2015 Legislative Report

By John Hottinger

Minnesota’s prospects for advancing environmental protections during the 2015 state legislative session were unfortunately predetermined last Election Day, in November of 2014. The old cliché that “elections matter” proved itself vividly this session, as environmental rollbacks and inaction on urgent funding for transit and transportation led an aggressive agenda for the new Republican House majority. The situation was compounded by the fact that a few DFL Senators in key positions joined House leadership in anti-environment efforts. In the process, they thwarted the goals of a majority of DFL Senators and the Governor.

In the regular legislative session from January through May, there were marked contrasts between the House and the Senate on many issues. The House, behind a united Republican majority, passed a series of bills to gut clean water and environmental standards, and a massive energy bill which only utility and oil companies could love. In response, concerned DFL Representatives from all over the state raised profound questions about the bills’ approaches and impacts – with veteran members and the newly-elected alike leading the charge. Their efforts helped raise the public’s consciousness, educate the media, and cast sunshine on the hidden, abusive dangers of the “dirty water bills," regulatory dismantling and energy regression featured in the majority House agenda.

The attacks were especially troubling when one considers that clean water enjoys broad, bipartisan support across the state. According to a 2014 poll conducted on behalf of the Minnesota Environmental Partnership, nearly 9 in 10 residents are concerned about water pollution in our lakes and rivers.

While bills passed in the Senate were less damaging, serious problems emerged when a minority of DFL Senators teamed with House leaders to pass legislation filled with special-interest and anti-environment provisions. Then, conference committees were appointed to resolve the differences between the bills passed in each house, with members handpicked to underrepresent environmental advocates. After weeks of back room negotiations, the bills unfortunately reflected those appointments when they emerged for a final vote – with many items passed in the final hours of session, without time for any real debate – and were sent to the Governor’s desk.

As a result, the Sierra Club joined allies in asking Governor Dayton to veto the Agriculture & Environment omnibus budget bill, presenting our request at a successful public gathering at the Governor’s residence on May 21. The Agriculture and Environment legislation was one of three bills vetoed, leading to a Special Session.

While small improvements were made to the Agriculture & Environment bill, the Sierra Club and allies continued to vigorously oppose the version that was presented for a vote in the subsequent Special Session. When the legislature re-convened on June 12, the sustained outcry from concerned citizens resulted in a majority of DFL Senators attempting to remove the worst provisions of the bills, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. The final version of the Energy & Jobs Omnibus budget bill was also passed in Special Session. The North Star Chapter expressed our deep disappointment in a session that will be remembered for its unprecedented rollbacks of protections for clean water; missed opportunity to grow clean energy jobs and address climate disruption; and failure to address the state’s urgent need for a comprehensive transportation bill. “Minnesotans deserve and expect better from their elected officials, and will hold accountable those legislators who are responsible for endangering our clean water, communities and climate,“ said State Director Margaret Levin.

There were strong champions in both the House and Senate whose leadership prevented even worse outcomes – along with efforts by North Star lobbyists and staff, directed by our hard-working Legislative Committee and in partnership with many allied organizations. But in the end, the biggest heroes for North Star Sierra Club goals were our members and volunteers. Because of your support, the volume and strength of those voices -- expressed through weekly “action nights” with volunteers making over thousands of phone calls to our members; via email alerts; and with members’ presence at lobby days and rallies throughout the session and leading up to the Special Session – led to marked improvements in the terrible prospects presented at the beginning of the session. See the chart below for details.

With your help, we will work to bolster state environmental leadership to make 2016 a year of improvements, not rollbacks, and to set the table for the next election. . . which will matter even more.

John Hottinger is the North Star Chapter’s legislative advocate for the 2015 session.