Gov. Dayton signs bonding bill
Gov. Mark Dayton signed the bonding bill this morning, which includes $129 million in asset preservation and projects for Minnesota State. He line-item vetoed one project in the bill, a $1 million grant for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
In the press release submitted by Dayton’s office, Dayton said, “I am signing this bill, despite my objections, because areas throughout Minnesota need the projects and the jobs which it will provide. Dayton also said he believes the bill “underfunds critical investments in higher education, state parks and water infrastructure, and assures that those needs will become more urgent and more expensive in the future.”
As shared earlier, Minnesota State received $129 million, of which $45 million is for asset preservation, or HEAPR.
The individual projects funded in the bill for Minnesota State are:
- Bemidji State University: Academic Learning Center
- Rochester Community and Technical College: Memorial and Plaza Halls
- Minnesota State University, Mankato: Clinical Sciences Phase II
- Anoka-Ramsey Community College: Nursing and Business
- Century College: Applied Technology Center
- Normandale Community College: Classroom and Student Services
- Minnesota State University Moorhead: Weld Hall
- Inver Hills Community College: Technology and Business Center
- Riverland Community College: Transportation, Trade and Industrial Education Center
- Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College: Maajiigi
Gov. Dayton signs contract bill
On Tuesday, Gov. Dayton signed 14 bills, including SF 3062, now Chapter 207, into law. This bill makes technical changes to loan forgiveness programs administered by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, and also ratifies labor agreements for the Minnesota State College Faculty (MSCF) and the Minnesota State University Association of Administrative and Service Faculty (MSUAASF).
Gov. Dayton to hold pension bill signing ceremony Thursday
Governor Mark Dayton plans to sign the bipartisan pension bill intended to stabilize pensions for state employees and retirees. A public bill signing ceremony will be held Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. in the Minnesota State Capitol Rotunda.
The Retirement Systems of Minnesota provide secure retirement benefits to about 173,000 Minnesotans. Each year, the system provides pension benefits totaling $4.1 billion. Approximately 89 percent of recipients remain in Minnesota after retirement. The pension bill Dayton is scheduled to sign on Thursday is intended to help ensure Minnesota’s pension plans remain solvent.
A Facebook event page for the Pension Bill Signing Ceremony can be found HERE.
House Majority Leader Joyce Peppin not seeking re-election
House Majority Leader Joyce Peppin, R-Rogers, announced today that she will not seek re-election. Peppin is currently serving her seventh term in office representing Dayton, Maple Grove and Rogers in District 34A.
“It has been a great privilege to represent the hard-working families of the northwest suburbs of Dayton, Maple Grove and Rogers, and to be elected by my peers to serve as Majority Leader the past four years,” Peppin said in a statement. “I believe I have made a difference in the lives of the people I have been honored to represent, and it is time for me to step back from public service and return to employment in the private sector. For me, serving in the legislature was not meant to be a full-time career, but rather a temporary public service and I know there are many smart leaders with new ideas, goals and skills that will step forward to serve.”
Rep. Peppin, an attorney, has accepted a job as Director of Government Affairs and General Counsel for the Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA) in Maple Grove. “I am excited to work in the electric energy industry and with rural electric cooperatives. I will be serving as a legal advisor and representing the Association in legal proceedings,” Peppin said. “Additionally I will lead their government affairs efforts at the state and federal level.”
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