Legislative Reference Library - Library News

The Bridge Collapse as a Story of the Decade

Mon, 1 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Minneapolis bridge collapse was mentioned in two columns in the new issue of Governing magazine. Donald Kett writes the Potomac Chronicle column. He listed the bridge collapse in his article, "A Decade to remember: 10 Years, 10 Highlights for Federalism." The bridge was noted again in a column by Alex Marshall, "The Aughts: The Decade of Infrastructure. As the decade ends, there's little to cheer save a notable exception: infrastructure."

Marshall writes: "This was the decade of infrastructure. This was the decade when a bridge collapsed in Minneapolis and focused a nation's attention on the vast litany of rusting and decrepit bridges, among other infrastructure, and the need for funds to repair them. This was the decade when a new bridge was built and opened in just over a year � a compliment to the capacity of professionals to work fast when needed."

The Legislative Time Capsule Consolidates Statistics by Session

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Check out the new Legislative Time Capsule pages!

During the past 40 years of the Library's history, we have tracked statistics about the Legislature. What first started as typewritten lists in notebooks became text files on a computer and then pages on our website. Still, researchers looking at individual sessions had to find and compile statistics from many databases and web pages.

We've taken a giant step toward useful consolidation of legislative statistics on the web, combining scattered data for each legislative session. You can quickly find information on members, bills, laws, vetoes, dates, special sessions, leadership, and more. The pages draw information from the House and Senate, the Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Legislative Manuals, and lists compiled by the Legislative Reference Library.

The Legislative Time Capsule pages will only get better as we add data and categories. For example, lists of committees are available now back to 1917, but the remaining years will be added soon. As time and staffing allow, we will add election results, legislative district descriptions, links to books and articles about the activities of each year, and more. If you have comments or questions about the pages, or suggestions for information you would like to see included, email us at refdesk@lrl.leg.mn.

Marijuana Reports from the 1970s

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

In the old days, researchers from around the country and around the world borrowed reports from our collection. Now we view each request as an opportunity to scan additional documents, making them available to the researcher and to everyone, and saving on postage. Recently someone from New York was researching Minnesota's marijuana policy in the 1970s. As a result these documents are now available online.

Marijuana and Misdemeanant Minnesota Courts, a Memorandum by Judge Herbert E. Wolner, Hennepin County Municipal Court, 1973.

Preliminary Memorandum, by the Marijuana Task Force, prepared for the Minnesota Legislature, 1973.

Report on Drug Education Program for People Arrested for the Possession of a Small Amount of Marijuana, by the Department of Public Welfare, 1978.

The Use of Marijuana in Minnesota, prepared for the State Alcohol and Drug Authority by the Minnesota Behavirial Insitute, 1975.

Evidence-Informed Policymaking: The 2010 Family Impact Seminar

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The University of Minnesota Children, Youth & Family Coalition sponsored the 2010 Family Impact Seminar for legislators and legislative staff on February 18 and 19. The speakers addressed "Evidence-Informed Policymaking: Improving Accountability and Outcomes for Children, Youth and Families." The seminar was a useful combination of research concepts, examples of programs, and discussion of the issues facing policymakers in using evidence and research to craft sound policy. Although it's hard to match the experience of attending the seminar, reading the Information Brief created for the seminar provides great background. One article, "Evidence-Informed Policy to Improve Impact and Accountability," describes various types of studies and evaluation. It also answers the question: Why is it "evidence-informed" rather than "evidence based?"

"In even more recent history at both the federal and local level, "evidence-based policy" has become an important term in policymaking. We prefer the broader term "evidence-informed policy" because it takes into account the reality that evidence is just one of many considerations in the policy making arena. One aim of evidence-informed policy is to "increase the relative prominence given to evidence during the policy process with due acknowledgment that other factors such as ideology, professional norms, expert views, personal experience, media interest and politics, will all remain influential."" (p. 4)

Only 35 Years Ago

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

While helping someone with older news clippings, I ran across an article by Betty Wilson from the Minneapolis Star in January 1975. "'For Men Only' Cafe yields to DFL Women" described an occasion when two female legislators, Rep. Janet Clark and then-Rep. Linda Berglin, along with Rep.Wes Skoglund, created a furor at the Copper Ladle Cafeteria in the St. Paul Athletic Club. A manager had to intervene before the women legislators were served. (!) The three legislators were offered a table by two men who were just leaving. I sent the article to Rep. Skoglund, who added to the story. "What was especially funny is that after we had our food on our trays and tried to find a place to sit,� men at every table spread out and made sure that all the seats were taken, although many were filled with coats, briefcases, newspapers or anything else that was handy to place on a chair. They did make room for a 3M executive who, that morning, had been found guilty of a crime related to Watergate funds. It was refreshing when the two guys invited us to sit with them.� They told us that while they may be shunned at the club, their wives would be proud of them.� I suspect that some of the other men who hogged extra space told their wives or daughters different stories when they got home."

Rep. Skoglund said he was going to be sure to pass the aritcle on to his daughters!

SPLOTS Don't Completely Languish

Tue, 9 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

In a press conference yesterday Rep. Paul Marquardt unveiled a bipartisan initiative to solicit government redesign ideas via a new website and citizen hotline. At one point he held up a stack of documents to demonstrate that looking for government redesign is not new. He called the reports SPLOTS - Strategic Plans Languishing on the Shelf.

What's interesting is that over the years, government reorganization reports have NOT been languishing on the Legislative Library's shelves. Two reports mentioned at the press conference, Within our Means and John Brandl's An Agenda for Reform, have often been requested over the years. We've scanned older reports to be sure they are available online to everyone, including two frequently requested series, Minnesota Milestones (several scanned reports) and the CORE reports from the Minnesota Commission on Reform and Efficiency.

Also, many times when a new governor takes office there is talk of reorganization and becoming more efficient. We have a giant notebook of materials on former governors' initiatives. (Here's the table of contents.)

We'll document this initiative too, and hope for great citizen ideas and positive change.

Mattresses - a Recycling Success Story

Fri, 5 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Our Legislative Library receives two publications from the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. The NRRI Now newsletter is a colorful collection of short articles about NRRI projects - fun to read. The Semi-Annual Report is a compilation of one-page descriptions of current research projects. I'm sure many projects have important implications, but are Greek to a layperson - like, "Closing the Loop on Filter Cake Moisture Analysis and Control." One project caught my eye, "Goodwill Industries, Inc. - NRRI Product Development Fund," the objective being "to develop and exploit a local market outlet for compacted mattress innersprings recovered from mattresses."

While buyers for the softer parts of shredded and recycled mattresses have been found, preparing the metal springs for recycling to steel manufacturers has proved difficult. The springs don't compact easily and harm the recycling equipment. Happily, according to the project description, "This project caught the attention of a local engineer and designer who after reading an article about mattress recycling in the NRRI Now, proposed a viable solution for the compaction and densification of stripped mattress innersprings. An initial working model of a triple axis mattress compactor was completed and tested using actual mattress springs recovered from Goodwill Industries, Inc (GWI)." They hoped to implement the new compactor in 2009. I was curious and wrote to a project leader - is the new machine in use? It is! Mattress springs are being recycled, and low-income people are benefiting from jobs at Goodwill and PPL Industries. Here are comments from Tim Hagen, the Program Coordinator, about the current status of the program.

MEED Documents

Wed, 3 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A news story today on Minnesota Public radio, "Business Leaders Interested in Franken Jobs Plan," profiled a jobs bill proposed by Sen. Al Franken. The "Strengthening Our Economy Through Employment and Development (SEED) Act� is informally known as the �Cash for Jobs" bill. (press release) The Duluth Tribune commented favorably on the idea in "'Cash for Jobs' Would Put Minnesotans Back to Work." The wage subsidy portion of the SEED Act is based on a Minnesota program, the MEED (Minnesota Emergency Employment Development) Program.

There has been recurring interest in the MEED program over the years - we know that because the older reports, including all of the progress reports, in the Library's collection have already been digitized. (11 reports in the Library collection) Evaluative reports include MEED Works : A Look at Minnesota's Investment in People, Jobs and Communities (1985, Jobs Now Coalition), MEED Means Business : Private Employers Assess the State Jobs Program (1984, funded by the Minneapolis Foundation), and MEED Means More Business : Job Growth Through Minnesota's Wage Subsidy Program (1988, Jobs Now Coalition).

Distracted by the Data

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

During the 2009 session the Agricultural Utilzation Research Institute was required to produce an analysis of green job opportunities in agriculture. (Ch. 94) The resulting report, Minnesota Food Production Sector: Growing Green Jobs, examines ways to increase the number of green jobs in organic agriculture and the processing of organic foods, and in locally-grown food programs, conventional, natural, traditional, and urban farming. It's a dense report with many suggested action items and examples of programs around the state. It balances positive opportunities and challenges to the industry. For example, expanding locally-grown foods to food service clients, or the increasing demand for organic foods, are opportunities. Challenges include financial stress in agricultural sectors and a challenging regulatory climate.

Here's the distracted part. It's a beautifully-produced report that invites browsing, with photos and charts and statistics. One box presented Minnesota's national rankings in agricultural production (2008)(p. 3). Minnesota ranked fifth in total cheese production, honey, and mink pelts. Mink pelts? How many minks could there be in Minnesota? I checked the latest edition of Minnesota Agricultural Statistics (pdf)(html), the really great annual compilation from the MN Department of Agriculture. In 2008, there were 196,400 mink pelts produced in Minnesota, and 52,300 females bred.

Not Too Many Feral Pigs in MN Yet

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The destructive aspects of feral or wild pigs are described in a new mandated report from the Minnesota Departments of Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Board of Animal Health, Feral Swine Report to the Minnesota State Legislature, January, 2010. (Laws of Minnesota 2009, Ch. 94, Art. 1, Sec. 100)

From the report: "Wild pigs are opportunistic omnivores that feed primarily by rooting and grazing, which contributes to their role as a problematic species in North America and elsewhere. Rooting, trampling, and compaction influence plant regeneration, community structure, soil properties, nutrient cycling, and water infiltration. Wild pigs may induce the spread of invasive plant species because invasive species typically favor disturbed areas and colonize more quickly than many native plants."

Luckily, there has been only one case of pigs running loose reported in Minnesota, in Big Stone County, according to the report. An article from Outdoor News describes that situation; "DNR Pursues Pork Project in Western Minnesota, March 12, 2009. For a nationwide perspective, see an article in the November, 2009, issue of Farm Journal magazine, "Going Hog Wild."

The report recommends that the Legislature should consider establishing a criminal penalty for the intentional release of domestic animals, including domestic pigs, into the wild. Hopefully that would help prevent the problems in Texas, where there are 2 million feral hogs! As close as Wisconsin, feral hogs have been reported in several counties.

Mandated Report Titles Longer Than Tweets

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Reports mandated by the Legislature flood in to the Library in January. We notify people of new reports coming in on our website; the Newly Acquired Minnesota State Government Reports page is updated daily. Not everyone checks it, of course, so we thought we would note interesting titles on our Library Twitter feed. That's not always easy - many of the most interesting titles are over 140 characters! These two were part of the group of 142 that were due on January 15.

Minnesota, State of Innovation: A Twenty-Five Year Vision, Framework, Guiding Principles, and Ten-Year Goals for the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund

Legislative Report Concerning Certificate of Need for Dry Cask Storage Facility, Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation

Legislative Committee Deadline Dates - Historically

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Peter Wattson, Secretary of the Senate, asked if we would like to post a table he has maintained on legislative committee deadline dates over the years. Great! He updated his descriptive docoment too, and the resulting Legislative Committee Deadline Dates page is now available for everyone. It makes a great addition to the Library's collection of Historical Information about the Minnesota Legislature.

Continuing Interest in Ignition Interlock Devices

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A Star Tribune article yesterday described Minnesota's statewide ignition interlock pilot program. Around 500 Minnesota drunk driving offenders are using the devices on their cars. See "Drink and Drive: These Minnesota Cars Just Say No."

Legislators have been interested in use of the devices for many years. As early as 1988, the Legislature asked the Department of Public Safety to research several questions relating to the use of ignition interlock devices (Laws of Minnesota 1988, Chapter 681, Sec.18), resulting in a short Report to the Legislature, December 1988.

In 2000, the Legislature mandated a pilot program and report to be done by 2002. (Laws of Minnesota 2000, Chapter 478, Article 2, Sec.1) Nine people participated in the pilot project described in Ignition Interlock Pilot Program: A Summary Report to the Legislature, January 2002. Another pilot project began in 2007, as reported in Ignition Interlock Pilot Project : Preliminary Report to the Minnesota Legislature, December 2008. (Laws of Minnesota 2007, Chapter 54, Article 3, Sec. 5) Based on promising results, that program was expanded and extended in 2009 to the current pilot program. (Laws of Minnesota 2009, Chapter 29, Sec. 2, House Public Information overview)

A state-by-state look a the devices can be found in "Ignition Interlock Devices: Starting Your Engine Sober," a recent Legisbrief from the National Conference of State Legislatures. It notes that 47 states and the District of Columbia have some type of ignition interlock law. Minnesota's program is highlighted.

More Photos for the Legislators Past and Present Database

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Minnesota Legislators Past and Present database includes visual resources in addition to text. Records for legislators include photos by the House and Senate Photographers for each session served from 2001 (the 82nd session) to the present. In addition, grants from the Minnesota Digital Library enabled us to add images for all legislators from the 1913, 1923, 1949, 1963, 1973, and 1981 legislative sessions, scanned from the Minnesota Legislative Manuals. 1913 was the first year that photos were added to the Legislative Manuals.

This fall, the Minnesota Digital Library scanned member photos from the 1935 and 1957 legislative sessions. We now have images digitized for at least one session in each decade from 1913-2000. Because many legislators served for several sessions each, Legislators Past & Present includes at least one image of 55% of legislators serving from 1913-2000.

Check out the record for long-serving Rep. Willard Munger! He has photos from 1957, 1973, 1981, and 1999.

Focus on City Finances

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

According to a just released Minnesota State Auditor's report, cities are relying more heavily on property tax revenue to fund their services. In the past decade (1999-2008) this revenue grew 102%. The report contains many other interesting facts such as "Over the ten-year period of 1999 to 2008, an examination of city finances shows that when adjusted for inflation, 2008 expenditure levels are below 1999 levels and decreased 7 percent over the ten-year period."