget is balanced, Ness said.
The Jan. 19 OSJ legislative briefing featured HIRE Minnesota, a new
organization formed to ensure that public infrastructure and renewable
energy investments also work to lift people out of poverty by providing
jobs to low-income minority workers. OSJ is a HIRE organization member.
Additionally, OSJ and MCC plan to support the MCC-crafted Ladder Out of
Poverty Task Force bill and related legislation, which comes from
suggestions put forth from the Legislative Commission to End Poverty in
Minnesota by 2020.
These suggestions include a reform of payday lending operations and
measures to increase financial literacy. MCC and OSJ also plan to work
toward criminal justice records reform for offenders who committed
felonies at ages 16 and 17. Under the current system, it is difficult
for juveniles to move beyond their felony and pursue education and
employment, Fitzsimmons said.
Eye on education
MCC also plans to advocate for legislation that supports nonpublic
schools, said Peter Noll, MCC education director. He expects to work
with public schools to use more efficiently public funding that
supports special education in nonpublic schools, which include Catholic
schools.
MCC also plans to keep the Equity and Opportunity in Education Tax
Credit Bill in the minds of legislators, Noll said. The bill proposes
tax credit incentives for corporations and individuals who contribute
to education foundations that make it possible for low-income students
to attend the school of their choice, including Catholic schools.
“Many of these [bills] get introduced one session. You hope they get
passed that session, but you’re cultivating the soil, too. You’re
trying to educate lawmakers along the way, so when the climate is
right, . . . some of this legislation will get passed,” Noll said.
In November, all the lawmakers and the governor will be up for
re-election. MCC and OSJ expect this to play into the types of
legislation introduced — and not introduced — this session as
legislators unofficially campaign for their — or the governor’s — seat.
Pawlenty announced in June 2009 that he will not run for a third term.
 |
|
Sign up for our eNewsletter and get
Show/hide comment form