Reporting on State Politics and Government
Reporting on State Politics and Government
Capitol View Digest reporting on state and politics and government
| | The Daily Digest for September 18, 2019 | | Posted at 6:35 a.m. by Bill Wareham |
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Good morning. Here's your Wednesday Digest. 1. Walz has eye on 2020 session. With summer winding down, Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that he’s looking ahead toward the 2020 legislative session, with plans to push proposals for making insulin affordable, reducing gun violence, clean energy and criminal justice reform. The Democratic governor said in an interview with The Associated Press that he’s currently taking a “hard look” at each state agency to see what they could do better and where legislation might be needed. He said he’s also reaching out to stakeholders to start building coalitions to support the policy proposals that he plans to advance in the next session, which convenes Feb. 11, 2020. Walz said he still thinks there’s a chance for a one-day special session soon to pass funding for emergency insulin supplies, which failed to pass in the closing hours of the 2019 session due to disagreements over how to fund it. He said he plans another push for gun safety legislation, meaning universal background checks and a “red flag” law to temporarily take guns from people judged to be a threat to themselves or others, which hit a roadblock in the GOP-controlled Senate. (Associated Press)
2. Court dismisses Line 3 challenges. The Minnesota Supreme Court has declined to take up challenges by tribal and conservation groups to the environmental review of Enbridge Energy's proposal for replacing its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota. The decision means that Minnesota regulators can begin the process of fixing the environmental review of Enbridge Energy’s controversial proposed $2.9 billion project. The project could have faced a long delay if the high court had agreed to hear the appeals. It’s unclear exactly when construction of the pipeline could begin. The project needs several environmental permits, as well as final approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, which likely will spur additional lawsuits. (MPR News)
3. Minneapolis considers lower speed limits. To save lives on city streets, Minneapolis wants drivers to hit the brakes. The city is considering lowering speed limits on most, if not all, city-owned streets as one way to end deaths and injuries caused by car crashes by 2027, transportation officials said Tuesday. Other measures include installing traffic cameras to enforce speed limits, and adding bollards or repainting crosswalks to make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists. The recommendations to the City Council were part of Vision Zero, a campaign launched in 2017 by the city under then-Mayor Betsy Hodges. Transportation officials hope to bolster both enforcement and safety measures across the city starting next year. According to Tuesday’s presentation, the top five behaviors leading to accidents on city streets are all related to driving: speeding, driving under the influence, distracted driving, running red lights and unsafe turning. The speed limit on most city streets is 30 mph. City officials leading the safety improvement work said they are still unsure where they will lower speed limits and by how much. (Star Tribune)
4. E-cig lobbying ramps up. As President Trump, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and state governments crack down on vaping amid rising health concerns, hundreds of hospitalizations and six deaths, the nation's top e-cigarette manufacturer has responded by hiring enough lobbyists to fill a Boeing 727. An APM Reports analysis of state and federal lobbyist filings has found that Juul Labs Inc. — the San Francisco-based company that controls a third of the vaping market — hired nearly all its lobbyists in the 10 months since the federal government expressed alarm about how the company has marketed its products to teens. As recently as early 2018, Juul had just a handful of lobbyists working in Washington, D.C., and two states. It now has at least 166 people pushing its agenda on the federal level and in 48 state capitals and Washington, D.C., according to the analysis. In the past year, Juul has had to defend itself from an onslaught of negative publicity and lawmakers at every level of government hungry to investigate its marketing strategies and restrict its products. That includes efforts to raise the age limit to buy e-cigarettes, to outlawing popular flavored cartridges to banning e-cigarettes entirely. (APM Reports)
5. Group pleas for reversal of immigrant detention expansion. A group of activists was hoping to press Sherburne County officials to take a stand against immigration detention in a public forum Tuesday, but county board members said they wouldn’t be bound by the group’s demands. Members of Sanctuary and Resistance to Injustice, a faith-based group that protests regularly outside of the Sherburne County Jail, along with other immigrant rights organizations, had drafted a resolution against the county’s plans to expand the jail to hold more immigration detainees. Sherburne County currently contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold detainees on alleged immigration violations. The contract is up in 2022 and the county is proposing to provide space for up to 500 beds, an increase from the current 300. Sanctuary and Resistance to Injustice is asking county officials not to renew the current contract with ICE and stop efforts to expand. (MPR News)
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