KROX caught up with Senator Mark Johnson on some of the things they have been working on in St. Paul. One topic is getting driving tests back in Crookston, East Grand Forks, and other area cities. The other topic is the environmental bill that takes a look at the holding ponds at American Crystal Sugar.
DRIVING TESTS
Johnson voted late last week to add an amendment to the Transportation Bill that would bring back more than 100 driver’s license testing locations in primarily rural Minnesota. New locations in northwest Minnesota would include Crookston, East Grand Forks, Hallock, Roseau, and Thief River Falls.
Johnson said many of the calls his office receives are about driver’s testing locations. “You know that’s one of those issues where I bet maybe 15-20 percent of the calls I get are from constituents that are really taken by surprise when they have to drive to Bemidji or Detroit Lakes, Moorhead to get their tests taken,” said Johnson. “My district goes all the way up to the Canadian border, and you’ve got people driving 2-2.5 hours to go take that a half-hour test and then turn around and go back. That’s a whole day worth of driving to go take that test.”
Not everyone in the Senate understands just how large northwest Minnesota is. “It’s a little frustrating because even in committee it was referenced, we have a location in northwest Minnesota located Bemidji, but people don’t understand the length people drive to go take these tests,” said Johnson. “To me, it’s one of the basic functions of government to provide the opportunity to individuals to get their license to go driving. So, that to me was one of the biggest issues in the transportation bill; how do we get those facilities accessible to our constituents.”
Even so, the amendment did receive a good amount of support. “That was the amendment putting testing facilities back in places like Crookston, Hallock, and Roseau,” said Johnson. “Those key locations that people can actually access. I think it was a worthwhile amendment and had a lot of support from the committee. It did have some detractors, of course, but I think those were people who don’t realize what people have to do in our neck of the woods to get to a testing location these days.”
ENVIRONMENTAL BILL
On Monday afternoon and evening, the Senate hears the Environmental Bill on the floor, of which one aspect focuses heavily on American Crystal Sugar in Crookston. “We have the environment bill on the omnibus bill that passed out of committee, and we’re hearing that on the floor today. One of the issues on that bill is referred to as WET (Whole Effluent Toxicity) that the epicenter of is in Crookston. It’s a way to measure the toxicity coming out of the holding ponds from the sugar beet factory there in Crookston,” said Johnson. “There are different ways of discharging it. What American Crystal wants to do is a common-sense way of dispersing within the river which is allowed over in the northeast (Minnesota) but not in the northwest. We’re trying to change that around a little bit. There is some pushback on that. We’ve now brought the fight to the Senate floor. It’s a pretty important deal for our sugar beet growers, so we’ll keep working on it and hopefully get some consensus around that issue.”
Both chambers of the legislature will work on several large bills in the coming weeks, but Johnson said the legislature also has to be mindful of what’s happening outside the building. “This is really a big couple of weeks around the Senate right now,” said Johnson. “All of these bills coming off public safety, environment – you name the committee, and they have their big omnibus bill dealing with that subject matter. Just the other day, we were in Finance Committee most of the day, and then most of the evening, we’re on the floor doing these bills. This is where we start to earn our keep around here, putting in really long days. But then, of course, you know about the unfortunate incident that happened with Daunte Wright and the Chauvin Trial wrapping up. There is a lot of things going on outside of the Senate that is challenging logistically, and we have to keep in mind what is going on outside of the building.”
The 2021 Minnesota Legislative Session is set to conclude in just under a month. Johnson said there is a large gap between the House and Senate, but the goal is to be done on time. “What it looks like…I’m not sure yet,” said Johnson. “It’s the same thing that happens every year where bills look so different from each chamber, the House and Senate, and what the governor might want. How do you match those bills up in the end before we have to vote on it in both bodies and get it passed through? The divide is getting so big. I think that’s partly a result of COVID. We’re not having those face-to-face conversations with individuals. It’s a little easier to just seen your own agenda and be in that echo chamber. I’m a little bit worried about that and what it might mean toward the end of the year here, but our ultimate goal is to be done on May 17. That’s what we’re shooting for.”
Johnson also asked that constituents call his office at 651-296-5782 or email him at sen.mark.johnson@senate.mn with any issue they see within the district.
