Help these Media-Savvy Homeless Occupiers Get to Philly ASAP

HELP!! TIP CUP PLEA - Our ride to Philly fell through. I am BEGGING for donations to take a plane there. THERE IS A PAYPAL slot on this  www.USuncutMN.blogspot.com site. 

 I need $100 by tomorrow. Someone from Occupy Mpls/Mn needs to BE THERE, collecting info and getting people on The Page about how we are being "picked off" and criminalized. I have the foreclosure moratorium/prevent homelessness presentation to do. Please. Nickels and dimes add up. I need $100 by tomorrow and then I can fly there ... 

I so wish Ziggy Vouraun could come too. So be generous, we would do a GREAT JOB between live streaming, videoing and putting this all in writing .......  

Help me get support to prevent homelessness via the foreclosure moratorium, speak about the need for the Financial Transaction Tax/Robin Hood tax anduse the media to exposure this cynical ploy by RT Rybeck!!   Minnesota pioneered the foreclosure moratorium movement back in the Depression; we can so do it again.

Here you can help by putting in a few keystrokes!  http://signon.org/sign/41-million-reasons-for?source=c.url&r_by=260770.

Signing the petition will give a kickstart to a national demand, done via each state.

 http://www.opednews.com/articles/State-wide-Foreclosure-Mor-by-Virginia-Simson-120618-544.html

008RNC Redux! http://www.occupyhomesmn.org/nonviolent-cruz-family-supporters-targeted-with-riot-charges-weeks-after-arrests/ three arrestees at Cruz house charged with third degree Riot gross misdemeanor. 3rd degree riot (gross misdemeanor) / Obstructing legal process / Disorderly conduct / Presence At An Unlawful Assembly / Trespassing. Bankster criminal ops continue unhindered with state, local & federal protection from bullies wearing nice clothes ....

Occupy Homes protesters charged with rioting

By Gregory Pratt Fri., Jun. 29 2012 at 2:29 PM

Occupy Homes

Several Occupy protesters have been charged with rioting for their demonstrations at the Cruz family home.
Local protester Nick Espinosa, who made a name for himself by dropping pennies on Tom Emmer and glitter-bombing politicians across the county in addition to his work with Occupy Minnesota, was charged yesterday with third-degree riot (a gross misdemeanor), interfering with a peace officer, trespassing, disorderly conduct, and presence at unlawful assembly.

Espinosa did not return phone calls seeking comment but Occupy Homes released a statement blasting the city attorney for "escalating" charges against the protesters.
Initially, the protesters at the Cruz family home were charged with simple trespassing.
"These charges are a clear and disgraceful attempt to suppress the Occupy Homes movement and 'make an example' of anti-foreclosure organizers who were arrested while non-violently protesting an unjust eviction," Occupy's statement read. "City Attorney Susan Segal, appointed by Mayor RT Rybak, has also made it a point to aggressively prosecute other political defendants, including a group arrested while protesting US Bank's foreclosure practices last fall."
Despite the new charges, Occupy says it will continue its protests.
"This attempt to silence and stifle anti-foreclosure organizing will not deter us from fighting for our homes, our families, our neighbors, and our futures," Occupy said.
It is unknown at this time how many other protesters were hit with the new charges. Espinosa is one and the group acknowledges that "at least three arrestees (though likely more)" have been affected.
Related coverage:
-- Gary Schiff wants city of Minneapolis to send Cruz home police bill to PNC Bank
-- Police efforts at now-foreclosed Cruz family home cost taxpayers $42,429
-- Occupy Homes activist Nick Espinosa helps save his mom's Mpls home from foreclosure
-- Occupy Homes can't defend Cruz family home from third eviction attempt
-- Occupy Homes successfully defends foreclosed Mpls home against 4 a.m. eviction raid [PHOTOS]

Nonviolent Cruz Family Supporters Targeted with Riot Charges Weeks After Arrests

Posted on June 29, 2012 by beckyz803

Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan steps on peaceful protesters outside the Cruz home May 30. Fourteen were arrested that night, and so far at least three have received riot charges.

Yesterday, several activists with Occupy Homes MN discovered that the City Attorney has decided to escalate charges following their arrests defending the Cruz family home. Prosecutors at the City Attorney’s office originally charged the group of Cruz family supporters with trespassing, and have now moved to significantly more serious charges including 3rd degree riot–a gross misdemeanor which carries a sentence of up to one year in prison and a $3,000 fine.

These charges are a clear and disgraceful attempt to suppress the Occupy Homes movement and ‘make an example’ of anti-foreclosure organizers who were arrested while non-violently protesting an unjust eviction. City Attorney Susan Segal, appointed by Mayor RT Rybak, has also made it a point to aggressively prosecute other political defendants, including a group arrested while protesting US Bank’s foreclosure practices last fall.

As of now at least three arrestees (though likely more) are charged with the following:

• 3rd degree riot (gross misdemeanor)
• Obstructing legal process
• Disorderly conduct
• Presence At An Unlawful Assembly
• Trespassing

Instead of prosecuting the criminal fraud of the bankers that crashed our economy, or working to give relief to families devastated by the foreclosure crisis, our tax dollars are being spent to evict families at the banks’ behest, and to intimidate and prosecute neighbors fighting to keep more vacant homes out of their communities.

The fight to defend the Cruz family from a wrongful and unnecessary eviction has garnered support from hundreds of thousands of supporters around the country with solidarity actions in over a dozen cities, and has sent a message to big banks everywhere that we won’t stand by and let them steal our homes.

This attempt to silence and stifle anti-foreclosure organizing will not deter us from fighting for our homes, our families, our neighbors, and our futures.

We shall not be moved.

For more updates and ways to support the defendants, follow www.occupyhomesmn.org, http://www.facebook.com/OccupyHomesMN and www.twitter.com/OccupyHomesMN.

Please donate to our legal fund here to help cover the costs of this attack on our movement.

Thanks for your support,
Occupy Homes MN

Foreclosure Moratorium Flyer
Please sign and SHARE

 

Sitting on millions of dollars while people are being evicted is unacceptable. Be transparent with the National Mortgage

Settlement and put a moratorium on foreclosures & evictions until the process is up, running, and proven to be working

for at least one month.

There has been at least $280 million available but on hold for over 6 months.  This money was obtained to keep people in their homes and as relief for victims of corrupt banking practices by Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank, and GMAC/Ally Financial.

Help us get this money working and stop foreclosures & evictions until it is.  Let’s prevent homelessness  For further information:  Please contact USuncutMN@gmail.com and/or see Virginia Deoccupy Homelessness Simson’s Facebook page.  Petition can be accessed at http://signon.org/sign/41-million-reasons-for?source=c.url&r_byS=260770

www.ag.state.mn.us/Consumer/PressRelease/120209NatMtgSltmnt.asp
www.propublica.org/special/where-are-the-foreclosure-deal-millions-going  
Article on how to obtain a state-wide foreclosure moratorium can be found at and what YOU can do is on:  
 www.opednews.com/articles/6/State-wide-Foreclosure-Mor-by-Virginia-Simson-120618-544.html 

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Private prison company’s (CCA) growth went hand-in-hand with political influence

Photo: The Comedian, Flickr

Private prison company’s growth went hand-in-hand with political influence

By Jon Collins 

From MN Independent, but can be found here.

http://paper.li/USuncutMN/1314159648?utm_source=subscription&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=paper_sub#!tag-alec

It’s been almost two years since the privately-run prison in Appleton has held prisoners. But in early 2012, the prison’s owner, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), expects to fill Appleton’s Prairie Correctional Facility and another facility in Colorado with 3,256 inmates from California.

In the last ten years, the revenue of CCA, the country’s biggest private prison company, has almost doubled, according to their annual reports. Critics say that CCA’s success, and even the likely reopening of the prison in Appleton, stems from their use of lobbying and campaign donations to push through tougher crime laws and increase detainment of illegal immigrants.

“Prison privatization contracts are designed by policy makers. It’s important for these companies to have a political strategy to increase their market share,” Paul Ashton, author of a recent report on private prisons for the Justice Policy Institute, said in a conference call Wednesday. Private prison companies “game the system,” he said, by pushing to increase market share, which in the private prison business means putting more people in prison.

Political influence generates business gains

For two decades, CCA was a member of a group called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — a nationwide organization made up of corporations and state legislators. At an ALEC meeting in December 2009, where CCA employees were present, according to an original report by Beau Hodai of In These Times and a subsequent story by NPR, the group crafted the model legislation that would later become Arizona’s SB1070 and a host of other similar bills across the country.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

CCA and other private prison company executives saw immigration detainees as a significant new source of revenue, as Hodai reported. Although CCA denied pushing the Arizona bill, and has since given up membership in ALEC, lobbyists from the private prison industry flooded the Arizona State Capitol and donations streamed to the bill’s supporters, ensuring its passage.

Even without Arizona-style laws in place in most states, the number of inmates held in private prisons for federal crimes, including immigration-related crimes, has continued to rise. For federal prisoners with more than a one-year sentence, immigration crimes now rank third behind drug and gun charges. In the last decade, the number of people held in federal private prisons more than doubled, according to U.S. Department of Justice statistics (PDF) from December 2010.

Private prison industry efforts to influence policy at the federal level continue. In 2011, CCA has already employed 35 federal lobbyists, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The bills CCA has lobbied on this year include a number of appropriations related to Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detentions, which made up 12 percent of the company’s revenue last year, according to CCA’s 2010 annual report.

In last month’s quarterly statement, the company announced a quarterly revenue increase of 5.6 percent, which the company largely attributed to new federal contracts.

CCA didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment, but in other statements they have denied that they try to influence the political process.

Paul Ashton told The Minnesota Independent that many of the legislative policies CCA was close to as a longtime member of ALEC, for instance the “three-strikes-you’re-out” rule, benefit the company’s bottom line.

“In order for a private prison company to make money, there has to be people in prison,” Ashton said. “In order for them to have an increasing share of the market and in order for them to increase their revenue, there have to be more people in their facility, they have to stay their longer, and they have to come back.”

Business booms for CCA in cash-strapped California

In the wake of the Arizona-style bills, the private prison industry hasn’t gotten complacent. State contracts like the one expected between California and CCA to house prisoners in the Appleton facility, account for about half of CCA’s steadily growing business, with California making up about a quarter of that.

Source: Justice Policy Institute

California, which will provide the 3,256 inmates that will likely fill Minnesota and Colorado prisons, is another state that has been targeted by the private prison industry. (The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has announced its intent to award the contract, but a spokesman is unsure when it will be awarded due to a statewide prison reorganization happening now; the company is confident the award’s on track, according to a recentquarterly filing.)

Between 2003-2010, CCA’s PAC gave more than half a million dollars to California political campaigns, according to the Justice Policy Institute report, with the vast majority coming to 75 separate candidates between 2008 and 2010, according to data compiled by the National Institute on Money in State Politics.

CCA’s California investment looks to have paid off. CCA ”continued to receive additional inmates from the state of California throughout 2009 and 2010 as they have turned to the private sector to help alleviate their overcrowded correctional system,” according to CCA’s 2010 annual report.

In 2008, California accounted for 6 percent of the company’s total revenue. By 2010, the state accounted for 13 percent of the company’s revenue, or $214 million (although full contract costs to the state are reported to be more than $700 million).

Similar attempts at prison privatizations are occurring in Florida, where CCA employed an army of 17 lobbyists and donated $438,494 to state political campaigns between 2003-2011, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. Industry rivals Geo Group and a subsidiary donated $822,415 in just the 2010 election cycle, with large chunks of cash going to the Republican Party of Florida, although the industry plays both sides of the aisle.

Steve Owen, CCA’s director of marketing and communications, told our sister site, The Florida Independent last year that opposition to private prisons was usually stirred up by labor unions or ideology.

“Given tightening budgets and limited resources during these challenging economic times, legislators and other officials are increasingly turning to correctional partnerships, enabling them to protect critical priorities like education and health care while delivering safe, quality correctional and rehabilitation services,” Owen said.

A recent study (PDF) by the Arizona Department of Corrections found that private prisons don’t really save states money, as the New York Times reported.

Because of lobbying reporting, it’s also most difficult to track the industry’s lobbying expenditures at the state level.

“They can be a lot more influential on the state level than they can on the federal level, because campaign contributions mean a lot more at the state level than at the federal level,” Ashton said. “Federal candidates tend to bring in money anyway, whereas CCA or GEO [a rival company] giving $25,000 to the Republican Party in Florida can have a huge impact on how the parties spend money on their candidates, as a result it gives a closer tie to the industry.”

One thousand seven hundred fifty miles from L.A. to Appleton

CCA and other private prison companies are doing very well. In 2010, CCA saw total revenue of $1.67 billion, according to CCA’s annual report. But there is a human cost to the industry too.

Amy Gottlieb of the American Friends Service Committee told the Minnesota Independent that prisoners transferred to other states often face both emotional and legal hurdles.

“Ultimately, we have thousands and thousands and thousands of people around the country who are being locked up, held away from their families, in the immigration context are often unrepresented by council,” Gottlieb said. “People are profiting off of that.”

According to CCA’s website, one of the benefits of out-of-state inmate management is that the company will “[a]dhere to state-specific policies and procedures, as well as hundreds of standards set by the American Correctional Association and our company.”

But the fact that prisoners, including detained immigrants in some federal facilities, are being held in the less accountable private facilities is of concern to advocates like Gottlieb.

“We have seen over and over again that the private prison lobby is extremely powerful and they have deep connections to a lot of politicians and get a lot of federal contracts,” Gottlieb said. “That creates very serious concerns when what we are really talking about here are human rights and human rights violations.”

(Yana Kunichoff also contributed to this report.)

by Briana Bierschbach
Published: May 16,2011
Time posted: 10:20 am
Tags: 2012-2013 budget, Amy Koch, Kurt Zellers, Mark Dayton, Taxes

House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch (staff photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher

With just a week left before the Minnesota Legislature is constitutionally required to adjourn, Republican leaders are ramping up discussions with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, but say they aren’t backing down from their promise to not raise taxes to solve the state’s $5 billion budget deficit.
GOP House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch were in the governor’s office

Minnesota Change Pays Visit to May 7th Tax Party >< video, Billionaires4Cuts

Adam Miller
We Are Change Minnesota
May 9th, 2011

It was a beautiful Saturday morning as conservatives all over the state of Minnesota gathered for what I call, “The Great American Festival of Ignorance”.

Angry white men abound as calls for lower taxes and the end to Obama-Care were heard for blocks. Yes folks, they’re white, they’re angry and they haven’t the slightest idea why they’re really there!

The insanity of the “Great Muslim Conspiracy” was interrupted only briefly by the calls from a couple groups present who advocated principles like sound money, an audit of the Federal Reserve and the avoidance of complex foreign entanglements. The aforementioned principles that have their roots in Jeffersonian logic couldn’t survive in this environment.

These calls for legislative sanity, unfortunately, were overshadowed by most of the speaker’s pursuit of the war agenda. Apart from the Ron Paul supporters, it seemed the only thing anyone had interest in was taxes and the Muslim/liberal conspiracy.

It seems the rest of the rally consisted of calls by GOP supporters to empty the pool of mounting debt via Dixie cup as opposed to septic pump. Yes it’s true that most present at the rally supported deficit reductions. I’ve never seen such a group so opposed to subsidies. For a moment it was encouraging until we heard the typical calls for increased interventionism in foreign affairs at the expense of social programs domestically, along with the usual calls to ban gay marriage which of course would lead to nothing short of anarchy in the streets!

So, myself and my partner in C.H.A.N.G.E. Sean Wright, hit the ground running in front of the Minnesota State Capitol, asking the attendees about the real issues (or at least something more ‘real’ than gay marriage or Al CIA-duh). We figured we’d keep it simple by asking them questions associated with the Federal Reserve and monetary policy, with little deviance from that topic. The following video covers the events of that day. I hope we all learn something. At very least, I hope we’re not all dumber for having watched it.

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State VA chief: Budget cuts by GOP would hurt veterans

• Article by: RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER , Star Tribune
• Updated: May 5, 2011 - 11:18 PM

Republican committee chairman in the House called Shellito's analysis "a complete overreaction."

Republican budget cuts could trigger the closure of at least one veterans' home, higher burial fees for veterans' families and elimination of the Bronze Star grave marker program, according to state Veterans Affairs Commissioner Larry Shellito.

Shellito, who led the state National Guard under former Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, said the budget as it stands would result in layoffs and other cuts, even though Republicans had pledged to protect veterans from spending reductions. "I'm very concerned," Shellito said.

Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, the House State Government Finance chair, said the administration's estimates are a "worse, worse, worse case scenario." He called Shellito's analysis "a complete overreaction."

Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca, Lanning's counterpart in the Senate, was not available for comment, despite repeated requests.

Although rhetoric at the Capitol has heated up as the budget process grinds toward a May 23 adjournment, Shellito said his projections are not part of that fight. "I don't play games," said Shellito, a major general in the Guard. "It's really serious."

In a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton on Thursday, Shellito said the budget proposals for his department would result in layoffs for more than 100 employees.

The Military Affairs Department, which is separate from Veterans Affairs, said legislative budgets could leave too little money to properly maintain state-owned National Guard armories and the House budget bill could "jeopardize the ability of the state to retain the Army and Air National Guard units currently assigned."

The dire projections came as lawmakers and Dayton remained locked in a battle over numbers. Republicans in the GOP-controlled House and Senate say they will approve no more than $34 billion in state spending for the next two years and their budgets are a reflection of that ceiling. Dayton, a DFLer, says the state needs $37 billion to maintain core services.

Although lawmakers went out of their way to shield military and veterans spending in many areas, they also ordered general cuts to state government and its employees. In their budget measures, legislators did not exempt veterans spending from those across-the-board cuts.

According to the administration, the House and Senate budget measures would slash spending by at least 9 percent. The House bill would go further, the Dayton officials said. It would add about 170 layoffs to their 10 percent cut, according to an analysis.

"This is just one example of the serious consequences of the cuts being proposed by the Legislature," said Andrea Mokros, Dayton's deputy chief of staff. "It is a real example of what Minnesotans should expect under the current budget proposal."

Lanning said that while his budget bill would require staff and spending reductions, the Dayton administration could control where those reductions are made. It could, he suggested, spare veterans affairs from deep cuts if it wished.

Rachel E. Stassen-Berger Twitter: @rachelsb

ALEC's Cheeseburger Legislation

MNDem999 

(If you don't know what ALEC is and what it does, please read the links at the end of this entry.)
During lunch when I was reading the StarTrib online – I saw a reference to the Minnesota “Cheeseburger Bill”.  I had to go take a look at the article and then had to read the legislation and I said to myself “That’s gotta be ALEC Model Legislation!”
So when I got home I started doing research.
On 2/23/11 there is a posting on the Huffington Post that says
"Okay, you can still blame Ronald McDonald if you're overweight. But it's going to be harder to take him to court. At least in Minnesota, where a House committee has just ok'd the Cheeseburger Bill -- the first such statute in the nation."
That’s not exactly true.

THE US House and Senate have been trying to pass this legislation for the past five years.
Being the good ALEC members that they are the following states have passed or are trying to pass this ALEC legislation.

This type of legislation has become law with strong bipartisan support in 21 states Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Why do I think it’s ALEC Model Legislation?
Well – there’s this clip from the Inside Alec Magazine in June 2007

Civil Justice Reform Faces Hurdles in Oklahoma The civil justice reform battle suffered a major blow on April 28, when Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry vetoed Senate Bill 507, a comprehensive tort-reform package. The legislation would have been one of the most significant reform efforts to date. SB 507 contained many of ALEC’s model reforms including the Appeal Bond Waiver Act, the Joint and Several Liability Reform Act, the Quality Education Teacher and Principal Protection Act, the Commonsense Consumption Act, the Volunteer Immunity and Charitable Organization Liability Limit Act, the Non-economic Damages Awards Act, the Punitive Damages Standards Act, the Class Action Improvements Act, and several others.

The important parts are bolded for easy reference.
Then there’s this

Here’s Colorado’s 2004 ALEC “Model Legislation”  “The Commonsense Consumption Act”

Here’s Wyoming’s ALEC “Model Legislation  in 2005 “Commonsense Consumption Act”.

Here’s Minnesota’s 2011“Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act”

Note that the ALEC Model Legislation has a new name now –
BUT the language is almost exactly the same – the sentiment is exactly the same.

"Minnesota state Rep. Dean Urdahl(R-Grove City) may finally see passage of his 7-year-old baby the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act,"

Seven years..... that makes the timing about right.
In the 2002 Summer / Fall edition of the ALEC Policy Forum it states

“If fast food chains or manufacturers of fatty food can be subject to the same vilification [as cigarettes], it is possible that potential juror attitudes will change. If they do, the fast food industry and those who produce fatty foods could be at significant risk.”

In a nutshell what is The Commonsense Consumption Act/Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act?

The Act clarifies that food suppliers are not liable for health conditions that flow from long-term food consumption to prohibit civil action against food providers for a person's obesity, weight gain, or health condition related to weight gain that was due to the long-term consumption of food.
The bill denies liabilityfor obesity claims unless the plaintiff can prove that the obesity is directly caused by the willful misrepresentation of the products served,
to prohibit claims against fast food companies based on a consumer’s obesity or obesity related illnesses.

What really, really  matters here to me  -  is this legislation was written at an ALEC meeting – where the private sector meets with our state legislators to write and approve legislation.
Straight from the ALEC “Model Legislation” vault to the Minnesota State Legislature – whether we wanted it or not!  Legislation written with the help of corporations, for corporations.
Oh, by the way - I wonder what types of companies would want this legislation?
Maybe one these companies, companies that have been linked with ALEC?
  McDonalds
  Wendy's International
  MillerCoors
  CocaCola
  FritoLay
  Hiram Walker and Sons
  Kraft Foods
  National Resturant Association
  National Softdrink Association
  Outback Steakhouse
  Sara Lee Corporation
  Seagram and Sons

If you don’t know what ALEC is – please read this, or this, or this, or this.

SEE in particular
http://bit.ly/h9toet  
Prof. Cronan's tutorial

 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/29/971593/-Breaking!!-First-ever-demonstration-against-an-ALEC-event-in-Cincinnati

MN-CCD: Current Legislative Proposals Limit Access to Services for Minnesotans with Disabilities

MN-CCD: Current Legislative Proposals Limit Access to Services for Minnesotans with Disabilities

Current Legislative Proposals Limit Access to Services for Minnesotans with Disabilities

April, 2011

*This document will be updated periodically as proposals evolve and change*

Limited Access to Health and Long-term Care Services

The House and Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bills both cut disability waiver programs. The House proposes to freeze spending as of March 2010, requires the same number of people to be served as were enrolled at that time, and requires DHS to reduce services provided and freeze enrollment before reducing provider rates to achieve the savings specified. The House also proposes to cap enrollment at the end of March 2010 for the DD, CADI, and TBI waivers. No one currently receiving services is removed, reduction is achieved through attrition. The Senate proposes to freeze enrollment at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2011 for the DD, CADI, and TBI waivers.

The House Health and Human Services Omnibus bill repeals funding set aside for alternatives for those losing personal care assistance (PCA) services. This funding would have provided a minimum level of PCA services to 2,800 Minnesotans with disabilities who will lose access to more comprehensive PCA services this July. Total amount cut: $8,028,000 (Line 780 in HF 927).

The House Health and Human Services Omnibus bill contains a 20% cut in wages for PCAs providing services to relatives. These are cuts in wages that are being used to pay rent and purchase food. In many of these cases, a non- relative PCA provider is simply not an option, whether due to uncompensated miles that a PCA would have to travel in rural areas or because many individuals need PCA assistance off and on throughout a 24-hour period. Total amount cut: $23,774,000 (Line 530 of HF 927).

The House Health and Human Services Omnibus bill contains potential additional cuts to waivered services if other savings don’t materialize. The bill proposes to apply to the federal government for a “Global Waiver (CHOICE)” that could reduce the states’ requirements for serving Minnesotans on Medical Assistance (Medicaid), as well as for a waiver to repeal the early expansion of Medicaid. If these prove not to be viable, Minnesotans with disabilities could see even further cuts to their already tenuous community-based service system. These cuts would be in addition to those already proposed in the bill. Total amount cut: $300,000,000 in rate cuts to service providers.

The Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bill cuts Children and Community Services Act (CCSA) county grants. Some counties use these funds to provide the minimal support needed for an individual with a disability to be able to engage in meaningful daily activities, or for respite services. Total amount cut: $22,000,000 (Line 165 in SF 760).

The Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bill cuts Family Support Grants. These grants are small amounts of funding that families use to prevent out of home placement of their children with disabilities. Total amount cut: $4,131,000 (Line 310 in SF 760).

The Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bill eliminates Medical Assistance coverage of eyeglasses, prosthetics, dentures, and rehabilitation therapies. This cut applies to adults ages 18 and over who are on Medical Assistance. The rehabilitation therapies include speech, occupational, and physical therapy. These and the other services mentioned all help individuals to maintain or reacquire the skills necessary to continue to live as independently in the community as possible. Total amount cut: $12,060,000 (Line 165 in SF 760).

The Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bill cuts mental health services for children and adults. These cuts include reducing adult mental health grants, eliminating children’s mental health screening grants and early intervention services, eliminating school-linked mental health grants, and eliminating metro area adult mental health crisis grants. Total amount cut: $49,378,000.

The House and Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bills repeal the early expansion of Medical Assistance. This will leave 100,000 Minnesotans, many of whom have disabilities, without health insurance or access to health care. As a result, many such persons will delay needed care resulting in more severe medical conditions which will be more difficult and expensive to treat. Such treatment will be uncompensated, putting additional economic strain on our hospitals which will also experience a rate cut as required by the bill. Total amount cut in House: $457,932,000 (Line 798 in HF 927); Total amount cut in Senate: $921,296,000 (Line 787 in SF 760).

Limited Access to Employment Services

The Senate Jobs and Economic Growth and Development Omnibus bill freezes Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) funding at current levels. VR provides counseling and support services funding to help people with disabilities find jobs. VR operates as a federal/state partnership, drawing down $3.71 federal dollars for every $1 of state appropriation. Without an increase in the state match appropriation, $7,644,992 will be returned to the federal government at the end of the current Federal FY. An additional $11,936,100 will be returned in Federal FY 12, and fewer Minnesotans with disabilities will be able to access these services.

The House and Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bills cut the MA-EPD (Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities) program. This is a state program started in 1999 that has allowed people with disabilities to pay a monthly premium to access needed Medicaid services as an incentive to join the workforce. About 7,000 people are now using this option. The House and Senate propose to have these individuals pay more to keep these job supports in place by having their monthly premiums increased by 100 percent in some cases and turning over more of their monthly Social Security checks to the government.

Limited Access to Special Education Services

The House and Senate Education Omnibus bills eliminate the 4.6% growth factor for special education aid and special education excess cost aid, which results in a $286 million dollar cut for FY 12-13.

Limited access to Transportation Services

The House and Senate Transportation Omnibus bills cut funding for public transit budgets, including Metro Mobility. Many people with disabilities can’t drive due to physical or cognitive limitations. Many who could drive can’t afford the expensive vehicle modifications that would make it possible. The Senate cuts general fund spending on transportation by $41 million for FY 12-13, while the House cuts transportation spending by $138 million for FY 12-13.

The Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bill cut special transportation services. These services help individuals with disabilities get to and from their necessary medical appointments, appointments that help them to maintain their health and independence. Total amount cut: $1,529,000 (Line 711 in SF 760).

Click here to take survey

April 27, 2011

MN-CCD: Current Legislative Proposals Limit Access to Services for Minnesotans with Disabilities

Current Legislative Proposals Limit Access to Services for Minnesotans with Disabilities

April, 2011

*This document will be updated periodically as proposals evolve and change*

Limited Access to Health and Long-term Care Services

The House and Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bills both cut disability waiver programs. The House proposes to freeze spending as of March 2010, requires the same number of people to be served as were enrolled at that time, and requires DHS to reduce services provided and freeze enrollment before reducing provider rates to achieve the savings specified. The House also proposes to cap enrollment at the end of March 2010 for the DD, CADI, and TBI waivers. No one currently receiving services is removed, reduction is achieved through attrition. The Senate proposes to freeze enrollment at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2011 for the DD, CADI, and TBI waivers.

The House Health and Human Services Omnibus bill repeals funding set aside for alternatives for those losing personal care assistance (PCA) services. This funding would have provided a minimum level of PCA services to 2,800 Minnesotans with disabilities who will lose access to more comprehensive PCA services this July. Total amount cut: $8,028,000 (Line 780 in HF 927).

The House Health and Human Services Omnibus bill contains a 20% cut in wages for PCAs providing services to relatives. These are cuts in wages that are being used to pay rent and purchase food. In many of these cases, a non- relative PCA provider is simply not an option, whether due to uncompensated miles that a PCA would have to travel in rural areas or because many individuals need PCA assistance off and on throughout a 24-hour period. Total amount cut: $23,774,000 (Line 530 of HF 927).

The House Health and Human Services Omnibus bill contains potential additional cuts to waivered services if other savings don’t materialize. The bill proposes to apply to the federal government for a “Global Waiver (CHOICE)” that could reduce the states’ requirements for serving Minnesotans on Medical Assistance (Medicaid), as well as for a waiver to repeal the early expansion of Medicaid. If these prove not to be viable, Minnesotans with disabilities could see even further cuts to their already tenuous community-based service system. These cuts would be in addition to those already proposed in the bill. Total amount cut: $300,000,000 in rate cuts to service providers.

The Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bill cuts Children and Community Services Act (CCSA) county grants. Some counties use these funds to provide the minimal support needed for an individual with a disability to be able to engage in meaningful daily activities, or for respite services. Total amount cut: $22,000,000 (Line 165 in SF 760).

The Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bill cuts Family Support Grants. These grants are small amounts of funding that families use to prevent out of home placement of their children with disabilities. Total amount cut: $4,131,000 (Line 310 in SF 760).

The Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bill eliminates Medical Assistance coverage of eyeglasses, prosthetics, dentures, and rehabilitation therapies. This cut applies to adults ages 18 and over who are on Medical Assistance. The rehabilitation therapies include speech, occupational, and physical therapy. These and the other services mentioned all help individuals to maintain or reacquire the skills necessary to continue to live as independently in the community as possible. Total amount cut: $12,060,000 (Line 165 in SF 760).

The Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bill cuts mental health services for children and adults. These cuts include reducing adult mental health grants, eliminating children’s mental health screening grants and early intervention services, eliminating school-linked mental health grants, and eliminating metro area adult mental health crisis grants. Total amount cut: $49,378,000.

The House and Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bills repeal the early expansion of Medical Assistance. This will leave 100,000 Minnesotans, many of whom have disabilities, without health insurance or access to health care. As a result, many such persons will delay needed care resulting in more severe medical conditions which will be more difficult and expensive to treat. Such treatment will be uncompensated, putting additional economic strain on our hospitals which will also experience a rate cut as required by the bill. Total amount cut in House: $457,932,000 (Line 798 in HF 927); Total amount cut in Senate: $921,296,000 (Line 787 in SF 760).

Limited Access to Employment Services

The Senate Jobs and Economic Growth and Development Omnibus bill freezes Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) funding at current levels. VR provides counseling and support services funding to help people with disabilities find jobs. VR operates as a federal/state partnership, drawing down $3.71 federal dollars for every $1 of state appropriation. Without an increase in the state match appropriation, $7,644,992 will be returned to the federal government at the end of the current Federal FY. An additional $11,936,100 will be returned in Federal FY 12, and fewer Minnesotans with disabilities will be able to access these services.

The House and Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bills cut the MA-EPD (Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities) program. This is a state program started in 1999 that has allowed people with disabilities to pay a monthly premium to access needed Medicaid services as an incentive to join the workforce. About 7,000 people are now using this option. The House and Senate propose to have these individuals pay more to keep these job supports in place by having their monthly premiums increased by 100 percent in some cases and turning over more of their monthly Social Security checks to the government.

Limited Access to Special Education Services

The House and Senate Education Omnibus bills eliminate the 4.6% growth factor for special education aid and special education excess cost aid, which results in a $286 million dollar cut for FY 12-13.

Limited access to Transportation Services

The House and Senate Transportation Omnibus bills cut funding for public transit budgets, including Metro Mobility. Many people with disabilities can’t drive due to physical or cognitive limitations. Many who could drive can’t afford the expensive vehicle modifications that would make it possible. The Senate cuts general fund spending on transportation by $41 million for FY 12-13, while the House cuts transportation spending by $138 million for FY 12-13.

The Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus bill cut special transportation services. These services help individuals with disabilities get to and from their necessary medical appointments, appointments that help them to maintain their health and independence. Total amount cut: $1,529,000 (Line 711 in SF 760).

Great Austrailian Show about Disability and Societal Prospectives

Public Statement made in Press Conference

Hello, my name is Nichole Villavicencio. I am here in support of the MN Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (MN-CCD). As a Citizen Lobbyist for people with disabilities, I am frustrated by the continued cuts to services for citizens with disabilities. Some of the services I receive through Medical Assistance include Personal Care Attendant services as well as coverage of my eyeglasses and dental services.

Although I am concerned with a number of the proposed cuts to disability services included in current legislation, one cut that will impact me personally is the proposed elimination of coverage of eyeglasses for adults on Medical Assistance included in the Senate Health and Human Services omnibus bill. On average, I get one pair of eyeglasses every year. I have had glasses every year since I was six years old. I am very near sighted and I have a stigmatism. I am on SSI and I struggle to pay the bills that I have now, so without this eyeglasses coverage I wuold not be able to afford a new pair of glasses. Without a proper pair of glasses, I could not drive my wheelchair. Being able to drive my wheelchair allows me to be the active member of my community that I am - working and volunteering are just two examples of what I contribute to my community. Another service that I access is coverage of my dental services. The Senate Health and Human Services omnibus bill also includes a proposal to eliminate coverage of dental services for adults on Medical Assistance. This would prevent me from seeing a dentist, which would eventually create more costly and avoidable dental issues for me.

For myself and the other disability advocates that I work with, these proposed cuts are frightening. I’m tired of the legislature telling me to compromise the quality of my life. The proposed cuts before us will jeopardize not only my freedoms, but also my ability to be a tax-paying contributor. Thank you to all here and I can take further questions after the news conference.



--Nichole L. Villavicencio
http://capablemn.org/

Cell: (507)206-8400

~ Billionaires Thank Legislators ~

~ Billionaires Thank Legislators ~Thanks for keeping our tax rate lower than the middle class (and the poor)

Keeping us at an effective tax rate of 7.7% for the wealthy, compared to 10.3% - 12.5% for the middle class, is an important priority for the Minnesota Legislature.  Our servants - making under $11,000 a year -are paying 22.1%.  Nice!  Millionaires and billionaires make more campaign contributions to politicians and therefore have more influence while enjoying lower taxes. Isn't that just Maaaaarvelous?  Few politicians have the courage to stand up to US, the privileged few.  Aren't we fortunate? Let's keep it that way.

We applaud (clap! clap!) the proposed House cuts to the "service" sector- $411 million from higher education (resulting in $200 million in tuition increases), DNR cuts that will close 10 state parks, $1.6 billion from Health & Human Services (although we think those could have bit a bit deeper). a 15% cut in the State workforce, $22 million in cuts for schools, cuts to mass transit and economic development, also,.  As we say, Minnesota can balance the budget by cutting programs for the elderly, the disabled, both the poor and middle classes - surely, NOT by raising taxes on the wealthy, the uber rich, the privileged and the fortunate few !

CUT!  CUT!  CUT!  CUT! CUT! CUT!  CUT!  CUT!  CUT! CUT!

Government, as we have said repeatedly, is NOT the answer - what we need are corporate jobs.  Let's privatize.  Let's privatize everything!  We applaud the proposal to cut corporate taxes in the hope that corporations might provide a few jobs.  The record profit$ in 2010, helped us top 1% take home nearly 24% of the nation's total income.  And just think, these corporations created more jobs overseas than in then here (1.6 million versus 1 million).  Pretty attractive, don't you think?  Give us a reason to go globe trotting to see our nice new locations.  We so enjoy these working vacations.

Our thanks and best wishes to the Billionaire Koch Brothers and their steadfast Friends at the American Legislative Council, while were at it.

ALEC has legislators at state and federal levels across the country.  They are so very clever, too, secretly sitting at the tables and bars with Koch Industries, WalMart and AT&T executives.  They are working, working, working (not like these "welfare slobs") together to craft and spread legislation that limits the power of unions while cutting back on all that excessive pay and benefits for the public sector.  Please, sweeties ask for and encourage your representatives to join ALEC.  
Nothing like something that furthers our billionaires' agenda and Minnesota is doing a fabulous job at putting our feudalistic legislation forward this session!  They are so very helpful.  We'll get to keep those tax loopholes, subsidies, and publically paid kickbacks to our friends. 

Let's further drive down wages by weakening public sector unions!  It's just great for corporate profit$ and for corporate owners and their minions by taking the time to weaken those pesky public sector unions.  It may not be so great for the US economy, it sure is good for globalISM.  This is an excellent time to be w-e-a-l-t-h-y.  Just think about it our way- "My word!  Isn't it wooonderful that now just 400 people own more wealth than one half of the American public combined." A good friend of ours, a hedge fund "manager" is making up to $20 million a week and he did that by 2009. We say:  "Way to go!"  Corporations are sitting on record profits and evading taxes as never before. Why, our Oil/Gas Cowboy friends showed us how to do "it' -

Oil giant Exxon made $34 billion of net income in 2009, but paid no income taxes in the United States. Chevron (CVX) Of this year's taxes, just $200 million were paid in the U.S." That's a 1% tax rate…

 Wars Improve Corporate Profits

We have our priorities and the continued wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya are  so great for that bottom line.  Alliant Tech, Blackwater/Xe and Halliburton has seen steady growth in profitability with the endless expansion of the War Machine.  Nothing like endless war to stimulate the economy, boost our profit$ and keep people from looking too closely at the ongoing class war here at home.  You, yes YOU, support the war$ for oil and water!  Send DC more of your lovely money - so far MN has given $24 bn in taxes for wars.

Watch our pertinent video on youtube as we are Pleased with Draconion Cuts and Thank Legislators.  bit.ly/g00N95. Contact Women against Military Madness @www.worldwidewamm.org to oppose the Billionaires' agenda.  Billionaires for cuts ask you to help us keep taxes low or nonexistent for billionaires.  We love personal notes and valentines so email us at BillionairesForCuts@gmail.com.  Or contact WAMM at 612-827-5364.  Ta Ta for Now!



~ Billionaires Thank Legislators ~

Thanks for keeping our tax rate lower than the middle class (and the poor)

Keeping us at an effective tax rate of 7.7% for the wealthy, compared to 10.3% - 12.5% for the middle class, is an important priority for the Minnesota Legislature.  Our servants - making under $11,000 - are paying 22.1%.  Nice!  Millionaires and billionaires make more campaign contributions to politicians and therefore have more influence while enjoying lower taxes. Isn't that just Maaaaarvelous?  Few politicians have the courage to stand up to US, the privileged few.  Aren't we fortunate? Let's keep it that way.

We applaud (clap! clap!) the proposed House cuts to the "service" sector- $411 million from higher education (resulting in $200 million in tuition increases), DNR cuts that will close 10 state parks, $1.6 billion from Health & Human Services (although we think those could have bit deeper), a 15% cut in the State workforce, $22 million in cuts for schools, cuts to mass transit and economic development, also,.  As we say, Minnesota can balance the budget by cutting programs for the elderly, the disabled, both the poor and middle classes - surely, NOT by raising taxes on the wealthy, the uber rich, the privileged, the fortunate few !

CUT!  CUT!  CUT!  CUT! CUT! CUT!  CUT!  CUT!  CUT! CUT!

Government, as we have said repeatedly, is NOT the answer - what we need are corporate jobs.  Let's privatize everything!  We applaud the proposal to cut corporate taxes in the hope that corporations might provide a few jobs.  The record profit$ in 2010, helped us top 1% take home nearly 24% of the nation's total income.  And just think, these corporations created more jobs overseas than in then here (1.6 million versus 1 million).  Pretty attractive, don't you think?  Give us a reason to go globe trotting to see our nice new locations.  We so enjoy these working vacations.

Our thanks and best wishes to the Billionaire Koch Brothers and their steadfast Friends at the American Legislative Council, while were at it.

ALEC has legislators at state and federal levels across the country.  They are so very clever, too, secretly sitting at the tables and bars with Koch Industries, WalMart and AT&T executives.  They are working, working, working (not like these "welfare slobs") together to craft and spread legislation that limits the power of unions while cutting back on all that excessive pay and benefits for the public sector.  Please, sweeties - ask for and encourage your representatives to join ALEC. 
Nothing like something that furthers our billionaires' agenda and Minnesota is doing a fabulous job at putting our feudalistic legislation forward this session!  They are so very helpful.  We'll get to keep those tax loopholes, subsidies, and public paid kickbacks to our friends.

Let's further drive down wages by weakening public sector unions!  It's just great for corporate profit$ and for corporate owners and their minions by taking the time to weaken those pesky public sector unions.  It may not be so great for the US economy, it sure is good for globalISM.  This is an excellent time to be w-e-a-l-t-h-y.  Just think about it our way- "My word!  Isn't it wooonderful that now just 400 people own more wealth than one half of the American public combined." A good friend of ours, a hedge fund "manager" is making up to $20 million a week and he did that by 2009. We say:  "Way to go!"  Corporations are sitting on record profits and evading taxes as never before. Why, our Oil/Gas Cowboy friends showed us how to do "it'

Oil giant Exxon made $34 billion of net income in 2009, but paid no income taxes in the United States. Chevron (CVX) Of this year's taxes, just $200 million were paid in the U.S." That's a 1% tax rate…

 Wars Improve Corporate Profits

We have our priorities and the continued wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya are  so great for that bottom line.  Alliant Tech, Blackwater/Xe and Halliburton has seen steady growth in profitability with the endless expansion of the War Machine.  Nothing like endless war to stimulate the economy, boost our profit$ and keep people from looking too closely at the ongoing class war here at home.  You, yes YOU, support the war$ for oil and water!  Send DC more of your lovely money - so far MN has given $24 bn in taxes for wars.

Watch our pertinent video on youtube as we are Pleased with Draconion Cuts and Thank Legislators.  bit.ly/g00N95. Contact Women against Military Madness @www.worldwidewamm.org to oppose the Billionaires' agenda.  Billionaires for cuts ask you to help us keep taxes low or nonexistent for billionaires.  We love personal notes and valentines so email us at BillionairesForCuts@gmail.com.  Or contact WAMM at 612-827-5364.  Ta Ta for Now!

~ Go to a town hall and ask about taxation and cuts: Daily Kos ~

As Republicans are trying to regroup, let's pile on. Go check out the page MoveOn created where members of the Daily Kos community can search for Republican town hall events near them, and RSVP to attend. If there are no events near you yet, conduct a search wider than 30 miles and keep checking back in as the list of events grows.

Events in your area: click on an event name to sign up

Wednesday, 4 May 2011, 10:30 AM

Rep. Ellison staff meeting - 8 miles away Plymouth and Penn North Minneapolis 0 registered participant(s) (12 maximum) 2100 Plymouth Avenue N Mpls, MN 55411 Hosted by Patrick T. Murphy Description We will be meeting with Darlynn Benjamin the new District Manager for Congressman Ellison. We will be thanking the Congessman for voting against abolishing Medicare: We'll be dropping off pill bottles with thank you notes for voting to support Medicare. * We'll deliver a Tax Bill and ask them to sign on with the rest of American Taxpayers to get corporations to pay their fair share.

Republicans facing backlash on Medicare at local town hall events

by Chris Bowers for Daily Kos

permalink

155 Comments

Want to pile on the backlash Republicans are feeling at town hall events for their vote to privatize and slash Medicare? MoveOn has created a page where members of the Daily Kos community can search for Republican town hall events near them, and RSVP to attend. The number of events on the list is growing, so keep checking back to see if there are any near you.


* * * * Remember those town hall events in August of 2009 where tea party activists created extremely hostile atmospheres, scaring the bejesus out of Democratic members of Congress on health reform? Well, after voting to privatize and slash Medicare, there are stirrings of a similar backlash against Republicans in Congress.
Paul Ryan has been booed:
Pennsylvania Freshman Lou Barletta is having a rough time:

At Barletta’s town hall, there were indications that the spending votes could become the defining debate for his first term in Congress. Early in the meeting, a man critical of the tax cuts in Ryan’s plan had to be escorted from the smokey, faded banquet hall by police. A woman interrupted the congressman’s presentation several times to question or criticize him. One retired veteran repeatedly demanded to know why Barletta had voted to cut veteran’s benefits, despite his repeated insistence that he hadn’t taken any such vote.

Charlie Bass in New Hampshire, too:

Rep. Charlie Bass knew he was in for a rough night. The first question out of the gate during his Wednesday town hall in Hillsborough, NH was about his vote for Paul Ryan's budget. And the second. And the third and the fourth, fifth and sixth questions.

And Bob Dold in Illinois:

But Dold couldn’t even get to the end of the presentation before audience members began peppering him with questions about the Ryan budget, named after House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin. It began with audience members telling Dold they don’t believe chopping 10 percentage points off the highest corporate tax rate will create jobs. A handful of people in the audience identified themselves as business owners and accountants who said their effective corporate income tax rate is already lower than the lowest rates proposed in the Ryan plan. They pointed to companies such as GE that pay almost no taxes despite billions in profits as evidence.

In Wisconsin, freshman Sean Duffy got so flustered he told dissenters they could have their own town hall:

CONSTITUENT: This is about fraud and abuse. You see these things happen all over the country. They’re talking about money into Medicare fraud enforcement. 60 minutes did a huge story, billions into Medicare fraud annually. DUFFY: Let me tell you what. When you have your town hall you can stand up and give your presentation.

Here's the video of Duffy:
Overall, House Republicans are spooked enough that they are regrouping to try and come up with new strategies tomorrow:

Anxiety is rising among some Republicans over the party’s embrace of a plan to overhaul Medicare, with GOP lawmakers already starting to face tough questions on the issue at town hall meetings back in their districts. House leaders have scheduled a Tuesday conference call in which members are expected in part to discuss strategies for defending the vote they took this month on a budget that would transform the popular entitlement program as part of a plan to cut trillions in federal spending.

As Republicans are trying to regroup, let's pile on. Go check out the page MoveOn created where members of the Daily Kos community can search for Republican town hall events near them, and RSVP to attend. If there are no events near you yet, conduct a search wider than 30 miles and keep checking back in as the list of events grows.

Dayton and DFL should compromise with MNGOP, but not on taxes

jeff-rosenberg

Dayton and DFL should compromise with MNGOP, but not on taxes

As the legislative session moves toward its conclusion, budget negotiations are just around the corner. We all know that compromises will need to be made, but the DFL must not compromise on its principles, and that means taking certain things off the table.
There’s room to compromise on the budget, but not on taxes. Dayton and the DFL should take off the table any budget that does not include tax increases on the richest Minnesotans. Any budget with no new revenues is simply a non-starter and should not even be considered.
After all, Mark Dayton was elected on a platform of raising taxes on the rich, and that’s what Minnesotans expect him to do. Dayton can’t keep his campaign promise if he compromises on taxes, so he should reject any and every GOP offer that does not accept his plan to get the rich to pay their fair share.
(MNGOP apologists, do you think this sounds idiotic? Because “there’s room to compromise, but not on taxes” is exactly what Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said in an interview with MPR yesterday.)


MNPublius

Minnesota to Test for Possible Driver’s Mileage Tax

ibtimes.com

Minnesota is looking for people to test technology that could one day be used to collect fees based on driving mileage.

“This research will provide important feedback from motorists about the effectiveness of using technology in a car or truck to gather mileage information,” said Cory Johnson, project manager for the Minnesota Department of Transportation in a statement on Monday.

The department says it anticipates a fee on road use could same day be necessary as people switch to more fuel efficient cars and electric vehicles, reducing tax revenue from gasoline.

“We are researching alternative financing methods today that could be used 10 or 20 years from now when the number of fuel efficient and hybrid cars increase and no longer produce enough revenue from a gas tax to build and repair roads,” he said.

The Department said if implemented, motorists would pay a fee based on miles driven, rather than how much gasoline the vehicle uses, which is now the case in the state.

The department is seeking 500 people for the Minnesota Road Fee Test, which is set to start in July. Volunteers should be from the counties of Hennepin or Wright. They will be given a small stipend for their time, along with smart phones with a GPS application to allow them to submit information. The research will end by December 2012.

Participants needed will be a mix of rural and metro area travelers.