04-26-2021 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 12, 2021 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 2 of 15 PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments. PRESENTATION 15. SENATOR OSMEK UPDATE Senator Osmek said the October bonding bill had a bonding request that was successful for the City of Orono, reached the Governor’s desk, and received a signature. This time around, he is focusing on a roundabout on Highway 41 just south of 7 near the middle school. He noted he also has a lot of bonding requests for water issues; the City of Mound’s aquifer has a manganese issue and they are working to see what can be done. Fortunately, Senator Osmek does not think Orono is in the same aquifer as there are many different layers to tap into. He noted last year and this year they passed a Senate file with bipartisan support to change the emergency order rules for the Governor of Minnesota. Last year it passed with one Democrat vote and this year he received four or five Democrat votes to change it. As the Council is aware the State is under emergency orders by the Governor; Senator Osmek noted there are over 40 states that are currently reviewing how their emergency powers work; he said they will be looking at whether the legislative branch should become a more co-equal branch. Senator Osmek clarified right now the emergency order can only be rescinded if the House and Senate vote to remove them – they are passive; Senator Osmek’s bill changed it so they are active. Every 30 days the Governor has to come to the Senate and House for their approval to extend his orders after the first 30 days. He noted they all agreed at the beginning of this emergency that it made sense, there was not one Republican that complained that they needed to get those hospitals prepared and the emergency orders were needed for the first 30 and 60 days. After that, it has significantly changed. He noted the Governor should want this because it makes t he legislative branch become part of the solution. Right now if one party has control of one of the bodies and decides not to bite the hand of their Governor, they will not pass anything and remove those emergency orders. This would put both branches of the legislative branch as active participants to approve these extensions – they would all be in the same boat. Senator Osmek stated they are approaching 13 months and everything the Governor is doing can be legislated but there is not incentive for the executive branch to engage with the legislative branch to create the legislation and rules to make that happen. Another bill he is working on is for felons that are exiting corrections. A friend of Senator Osmek works with felons and when they are released after incarceration there are a number of barriers which creates recidivism issues. For example, if one is incarcerated for five years, their photo I.D. often expires, they lose track of where their social security card is, they do not have a listing of fines and penalties they are responsible for. What this legislation is doing is making is easier for felons who are trying to change their lives, going on to parole, trying to become taxpayers. He said this bill is a list of things the Department of Corrections has to have – for lack of a better term – a “take home packet” which creates a checklist of things that have to be done. If one does not have a social security card, three months before they leave incarceration they will be provided assistance and get a copy of it as t hey must have it to get a job; it is the same with a driver’s license or picture I.D. All of these things need to be done to reduce the amount of recidivism of going back into prison. Senator Osmek said this is the right thing to do and clarified it does not allow felons to vote, if a felon completes their felony sentence and completes parole, they automatically get their right to vote back. This bill helps people stay out of the system and he hopes this bill will get through.