Paul Thissen: Innovation in Action

Statement on Launch of White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation

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Session Recap; Road Ahead

The challenges Minnesotans faced during the 2009 legislative session were enormous.  The final result was deeply disappointing.  In particular, Governor Pawlenty’s decision to cut health care for more than 30,000 of the poorest, most vulnerable Minnesotans – and to place in jeopardy hospitals across the state – is stunning and unacceptable.   If there was ever a single decision that makes it clear we need a new Governor, that reckless choice was it.

Setting aside all the spin, this is the stark reality:  The stalemate at the Capitol reflects a deep disagreement over our basic values and the direction of our state.  Are we better off to let every person fend for himself or do we owe each other an obligation to reach out in times of need?  Do community institutions matter enough to invest in or do we measure their value only in terms of what each of us gains from them as individuals?

If you agree with me that community does matter. . .   If you agree with me that Minnesota is great because of our belief that everyone have an opportunity to share in prosperity. . .   If you agree with me that our success should be measured not only against our tax ranking, but also by our commitment to social justice and quality of life . . .  please get involved in my campaign for Governor today.  CLICK HERE!

The truth is that together we can move Minnesota forward to a better future — and I worked hard this session to make that better future a reality.

More Kids Can See a Doctor: My several year effort to extend health coverage to Minnesota’s kids continued to meet success.  Despite warnings that it could not be done in a deficit year, we removed bureaucratic barriers to coverage for kids in families living on $3,000 a month or less.  The result is an additional 20,000 Minnesota kids receiving the health care they need to succeed.

Innovation in Government: I worked hard to pass two important initiatives to change the way our state does business.  The first demands more cooperation among our 87 counties to allow for greater efficiency and innovation.   The second initiative — Community Solutions Grants – encourages our non-profit partners to adopt an entrepreneurial approach to social challenges. The fund will reward those programs that can take small, innovative ideas statewide and that have a plan to become self-sustaining without the need for continued government support.

Planning for the Age Wave: With the huge baby boom generation beginning to retire, we must take action or the demands of an aging population for different types of housing, transportation and health care will overwhelm us.  My “Communities for a Lifetime” bill builds on legislation I passed in 2008 to assist municipalities throughout the state in helping their older residents stay active and engaged.

New Energy Solutions: Minnesota has made important progress to prepare for a new energy future, but with too little attention to thermal energy – the energy we use to heat our homes and offices.  This year, I passed legislation to make the production of thermal energy from renewable resources – solar, biomass and others – a priority for Minnesota.

Protecting Vulnerable Minnesotans: I am proud to have passed legislation that tightens Minnesota’s standards for guardians and conservators and reforms Minnesota’s largely unregulated system charged with safeguarding the lives and assets of citizens deemed unable to make their own decisions.  The law now clearly sets out a 15-point bill of rights for wards and protected persons.

If these are the same priorities you share — caring for the elderly, promoting the health of youth, taking our energy challenges head on, government  innovation — then you know why I’m running for Governor.

Join our effort today to put Minnesota’s values first.  Please visit www.paulthissen.com to learn more.

MPR on Democratic Push to Reach a Budget Deal

CLOCK TICKING AS DEMS AIM TO FINISH MINN. BUDGET BILLS ON TIME

By Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio, May 12, 2009

Democrats in the Minnesota House and Senate say they hope to pass the rest of their budget related bills as early as today. With six days to go before the constitutional deadline for the Legislature to finish its work, state lawmakers and Gov. Tim Pawlenty still haven’t reached an overall agreement on how to erase a $4.6 billion budget deficit.

St. Paul, Minn. — Democrats in the Legislature are working down a path to finish on time. It’s just a question of which roadmap they use and whether Gov. Pawlenty puts up roadblocks with his veto pen.

On Monday, Democrats said they plan to pass the remaining budget bills with a placeholder for $1 billion in new revenue. The question is whether that revenue is new taxes – which Governor Pawlenty opposes – or other options like borrowing and shifts, which the governor prefers.

DFL House Majority Leader Tony Sertich said Democrats in the Legislature are reserving the right to try to override vetoes if they aren’t close to a budget deal.

“By the end of the week, if there’s not an agreement, I believe that we definitely should provide choices and options for legislators,” Sertich said. “If the governor isn’t willing to be a part of the solution for the end of session, then legislators should take it upon ourselves.”

On Monday, the House and Senate took action on several budget bills not knowing whether they’re acceptable to Governor Pawlenty. For example, the Senate passed a public safety bill that Republicans say doesn’t spend enough.

Republican Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen of Alexandria said the state should spend more on prisons.

“I think we need to send this back to the drawing board and pull the money that we need to satisfy this deficit from someplace other than public safety,” Ingebrigtsen said.

Republicans say that someplace else is from Health and Human Services programs. They complained that the DFL agreement to fund hospitals, nursing homes, subsidized health insurance for the poor and welfare doesn’t cut enough. But DFL Rep. Paul Thissen of Minneapolis said their plan cuts too much already – $500 million over the next two years.

“The reality is in this bill there are deep cuts. There are cuts to people with disabilities,” Thissen said. “There are cuts to hospitals. There are cuts to nursing homes. No one is denying that. The fact of the matter that we have to keep coming back to though is that the other choice is to make the cuts even deeper.”

Gov. Pawlenty’s spokesman, Brian McClung, said the governor doesn’t support the Health and Human Services budget bill. He also criticized Democrats for moving forward with a budget plan that relies on $1 billion in unspecified revenue.

“It seems like leaving blanks in bills during the last week of session is not very open, not very transparent,” McClung said. “If they want to raise taxes, they should tell us that they want to raise taxes and try that. The governor will veto it. A wiser approach is to work with Governor Pawlenty and find some common ground.”

Pawlenty tried to find that common ground by making a budget offer on Monday. His plan would reduce his level of borrowing to $500 million, would increase the size of the payment delay to schools and holds off on building up a rainy day fund. Democrats flat-out rejected the idea.

Meanwhile, Democrats are also moving forward with a backup plan that would keep government services running in case a budget deal isn’t reached. The bill would fund government services at current levels through July first of 2010. DFL Sen. Larry Pogemiller said the bill is only “precautionary” in case Pawlenty vetoes the budget bills.

“Depending on what he chooses to do there, we would want to be in a position to make sure that agencies don’t close down in case he vetoes a bill,” Pogemiller said. “We want to make sure we have all options open to ensure that there’s a nice, orderly conclusion to the legislative session.”

The Senate passed the “lights on” bill 45 to 19. Several Republicans, including David Hann of Eden Prairie, said Democrats were giving up by passing the legislation.

“This sends a bad signal to the state, and if anything, we want to make every effort to get all of the budgets completed on time and this is sort of an out that we’re premature in enacting,” Hann said.

Senate Republicans are also ramping up the rhetoric over a possible special session. A caucus staffer handed out buttons to reporters that said “Special Session costs over $40,000 every day. Get the work done now.” Lawmakers have until next Monday to accomplish that goal.

Time to Transform State-County Partnership

Bemidji Pioneer, April 24, 2009

As legislators and the governor settle into the next several weeks of budget balancing debate, there will be a lot of talk about reforming state government. As it should be.

But lawmakers will miss great opportunities if we focus too closely on the internal operations of state agencies. The reality is that much of the work of state government, from maintaining roads to providing human services, is delivered in partnership with Minnesota’s counties.

Unfortunately, the state-county relationship has worn thin and grown stale in recent years. That’s why Gov. Pawlenty and the Legislature both have been seeking ways to revitalize and reorganize how the state and counties work together in order to bring transparency, flexibility and most importantly efficiency to the delivery of essential services.

To transform the relationship, two fundamental changes are necessary. First, Minnesota primarily measures the success of human services programs simply by tracking how much we spend, rather than measure how those programs actually improve the lives of Minnesotans. As a result counties are discouraged from creating innovative ways to provide better services to more Minnesotans.

Second, the state government too often has insisted on a one-size-fits-all, “we know best” approach that stifles new ideas. But Minnesota is a large and diverse state. As state policy makers we must respect the fact that local officials know best what is needed and what works best in their communities.

Gov. Pawlenty’s proposal begins and ends with forcing counties to consolidate their human services departments. Unfortunately, that does little to change the broken, state-county dynamic. Consolidating government without measuring or improving results simply turns one broken system into a different broken system. You can’t create better government by simply drawing circles on a map and telling county governments in Duluth and Brainerd to work together.

This top-down forced consolidation will lead to higher costs as counties are required to merge systems, data and staff in ways that might not be compatible. The governor hasn’t considered the ramifications of this mandate, nor does he know how much it will cost to implement it. And worse yet, the forced consolidation jeopardizes the dozens and dozens of innovative cooperative projects county governments are already engaged in together across county lines.

For example, in the northeastern part of the state, St. Louis County has a regional agreement with Koochiching, Itasca and Carlton counties for the delivery of the services to our poorest citizens. These consortiums cut down on redundancies, streamline the delivery of services to residents and save taxpayers money while not compromising quality for the bottom line.

I have been pleased to work with Minnesota counties — large and small — on an alternative proposal to achieve the same efficiency benchmarks and cost-savings goals outlined in the governor’s proposal without adding unnecessary mandates on the counties and without undoing significant multi-county partnerships already in existence.

The State-County Redesign Act fundamentally rethinks the relationship between the counties and the state. Under the legislation, county and state officials will come to the table together as equal partners to shape the way social services will be provided.

Both the counties and the state will make transparent commitments about the level of resources each will provide and agree upon measurable benchmarks on how to serve its residents. Indeed, the most important piece of this proposal is the focus on accountability, measurement and results. The legislation will be a revolution in how we do the business of providing services to Minnesota residents.

If effective, efficient delivery of human services is the goal, then “business as usual” mandates like Gov. Pawlenty’s proposal are not the answer. Counties have demonstrated their ability to create efficiencies that lead to service improvement and cost savings. My bill will give counties the flexibility they need to achieve those efficiencies on a statewide level.

Legislation Encourages Communities to Prepare for Age-Wave

News Release, April 15, 2009

The Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Communities for a Lifetime Act today (HF 936). The bill, authored by State Rep. Paul Thissen, is an important step toward making sure communities all across Minnesota are prepared for the coming age wave.

“Minnesota is facing a fundamental shift, our population is becoming older and it is happening fast,” said Thissen. “That has implications for all aspects of our society from health care and housing to transportation to worklife and recreation.

The Communities for a Lifetime legislation is designed to encourage the evolution of communities as places that welcome and support senior residents, recognizing them as assets to our state.”

The Communities for a Lifetime program is voluntary, similar to the Minnesota Star City program. Partnerships of small cities, towns and counties who meet certain “senior-friendly” criteria would be designated a community for a lifetime.

Criteria include opportunities to contribute time and talents through volunteer community service; to participate in the paid workforce, with flexibility of hours and scheduling; to “age in place” and choose among a variety of affordable, accessible housing options, to access quality long-term care in the setting of the senior’s own choice; and community-wide mobility and access public transportation.

“The essence of the Communities for a Lifetime program is that it is flexible, local and designed to engage all citizens in thinking about the future of their community,” said Thissen. “There is a real urgency to moving forward in this direction.”