Political Notebook

Norton pulls name from one civil union bill, adds it to another

Rochester Rep. Kim Norton removed her name from one bill that would allow same-sex civil unions in favor of another.

Norton was the lone Democrat to sign onto Red Wing GOP Rep. Tim Kelly's bill that would have allowed civil unions in addition to marriage. But critics blasted that proposal saying it would treat gay couples as second-class citizens, creating a separate but unequal system.

Today, Kelly introduced a new bill that strikes the word "marriage" from state law and replaces it with civil unions. Kelly said that would get the government out of defining marriage, leaving that to religious institutions. Norton is the only DFL co-sponsor on that bill.

In an interview Wednesday, Norton said she preferred this second approach, which treats gay and straight couples the same. She said a majority of her constituents are not in favor of legalizing gay marriage but do support the concept of civil unions.

"I know that is not acceptable to a lot of the (gay marriage) advocates," Norton said. "I've asked them to try and understand it is what a majority of my constituents (support)."

Revamped Senate plan allows Roch residents to serve on DMC board

Rochester residents would be allowed to serve on the authority board overseeing Mayo Clinic’s Destination Medical Center plan under a Senate plan unveiled on Monday.

That is in sharp contrast to the previous proposal, which would have prohibited any Rochester residents from serving on the authority. That group is charged with deciding how to spend millions of dollars on public infrastructure. The Senate plan also requires Mayo Clinic to spend $250 million on construction before state dollars could be tapped. That’s $50 million more than in the House version of the plan. The local share of the project is similar to that in the House plan, with the city responsible for $128 million and the county committed to up to $40 million for transportation costs.

Rochester City Council Interim President Randy Staver thanked members of the Senate Taxes Committee during a hearing on the bill for their hard work on the proposal. He said the city officials still need to review the latest proposal, noting that the local contribution is “considerably higher than the city had been anticipating.” Rochester had originally pledged $60 million for the project. Still, he said the city is pleased to see the Destination Medical Center proposal continue to advance.

“This is an opportunity that will ensure that Mayo’s flagship will remain in Minnesota and in Rochester for years to come,” he said.

The plan would require Mayo Clinic to spend $250 million before state dollars would start flowing for public infrastructure projects to support the clinic’s 20-year expansion plans. That is $50 million more than required under the House version of the plan. The Senate bill also requires a similar local match for the Mayo Clinic Destination Medical Center proposal. It requires $128 million match for general infrastructure upgrades along with an estimated $40 million from Olmsted County for transportation projects. The state’s contribution would be capped at $455 million.

Mayo wants the state’s help in paying for roads, bridges, transportation and other infrastructure upgrades needed to help transform Rochester into a global destination for health care. The clinic has pledged to spend $3.5 billion to expand its Rochester campus and leverage $2 billion in private investment.

The latest Senate and House plans give the city of Rochester and Olmsted County choices as to how they want to pay for the local match. The city could choose to impose an entertainment tax, extend its existing half-cent sales tax, increase the sales tax by a quarter cent or increase its lodging tax. The county would have the option of raising a quarter-cent transportation tax.

Mayo Civic Center instead of Mayo's DMC plan?

This morning, House Democrats unveiled an $800 million bonding proposal that includes $35 million for the Mayo Civic Center expansion. House Capital investment Committee Chairwoman Alice Hausmen noted during the committee's hearing on the plan that in 2009 Rochester leaders wrote a letter stating the civic center was an "important component" of Mayo Clinic's Destination Medical Center initiative.

"I think this is kind of the first step that we can take toward meeting that vision," Hausman said.

But Rochester lawmakers and city officials have been making the case that the Mayo Civic Center and Mayo Clinic's request for $585 million in state support to fund public infrastructure upgrades in the city are separate projects and should not be lumped together.

The ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. Matt Dean, criticized Democrats for not recognizing the difference.

"Saying we are doing something in Rochester, so that equals Destination Medical Community — that ain't the same thing. It probably ain't the same thing for the Mayo Clinic and the city of Rochester," he said.

He also noted the neither the governor's bonding bill proposal nor the House Democrats' plan has funding for the DMC project.

The governor did say he was willing to put money into his bonding plan for the DMC project depending on how lawmakers decide to move ahead with the plan. At this point, Mayo Clinic is pushing for the state to authorize the state to sell $585 million in appropriation bonds, which would be separate from the bonding bill.

Hausman has said previously that the $60 million included in the House bonding bill for projects in Rochester and Olmsted County — including the civic center — should count towards the state's share of the DMC plan. She fears the current plan to authorize borrowing for the whole project upfront could end up hurting the state's ability to borrow money for other projects in the future.

 

Dayton calls funding plan for Mayo project "almost unfeasible"

Gov. Mark Dayton said that while he is a big supporter of Mayo Clinic's request for $585 million in public dollars for its Destination Medical Center initiative, he has serious concerns with the proposed financing.

During a press conference on Thursday, Dayton said his understanding of the latest proposal is that the state would have to bond for all of the money upfront for a 30-year period. That would amount to roughly $30 million in debt service a year. He compared that request to his plan to release a $750 million bonding plan in the next few weeks to fund construction projects across the state.

"My understanding is they want us to essentially bond for the whole $600 million up front. You can see with a $750 million bonding bill for the whole state, that is almost unfeasible. So I am hoping and working toward finding some way that they can have financial support and the security as much as possible that they are going to have it on an ongoing basis," Dayton said.

He added that there is the potential the $30 million in annual costs could simply be paid in cash, as opposed to borrowing a large amount of money right away. He said he realizes that Mayo Clinic will want to have the security of knowing they can rely on those dollars and lawmakers cannot bind future legislatures to abide by their decisions.

"I can't conceive of this project getting five to six years down the road and then having anybody want to pull out of it," he said. "But I understand (Mayo Clinic) wanting better assurances than mine."

In the end, Dayton said he remains optimistic that a deal can be reached on the financing for the project.

"It's a great project. Mayo is just priceless in terms of its value to the state and value to Rochester and Olmsted County," he said.

In exchange for the public funding, Mayo Clinic is pledging to invest $3.5 billion over the next 20 years to expand its Rochester campus and leverage an additional $2 billion. The public money would be used for infrastructure upgrades in the city to support the massive growth fueled by the Destination Medical Center project.

I have put a call into Mayo Clinic to get a response to the governor's concerns. I'll update this post when I hear back from them.

Mayo Clinic spokesman Karl Oestreich said it is important for lawmakers to understand that Mayo Clinic is not asking the state to issue the bonds for the project right away. Rather, the clinic is looking at doing it in chunks over 20 years. The bill caps the amount of money that can go to the authority to $75 million per year. But the bill does want the state to authorize the full amount of bonding, and that could lead to issues with the state's ability to borrow in the future. More on that in Friday's Post-Bulletin.

 

Davids wants to make a deal on Mayo's DMC bill

When the House Taxes Committee takes up Mayo Clinic's request on Tuesday for more than $500 million for its Destination Medical Center plan, GOP Rep. Greg Davids is expected to make the case it should move as its own bill — not be considered as part of a larger tax bill.

Davids, the ranking Republican on the committee, said he is prepared to try and negotiate a deal with fellow members of his caucus that there would be no Republican amendments to the bill if it goes to the floor.

"I may not be successful, but I would make a very strong case to my caucus that this needs to go separate and to leave it alone," he said.

If the project makes it into a larger tax bill, that could put Republican lawmakers in the tough position of having to decide whether to vote for a bill with tax increases in order to support Mayo's project. Supporters of Destination Medical Center can likely expect some tough questions from the committee — especially House Taxes Committee Chairwoman Ann Lenczewski. She has expressed serious concerns with Mayo's plan, which calls for a portion of the additional state taxes generated by the project to be used to help fund public infrastructure upgrades in Rochester. In exchange, the clinic has pledged to invest $3.5 billion in expanding its Rochester campus over the next 20 years and leverage $2 billion in private investment.

No plans to retool DMC bill before next week's hearing

During a press conference call with reporters this morning, Mayo Clinic officials were asked whether they planned to retool the Destination Medical Center in advance of Tuesday's hearing before the House Taxes Committee hearing. Its widely expected that project backers will face some tough questioning — particularly from House Taxes Committee Chairwoman Ann Lenczewski, he has said she has serious concerns with the proposal.

DMC Administrator Lisa Clarke said no changes to the bill are planned before Tuesday's meeting.

"We're going to have the conversation with the tax committee on Tuesday, and we will listen to what they have to say and have a good discussion at that committee. I think that committee is going to be very informative," she said. 

She added that Mayo Clinic is actively working to gather input on the bill and any changes to the proposal will be made as it goes through the committee.

During the phone call, project supporters continued to emphasize the importance of the project to ensure Mayo Clinic is able to remain globally competitive. The $6 billion plan would generate an estimate 35,000 to 45,000 direct and indirect jobs over the next 20 years. Dr. Bradly Narr, DMC's medical director, also addressed some of the concerns raised by senators earlier this week during a Senate Judiciary Committee about the total cost of the project when interest is factored in. The committee ultimately passed the bill without recommendation. A state fiscal analysis of the proposal estimates it would cost the state $1 billion in debt service over 33 years.

Narr said it is important to realize all the other bonding projects the state does involve interest.

"If we're talking about a stadium proposal that has $985 million in requested bonding, we know that that will eventually result in payments of $2.2 billion. We just need the language to be consistent between the dozens of different proposals that go before the state."

Do Rochester lawmakers 'owe their souls to the company store?'

In a recent blog post, Taxpayers League of Minnesota President Phil Krinkie made clear he is not a fan of Mayo Clinic's Destination Medical Center plan. He writes that the clinic's $6 billion proposal would turn Rochester into a company town.

He compares the situation to the 1950s country tune by Tennessee Ernie Ford called "Sixteen Tons" about a laborer who works all day loading 16 tons of coal. The song lyric's include "Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go, I owe my soul to the company store."

While these company towns have traditionally been thought of as small, rural communities, Krinkie writes that Mayo Clinic's proposal will do just that in the state's third largest city. But unlike the approach taken by mining companies in rural towns, Mayo Clinic is looking to do it by setting up an economic development zone. The clinic has pledged to invest $3.5 billion to expand its Rochester campus and leverage $2 billion in private investment as part of its proposal. The clinic wants $585 million in public funds to help pay for public infrastructure to support that expansion. A recent state fiscal analysis concludes that the total debt service for the bill could cost the state more than $1 billion.

Krinkie writes, "The simple reality of this proposal is to make Rochester a 'company town' and in this case the 'company' is the Mayo Clinic. All tax revenue will flow to the 'Medical Development Authority' and the Authority will spend the money the way the Mayo Clinic wants."

The former Republican lawmaker goes on to write that, "If you live in Rochester, you won’t have any choice but to work, shop, eat and partake in community activities, while all your income and sales tax dollars support the Medical Development Authority. Just like in the old days, there is no escaping having to support the company town.  Based on the members of the Legislature who are the key authors on the bill, it looks like they already owe their souls to the company store."

 

Mayo Clinic gets shout-out in State of State address

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton made a point of recognizing Mayo Clinic President and CEO Dr. John Noseworthy during his State of the State address on Wednesday night and reiterating his support for the clinic's $6 billion Destination Medical Center initiative.

"The renowned Mayo Cinic wants us to help them continue to outclass their competitors in other state and other countries and to continue doing so from Rochester. I thank Mayo, whose CEO Dr. John Noseworthy is with us tonight as a guest of Speaker (Paul) Thissen, for giving Minnesota the change to partner with them and help assure their world medical pre-eminence for decades to come in Rochester, Minnesota," Dayton said.

That proved to be one of the few statements made by the governor during his speech that won strong bipartisan support. The governor's decision to talk about Destination Medical Center was somewhat of a surprise. His spokeswoman Katharine Tinucci said on Tuesday she did not expect him to bring it up.

Assistant Majority Leader Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester, said she appreciated the governor’s statement.

“That was really nice. I think he was showing his serious concern about Mayo Clinic’s health and their growth and their growth here in Minnesota,” she said.

Mayo Clinic is asking lawmakers for more than $500 million to pay for public infrastructure that would support its plans to expand in Rochester. As part of the deal, the clinic has pledged to spend $3.5 billion over the next 20 years and leverage an estimated $2 billion in private investment. Funding for the infrastructure would come from the increased state taxes generated by the clinic’s expansion. Norton plans to introduce the Destination Medical Center bill today in the House and Sen. Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, plans to carry it in the Senate.

Noseworthy said in an interview after the speech he was honored to be invited to the Capitol for the State of State address and to have the clinic's project mentioned by the governor.

“We are very pleased to have the governor express support for the proposal, and we look forward to working to make it a reality, to make Minnesota a destination site for health care,” he said.

Mayo Clinic urges Dayton to veto fireworks bill

Mayo Clinic is urging DFL Gov. Mark Dayton to veto a bill that would legalize more powerful fireworks in the state.

Mayo Clinic Trauma Center Medical Director Donald Jenkins wrote in a letter to the governor that the fireworks bill "would legalize extremely powerful and dangerous fireworks in Minnesoa." He notes that Mayo Clinic is one of four Level 1 trauma centers in the state and the only one in southeast Minnesota. He writes that when smaller fireworks like sparklers were first legalized in the state in 2002, there were 92 firework injuries within a 20-day period surrounding July 4 and a 300 percent increase in injuries due to fireworks during that period.

Mayo Clinic joins several other hospitals opposed to the fireworks bill along with fire chiefs and fire departments.

Supporters of the bill argue that Minnesotans are aleady buying these larger, aerial fireworks — they are just crossing the border to do it. That amounts to lost business from the state. They also argue that it is not the government's place to tell people they cannot set off fireworks.

Click here to download Download Mayo Clinic fireworks letter

 

Klobuchar to visit Rochester, Austin today

DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar will be making several stops in southeast Minnesota today. Her day starts with a stop in Rochester to visit Lincoln K-8 Choice School. She plans to tour the school and discuss the important of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The school has teamed up with Mayo Clinic to launch a science curriculum called InSciEd Out.

Klobuchar will participate in Mayo Clinic's recognition of National Wear Red Day. This is a national event that encourages people to wear red to help raise awareness about the threat heart disease poses for women.

In the afternoon, Klobuchar will tour the Austin Packaging Company, which processes and packages food products. She will also tour Minnesota Corrugated Box Inc. in Albert Lea. These stops are part of the DFL senator's "Made in America" tour, which aims to highlight successful Minnesota businesses and job creation. Since late October, she has visited  more than 30 businesses across the state.