Legislative Update

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January 15, 2020

Executive Summary

• With the October 1st deadline approaching, an update on REAL ID.
• Introducing my new Legislative Assistant at the House!
• An update on bipartisan Legislative Reform proposals. 

REAL ID Update

The deadline to comply with new federal ID standards for air travel throughout the United States arrives on October 1, 2020, and people are encouraged to sign up now to beat the rush that is likely to occur later this year.

Starting October 1, every air traveler 18 years of age or older will need a REAL ID, enhanced driver’s license or ID, passport or passport card, or another acceptable form of ID to fly within the United States or enter federal facilities. The biggest impact for most people probably centers on air travel, where Minnesota’s current standard ID/driver’s license will no longer suffice in boarding commercial, domestic flights.

It is important to note passports still will qualify you to board if you prefer that method or if you find yourself unable to obtain a REAL ID by October 1.  In addition, if you don't want to carry your passport "book," you can order a "passport card" that can be used only for domestic travel.  Passport cards are the size of a typical driver's license and can easily fit in your wallet, so you won't have to worry about carrying (or losing) your regular passport "book."

Reports show fewer than 10 percent of Minnesotans currently are compliant with the new federal ID standards and it is still taking several weeks for the state to turn around applications.  It may be helpful to know there are additional documents needed to obtain a REAL ID driver’s license or enhanced driver’s License or state ID card. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety website has information detailing the requirements and documents needed. DPS also has a pre-application online page to help speed up the process for processing an application for the REAL ID.

The Maple Grove Government Center has a wonderful passport office that has fantastic customer service and usually little to no wait times. Visit the website here for information about operating hours and what documents are needed.

New Legislative Assistant 

My wonderful Legisaltive Assistant, Rachel Brehm, received a well-deserved promotion to become the Supervisor of all of the House Republican Caucus LAs. I am very grateful for Rachel's excellent work in my first year in the legislature and am excited that she was so quickly promoted! I will miss working with her, but my loss is of great benefit to our entire Caucus.  I am very pleased to welcome Chris Mulcahey as my new LA. He just moved to Minnesota from Washington, D.C. and has strong policy and press experience. I am delighted to have him on the team and look forward to working with him to serve the people of Rogers, Dayton, and Maple Grove. Chris can be reached at my office phone - 651-296-7806 or chris.mulcahey@house.mn.

Legislative Reform Update

Since the end of the last session, I have been actively participating in a bipartisan working group to propose a variety of legislative reforms that will improve the legislative process and reduce the end-of-session dysfunction that led to the infamous "tribunal" process at the end of last session where the House and Senate Conference Committees were unceremoniously replaced with Governor Walz, House Speaker Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Gazelka making all the final decisions.

Our Legislative Reform committee finished our work on December 18th and the final reform proposals were sent to the House Rules Committee this week.  I am optimistic that the House Rules Committee will give serious consideration to our common-sense proposals and that the process will become more transparent and effective for the public and all legislators. Key reforms we suggested were: 

• Passing the House Budget Resolution (committee spending targets) earlier so Committees know what they have to work with;
• Requiring a vote of the majority of the House to waive the 12-hour rule so Members have time to actually read the bills they are voting on at the end of session;
• Requiring Conference Committees to have a public meeting every day they hold the gavel (except Sundays and holidays)
• Separating policy language from finance bills, unless the policy language is directly tied to a finance provision.

Although these proposals will not be be passed into law, they will significantly reform the procedures of the House, and I hope my colleagues on the Rules Committee will adopt them to restore some discipline and order to the legislative process.

Economic Development 

Last week I attended the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis 2020 Regional Economic Conference. It was a great discussion of important regional economic issues, including rural economic development & credit availability. Thank you to Beth Ford, CEO of Land O'Lakes, Inc. & Neel Kashkari, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, for the insightful discussion on how rural economic development is critical to our long-term growth as a state and requires the same focus and attention as urban development.

This week I attended a forum with DEED Commissioner Steve Grove on workforce issues and strategies to help strengthen the innovation/start-up ecosystem in Minnesota.  The worker shortage and achievement gap will affect our long-term ability to grow and we must continue to pursue policies that attract investment, prepare students for jobs that require computer and data analytics skills, and address the needs of both aging workers and young families who need affordable childcare and housing options.

Please Contact Me

Many of you have already been in touch to discuss your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you. Thank you for sharing your ideas! Please continue to contact me to discuss any matters to which I can be of assistance. My office phone number is 651-296-7806 or by email at rep.kristin.robbins@house.mn. My office is located on the second floor of the State Office Building in room 225.

Have a great week!

Kristin

225 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.7806