This is the second part of Rep. Jeanne Poppe’s latest update.  The first part can be found here: After an expectant start, session ends with questions.

I’d like to share a few disappointments with you:

I had hoped for less acrimony and more common sense when it came to putting forward bills that had greater potential for the Governor’s signature. Some of the bills I introduced were included in the very large omnibus bills but of course were met with the Governor’s veto. One piece of the super-sized omnibus finance bill included a reimbursement of money for the city of Austin as pay back from forfeited dollars when the firefighter issue in the pension bill didn’t get resolved last year. Because the vetoed omnibus bill included all finance bills, the non-controversial and much needed Ag Finance bill included a bill I authored providing money for farm advocates and to double the number (from one to two) of rural mental health counselors providing service to farmers across the state.

A relatively small but significant tax policy to help our Cedar Valley Conservation Club gain tax-exempt status for supplies was included in the tax/education bill. The members of the club who came to St Paul to testify did a tremendous job which resulted in many committee members adding their names as co-authors on the bill! The veto means we will bring forward a bill next year and hope for passage and signature.

One of the greatest crises to face the disability community is loss of funds from the federal government resulting in 7 percent cut. The immediate funding needed to fill this gap was included in the supplemental finance bill and was one of the reasons putting everything together was a very risky strategy. It’s not legislators who lose out when political strategy doesn’t work; it’s the people we represent who suffer the consequences.

Minnesotans know we have an opioid epidemic. This year there was a simple plan put forward by a bipartisan team of lawmakers who both lost children to an overdose: ask Big Pharma to chip in a penny-per-pill to help fund education and treatment programs. Big Pharma hired dozens of lobbyists and spent record amounts fighting this, and in the end it was blocked by Republican leadership, even though a long list of legislators of both parties and the Governor supported the original bill.

Last summer the Star Tribune released a devastating report showing widespread and uninvestigated elder abuse occurring in nursing homes and care facilities. As a result, AARP and other citizen groups came up with a package of legislation to address this problem. Unfortunately, again, record amounts of lobbying dollars were spent to get the Republican leadership to stop taking meaningful action to keep our loved ones safe and secure.

Far too many Minnesotans are killed by distracted drivers. While deaths and injuries from drunken driving are going down, those caused by distracted driving are on the rise. Many states have a simple mandate: cell phones must be hands-free while driving. This is a proven method to curb distracted driving and save lives. Despite the fact this bill was championed by a majority member of the Republican caucus in the House this year, the measure was given only lip service and did not make it through the process.

These issues, as well as others including school safety and elections security, were not addressed in a meaningful way. They have broad bipartisan support among Minnesotans and many legislators, but those with influence used their positions of power to stop progress.