By Amanda Varley, Citizens League Member

Restorative Justice and Education Journalism were the topics at April's EDTalks, a series aimed at community engagement around public education. Similar to TEDTalks, the series brings together compelling speakers to discuss new ideas related to education in Minnesota.

Former Minnesota Viking Oscar Reed has dedicated the last 35 years of his life to young people as a youth advocate. He is the co-founder of The Link, Inc. and a former Minneapolis Youth Programs Director. Oscar started off the event by talking about his work with restorative justice, or when justice focuses on the needs of the victims, offenders and the community opposed to purely a punitive approach. He has had great success in his current role in Saint Louis Park Schools, because of restorative practices suspensions and conflicts have been reduced in the district. To learn more about Oscar's work and restorative justice, see his talk here.

Beth Hawkins, who writes Learning Curve, a blog about education for MinnPost, rounded out the evening. Beth shared her journey on why she became so passionate about education journalism, highlighting a startling picture of inequality within the schools in the Twin Cities. Beth's story brings to light where Minnesota has a long way to go to best serve all of our children, but also where we should be hopeful of our youth and educators. Video of Beth's talk can be seen here.

Stay tuned for more information on the next EDTalks in July and a very special announcement for our event in the fall.

The series is a collaboration of the Citizens League, AchieveMpls, Young Education Professionals - Twin Cities, DRIVE Emerging Leaders and Twin Cities Public Television. A special thank you to Honey for donating the space and Jay Gabler of the Twin Cities Daily Planet for being the night's emcee.

A very special thank you to the family of former Citizens League Executive Director Verne C. Johnson for providing support for EDTalks in 2013. Their foundation supports activities in the areas of education, youth and mentorship. Verne's children were impressed by the initiative of the Citizens League's Emerging Leaders and wished to honor their father's commitment to the Citizens League over his long life.

kspoden@citizensleague.org; 612-741-9039

Please welcome our summer policy and communications intern, Katie Spoden!

This summer, Katie looks forward to assisting with Citizens League's work on electrical energy and higher education, as well as gaining valuable experience in policy development and communication.

Katie is a senior at the College of Saint Benedict/St. John's University in Collegeville. She is in the process of earning her BA in Political Science and Environmental Studies. Katie spent last summer interning with an environmental think tank in Washington, D.C. where she worked in the Food and Agriculture division. After graduation Katie hopes to volunteer internationally and pursue a career in environmental policy.

What I enjoy when I'm not working: Outside of work I enjoy hiking and becoming a better runner, catching up on my favorite T.V. shows, and crafting cards and assorted Pinterest finds. This summer I hope to explore more of the Twin Cities' farmer's markets and craft fairs and take a road trip to D.C.

Most people don't know that: I love to travel but am prone to accidents while abroad; to name a few, I have been stung by a sting ray in Mexico, I assisted with an emergency evacuation down a mountain in the rain forests of Guatemala, and I lost my safety harness while rock climbing in the Boundary Waters.

• Allow students to pay in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities if they meet certain requirements, regardless of their immigration status.
• Make state higher education aid available to all students who meet residency requirements, regardless of immigration status.
• Allow public institutions (MnSCU and the University of Minnesota) to use private funding as financial aid for all students, regardless of immigration status.
• Create a Minnesota financial aid application specifically for these Minnesota students that delinks federal and state financial aids.

The Citizens League is proud to announce that we're teaming up again with the City of Edina to host three "Financing the Future" budget sessions to help residents determine priorities for the city's 2014-2015 budget.

"Having conversations with residents is an important part of the City's budget process and provides the City Council with insight about the community's priorities. These events are meant to be a fun, interactive opportunity for residents to weigh in on the future of our community," said City Manager Scott Neal.

Citizens League staff have worked with Edina officials to craft budget workshops based on the Citizens League's innovative Common Cents community conversations, which give Minnesotans a voice in the state's recent tax and budget debate by asking them to prioritize and value state taxes and government services.

The purpose of the Edina budget workshops will be to give residents an opportunity to learn about the city's budget while providing feedback on topics such as financing capital improvement needs and economic development support for private business. Each event will be paired with an activity that highlights city services.

The sessions are:

• June 11 - Edina Bingo: 2-4 p.m. in the Fireside Room of the Edina Senior Center, 5280 Grandview Square. Play bingo and earn prizes while providing input.
• June 13 - Wine Tasting: 6-8 p.m. in the Valliere Room at Braemar Golf Course, 6364 John Harris Drive. Residents 21+ can sample wines available at Edina Liquor.
• June 19 - Family-Friendly Night: 6-8 p.m. at the Edina Senior Center in the Fireside and Grandview rooms. Bring the family to explore Parks & Recreation activities.

Residents unable to participate are encouraged to share their views by commenting at www.SpeakUpEdina.org, sending an email to mail@EdinaMN.gov, or writing to City Hall at 4801 W. 50th St. Edina, MN 55424.

The workshops are rooted in the Citizens League's civic policy making approach, which believes that all people and organizations affected by a problem or policy decision must be involved in defining and addressing the issue in order to achieve solutions that advance the common good.

More information on the events is available from the city by contacting Assistant City Manager Karen Kurt at 952-826-0415.

Today, the Higher Education Conference Committee unanimously amended SF723 (MN Prosperity/Dream Act) into the Higher Education Omnibus bill! The Omnibus bill now heads to the Senate and House Floors for a vote. Governor Mark Dayton is expected to sign the bill once it passes.

Make sure to call your state representative and senator and ask them to vote for the Higher Education Omnibus bill, including the Prosperity/Dream Act. You can find who represents you here.

The Senate and House votes are the last step for the Prosperity Act to become law when the Governor signs the Higher Education Omnibus bill.

Here is a list of public supporters.

Here's (pdf) a letter we sent to legislators earlier in support of the MN Prosperity/Dream Act.

Questions? Call 651-289-1073 or email Annie Levenson-Falk at alevensonfalk@citizensleague.org or Juve Meza at jmeza@citizensleague.org

Our Spring Minnesota Journal will be headed to print soon, and we're astonished by the response we got to our first-ever Journal writing contest!

So we've decided to start another submission contest for this next edition. The theme of our next edition is New definitions of leadership: Making change in an era of diffuse power - and we'd like to hear what you think about the subject.

Just write a Journal article (800 words or more), email it to Journal editor Larry Schumacher at lschumacher@citizensleague.org and we'll include the best ones in the summer edition of the Journal, with you as the published author.

Submissions are due by June 7, and should include a one-paragraph bio and a high-resolution head-shot photo of yourself. Graphics (photo illustrations, charts, or otherwise) are also welcome.

Don't want to write a full essay? We'll take tweets, questions, paragraphs or even point us to something published elsewhere that we can use in the Journal. Just use the #MNJournal hashtag on Twitter or let us know that it's for this contest when you send it to us.

More info available by reading our Prospective writers guidelines (pdf).

Exciting news out of the Legislature! The omnibus Health and Human Services finance bill (pdf) being worked up in conference committee includes language enabling us to launch a Family Prosperity Demonstration (formerly Family Independence Demonstration) later this year!

This is a key part of the next phase of our Pathways to Prosperity project, which seeks to establish an approach to poverty reduction that supports prosperity rather than reacting to poverty.

The language in the bill (on Pages 146 & 147 of SF 1034, second engrossment) directs the commissioners of the Department of Human Services and the Minnesota Housing Finance Authority not to count conditional cash transfers as earnings or assets for public assistance programs.

This legislation also serves a broader purpose. By defining conditional cash transfers in statute and proposing a new approach to public assistance policy that the Citizens League will report to the Legislature on in 2016, we have provided one stepping stone for the larger effort in Minnesota and the nation to support asset development in low-income communities.

If approved, groups of families will learn to develop their own community networks to increase their financial stability, rather than use all their capacity in navigating the current welfare system in order to prove their neediness. They will be supported with small cash payments (conditional cash transfers) and will not be penalized for developing this new approach to public assistance policy in Minnesota.

We want to thank Rep. Laurie Halverson (DFL-Eagan) and Sen. Greg Clausen (DFL-Apple Valley) for sponsoring this bill and committee chairs Sen. Tony Lourey (DFL-Kerrick) and Rep. Thomas Huntley (DFL-Duluth) for their support.

We also want to thank Ron Elwood from the Legal Services Advocacy Project, who has connected our work to the larger asset-building movement in Minnesota and provided vital assistance.

We'd also like to thank the Islamic Civic Society of America for their leadership and partnership in establishing the Family Prosperity Civic Organizing Agency that will govern the Family Prosperity Demonstrations.

Now, let's get the bill passed and get to work!

Citizens League Project Director Bob DeBoer wrote the following commentary for the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Tax provisions currently under consideration in the Minnesota Legislature misuse the Twin Cities' regional tax base sharing pool - often referred to as Fiscal Disparities - to subsidize expansion of the Mall of America.

In a year where major tax changes are underway, some might consider this subsidy "small potatoes," but how legislators set policy regarding a $390 million pool of tax base is never small potatoes, particularly when that policy sets bad precedent or furthers misunderstanding of the purpose of fiscal disparities.

The fiscal disparities pool is designed to help strengthen the region through the sharing of commercial-industrial tax base. Fiscal disparities:

• Reduces wide disparities in tax base wealth between communities.
• Reduces the need to compete for the economic development to expand commercial-industrial tax base.
• Encourages amenities that don't provide tax base for local governments, but that everyone in the region needs and enjoys, such as parks, universities, health care facilities, etc.

In a nutshell, the proposed Mall of America subsidy:

• Diverts anywhere from $6-9 million per year in tax base from the regional pool for 20 years.
• Uses fiscal disparities as a revenue source to subsidize private economic development, which encourages competition for tax base, the opposite of its purpose.
• Forces similar metro area businesses to pay more in property taxes to subsidize their competition.
• Does not require basic accountability and risk to the developer that other developers must face.

Although often referred to as complicated, the fiscal disparities equation is quite simple: 40 percent of the growth in commercial-industrial tax base since 1971 is contributed to a tax base pool; the pool is then distributed based on how far above or below the regional average a community is, measured by the amount of tax base per person. That's it.

Fiscal disparities supports the health of the region by supporting communities as they develop AND as they decline. Communities that are mature, stable and economically robust are generally the net contributors because they are the regional "winners," but if any of them were to suffer significant decline, fiscal disparities would be there to soften the blow.

The proposed MOA expansion would add retail, office and hotel property. From a retail perspective, phase I of Mall of America did attract shoppers who would not otherwise come to the region, but will phase II be anything more than a minor increase in attraction from outside the region while it takes another bite from competitors in the region? That has not been a question for public debate.

What about office space? According to the Minnesota Chapter of NAIOP, the commercial real estate development association, office vacancy rates were running at 18.3 percent in the Twin Cities as of November 2012. Office vacancy rates have run between 15 and 20 percent for the last decade, however the metro-wide office vacancy rate was as low as 6.9 percent in 1997, so an 18.3 percent vacancy rate would seem to be less than optimum for a healthy region.

In addition, office absorption rates for the region have just turned positive in 2011-2012 after showing a net loss in office occupancy from 2008-2010. After five years in a row of net losses, the St. Paul Central Business District finally returned to a positive absorption rate in 2012. The word used by those who understand this market is "fragile."

Into this environment, legislators are proposing to subsidize one competitor in a way that removes much of the risk for that developer and does not require the accountability to the public that should come with such a large subsidy.

What kind of policy would make office owners, who may already have challenges with vacancy, subsidize a competitor that might actually take one of their existing tenants? And what kind of policy would do that with a mechanism that is designed to strengthen a region?

From the Citizens League perspective the answer is a bad policy. To use the fiscal disparities pool in any way to fund programs or support economic development, public or private, is a misuse of the pool. To raise taxes on existing businesses to directly fund their competition goes beyond misuse to abuse, yet that is exactly what the proposed Mall of America subsidy would do.

• 25 percent purchased their first home.
• 34 percent capitalized a small business.
• 41 percent made post-secondary education on investments.

Now is the time to stop metro area businesses from having to subsidize their competition in a scheme that has little accountability for taxpayers, but we need your help.

Watch this KARE 11 News segment: "Taxpayers asked to subsidize Mall of America expansion"

Read this Pioneer Press story: "Mall of America tax breaks closer to reality - a price some don't want to pay"

Then contact Tax Conference Committee members (especially if you live in their district) and Gov. Mark Dayton to let them know that Fiscal Disparities plays an important role in the economic health of the Twin Cities, and should not be changed to benefit a few communities or businesses.

Contact Gov. Mark Dayton.

Here's the conference committee list:

Senate

• Sen. Rod Skoe (DFL-Clearbrook): (651) 296-4196 sen.rod.skoe@senate.mn
  
• Sen. Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope): (651) 296-2889 Email form
  
• Sen. Dave Senjem (R-Rochester): (651) 296-3903 sen.dave.senjem@senate.mn
  
• Sen. Lyle Koenen (DFL-Clara City): (651) 296-5094 sen.lyle.koenen@senate.mn
  
• Sen. Kari Dziedzic (DFL-Minneapolis): (651) 296-7809 Email form

House

• Rep. Ann Lenczewski (DFL-Bloomington): (651) 296-4218 rep.ann.lenczewski@house.mn
  
• Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis): (651) 296-0173 rep.jim.davnie@house.mn
  
• Rep. Kim Norton (DFL-Rochester): (651) 296-9249 rep.kim.norton@house.mn
  
• Rep. Tom Anzelc (DFL-Balsam Township): (651) 296-4936 rep.tom.anzelc@house.mn
  
• Rep. John Benson (DFL-Minnetonka): (651) 296-9934 rep.john.benson@house.mn

Need a little more background? Check out this handy explainer (pdf) from NAIOP and the Citizens League.

Watch this press-conference/Ve esta conferencia de prensa:

Now we need your help to make sure the Higher Education Conference Committee includes it in the Higher Education Omnibus bill. We have only days to make sure this happens - end of session is May 20.

Please take a moment to contact these members to stay united and include the Prosperity Act in the higher ed omnibus bill:

House:

• Chairman Gene Pelowski (DFL-Winona) - 651-296-8637 rep.gene.pelowski@house.mn
  
• Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) - 651-296-7026 rep.ryan.winkler@house.mn
  
• Paul Rosenthal (DFL- Edina) - 651-296-7803 rep.paul.rosenthal@house.mn
  
• Zachary Dorholt (DFL-St. Cloud) - 651-296-6612 or 800-920-5884 rep.zachary.dorholt@house.mn
  
• Bud Nornes (R-Fergus Falls) - 651-296-4946 or 800-336-8017 rep.bud.nornes@house.mn
  

Senate:

• Chairwoman Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) - (651) 296-4314 sen.terri.bonoff@senate.mn
  
• Greg Clausen (DFL-Apple Valley) - (651) 296-4120 sen.greg.clausen@senate.mn
  
• Jeremy Miller (R-Winona) - (651) 296-5649 sen.jeremy.miller@senate.mn
  
• Sandy Pappas (DFL-St. Paul) - (651) 296-1802 (Author of bill)
  
• Kent Eken (DFL-Twin Valley) - (651) 296-3205 sen.kent.eken@senate.mn

Governor Mark Dayton has indicated his support.

We will update you when the Conference Committee is due to meet.

If you have any questions, contact us at 651-289-1073 or jmeza@citizensleague.org.

We're excited to announce the arrival this week of our new Office and Membership Assistant, Jacob Taintor!

Jacob joined the Citizens League in April 2013 to support the functions of Membership, Development, and the Executive Director. While gaining experience working with several nonprofit organizations and associations around the state and country, he found his niche in supporting and gaining a deeper understanding of operations management and administration in a nonprofit setting.

Prior to joining the Citizens League, Jacob provided operational management and guidance to professional associations such as the Minnesota Magazine and Publishing Association, Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association and the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society. He began his career in the nonprofit world as an intern at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and the Healthy Legacy Coalition.

Jacob graduated in 2006 from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities with a B.A. in Communication Studies.

What I enjoy when I'm not working: Bicycling around the Twin Cities, tackling home improvement projects, creative writing, engaging in the improvement of my Longfellow neighborhood, and enjoying craft beer.

Most people don't know that: I had a very short stint as an improv comic (Now you all know).

Listen to Executive Director Sean Kershaw talk Thursday morning about Senate passage of the Minnesota Prosperity Act on KBEM FM.

(SAINT PAUL) - Wednesday's Senate vote to pass the Minnesota Prosperity Act is a significant step forward in an effort to secure a Minnesota future for all Minnesota's students, Citizens League Executive Director Sean Kershaw said.

The bipartisan Senate vote sets the stage for SF 723/HF 875 to be included in the omnibus Higher Education Finance bill that should soon be headed to conference committee.

This bill would qualify all Minnesota high school graduates for in-state tuition and financial aid regardless of immigration status. It is important for keeping Minnesota an equitable and economically robust state.

"By providing students who are already here, who have successfully completed high school, and who want to go on to higher education, with access to in-state tuition and financial aid like all other Minnesota high school graduates, we not only maximize the investment we've already made in their K-12 education, but we also maximize their ability to contribute to Minnesota's future economic success," Kershaw said.

Citizens League support for the Prosperity Act (also known as the Dream Act) is based on our 2009 study on immigrant students access to higher education, which identified increased participation from this group as a key tool to meeting Minnesota's future workforce demands.

Minnesota has one of the largest achievement gaps in the country between the academic performance of white students and students of color, a concerning statistic when one considers that students of color will be integral to bridge the workforce gap created by Minnesota's rapidly aging population. Similar policies enacted in other states have proven to increase non-citizen enrollment in high education and correlated with large decreases in high school dropouts among non-citizen students.

Even with federal immigration reform looking more likely, state action to open educational access is necessary. Even if federal reform includes federal financial aid for these students (which is unlikely), states will still need to pass legislation to allow some of their undocumented youth (including students who quality for Deferred Action) to pay resident tuition and/or access state-based financial aid. Let's not wait for federal immigration reform when we can pass SF 723/HF 875 this year.

We want to thank Sen. Sandy Pappas and Rep. Carlos Mariani for leading this effort in the Legislature, and the students, leaders and others who contributed to this partnership. In addition to the Citizens League, the bill enjoys broad support from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council, Education Minnesota, the Minnesota Private College Council, NAVIGATE, the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, College Possible, Minnesota State College Faculty, the Chicano Latino Affairs Council and more.

Income and asset exclusion for families taking part in family prosperity demonstrations:
This provision is included in both Omnibus Health and Human Services Finance bills (HF1233, Art. 10 Sec. 29; SF1034, Art. 3, Sec. 34). HF1233 passed the House 70-64 on April 22 and was sent to the Senate. Senate substituted SF1034 language on April 24 and a conference committee is expected. Senate bill requires a report from the Citizens League in 2016. Ron Elwood of the Legal Services Advocacy Project (LSAP) has been working with the Citizens League to move the legislation forward. The legislation ties in with LSAP's deep involvement in reducing asset poverty in Minnesota. This legislation establishes the definitions for "conditional cash transfers" and "family independence demonstrations" in statute.

Family Assets for Independence in Minnesota (FAIM):
FAIM is funded at $500,000 for the 2014-2015 biennium in both Omnibus Health and Human Service Finance bills (HF1233/SF1034). It is another part of overall asset development strategy. FAIM is Minnesota's most functional and widespread use of conditional cash transfer and is often delivered through CAP (Community Action Partnership) agencies. Since FAIM is focused on saving, it currently defined as an Individual Development Account (IDA) in statute. IDAs are one form of conditional cash transfer that the Citizens League is hoping to define more broadly in statute this year.

Minnesota Prosperity Act:
SF 723 was recommended to pass in the Senate Finance Committee and is headed to the Senate for a floor vote. Executive Director Sean Kershaw testified on its behalf, and the Citizens League and civic, business, and labor organizations sent a letter of support to legislators. We need to pass this bill in the Senate and then work to include it in the Omnibus Higher Education finance bill in conference committee.

Continuing eWorkplace:
Part of the Urban Partnership Agreement in 2008, eWorkplace demonstrated very significant return on investment in an effort to reduce congestion, reduce transportation costs, and increase productivity through telework, flexible work schedules and results-oriented management culture. Both Omnibus Transportation Finance bills (HF1444/SF1173) have a small appropriation in an attempt to retain the web-based tools and resources that were developed as part of the work. ($50,000 in HF1444 and $100,000 in SF1173). Both of these appropriations are for 2014 only and suggest that the Citizens League should begin to work on a supplemental budget strategy for 2014 session (FY2015).

Impartial Justice Act:
This legislation calls for a constitutional amendment to change judicial elections to retention elections (HF1083/SF1082). It has passed multiple committees in each body but does not need to pass until 2014 to be on the 2014 ballot.

Fiscal Disparities:
Both Omnibus Tax Bills (HF677/SF552) contain provisions that the Citizens League opposes (see our letter and testimony) to use the fiscal disparities pool to fund expansion of the Mall of America. The approaches are quite different in terms of policy impact and funding level. The House excludes $9 million of tax base from the existing Mall of America and the phase II development and funnels it into a TIF district that runs until 2034. Rather than reduce the pool the Senate directly raises the areawide tax rate and sends $4 million per year to fund phase II. There are also provisions to study fiscal disparities in both bills.

Other provisions tied to Citizens League policy development:
There are several changes moving forward this session where the Citizens League has been involved over the last five years in health care, education and transportation that would be too voluminous to track. One example: as a result of the "Driving Blind" report, the Citizens League was part of the effort to push for study and testing of value capture as a financing tool for transportation finance. Both Omnibus Tax Bills (HF677/SF552) include a provision to fund a Downtown Minneapolis streetcar through value capture which would be a good test of how well the mechanism works.

We're happy to report that the Minnesota Prosperity (Dream) Act was recommended to pass in the Senate Finance Committee on Monday evening and is headed to the Senate floor for a full vote! Thanks to bill author Sen. Sandy Pappas and everyone who helped make the case for our state's future!

Executive Director Sean Kershaw testified on the bill's behalf, and you can read his remarks here (pdf).

SF 723 has support from rural and urban groups from across the political spectrum, including not only the Citizens League but the MN Chamber of Commerce, Education Minnesota, MnSCU, the University of Minnesota, Minnesota Private Colleges, and many more. Click here (pdf) to read a letter we sent legislators in support of the bill with a list of supporters.

We still need your help! A Senate Floor vote has been tentatively scheduled for May 1, 2013 (no time yet--check back again). We need your help! Contact these Senators and let them know Minnesota students need Minnesota futures:

Democrats:
Sen. John Hoffman (D36) 651-296-4154
Sen. Alice Johnson (D37) 651-296-2556
Sen. Matt Schmit (D21) 651-296-4264
Sen. Melissa Wiklund (D50) 651-297-80-61
Sen. Lyle Koenen (D17) 651-296-5094

Republicans
Sen. Jeremy Miller (D28) 651-296-5649
Sen. Branden Peterson (D35) 651-296-3733
Sen. Julianne Ortman (D47) 651-296-4837
Sen. Julie Rosen (D23) 651-296-5713
Sen. David Senjem (D25) 651-296-3903

Ask them to vote for SF723.

We need to pass this bill in the Senate and then work to include it in the Omnibus Higher Education bill in conference committee.