Lakeville’s Thompson Proposes Bill to Reduce Senate, House Seats in Minnesota’s Legislature

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If Lakeville’s state senator has his way, Minnesota’s house and senate would be smaller in 2012.

State Sen. Dave Thompson (R-District 36) of Lakeville, introduced a bill on Feb. 24 that would shrink Minnesota’s House of Representatives from 134 to 128 members, and would reduce the number of state senators from 67 to 64 members.

The aim of the bill, SF0419, is to make the number of state senators and representatives divisible by the “number of representatives in Congress apportioned to the state,” the bill says. Minnesota currently has eight congressional seats, with Lakeville being represented by Congressman John Kline (R-Lakeville), in Minnesota’s second district.

The bill also prohibits the crossing of congressional district boundaries in the formation of senate districts when the legislature begins its redistricting in 2012.

The bill was referred to the State Government Innovation and Veterans committee.

Thompson also introduced a bill on Feb. 24 that makes drastic changes to labor and employment provisions for construction projects that are at least 50 percent funded by the state.

The bill, SF0454, eliminates language that says workers can work no more than eight hours a day and 40 hours per week. The bill also eliminates language that defines hourly basic and prevailing wage rates and brings them in line with federal guidelines.

Thompson also introduced SF0455 on Feb. 24, a bill that modifies the membership requirements for members of the Permanent School Fund Advisory Committee.

The Permanent School Fund Advisory Committee advises the Department of Natural Resources on the management of permanent school fund land, which is held in trust for the school districts of the state.

The bill requires the committee include more members. It currently includes a number of house and senate members, including the chairs of the senate and house education committees, as well as a school superintendents from metro and suburban school districts. In the bill, “one house member of the minority party appointed by the minority leader, and one senator of the minority party appointed pursuant to the rules of the senate” would be added to the committee. In addition, “one person with expertise on school finance matters” would be added as well.

Finally, last week Thompson introduced SF0473, which clarifies Funeral goods sale license requirements. While a license is required to maintain, manage, or operate a funeral home, no license is needed to sell “caskets, urns, or other funeral goods,” the bill states.

In the house, work continued on “Hannah’s Law,” a bill (HF0235) authored by State Rep. Mary Liz Holberg (R-District 36A), of Lakeville, that would require CPR training for all teachers and assistant teachers at child care centers. The proposal honors Hannah Kozitza, who died after choking on a grape while at a day care facility.

State Rep. Pat Garofalo (R-District 36B), of Farmington, didn’t author any legislation this week.