After the bill concerning the sale of wine in grocery stores was withdrawn
last night, the Commerce Committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives
considered HF 404, the bill that would allow residents of a neighborhood to
register on the day of an annual meeting and vote for a neighborhood's Board
of Directors. (This is the bill that seeks to make it as easy to vote for
your Neighborhood Organization's Board of Directors as it is to vote for
President of the United States or other elected officials. We have discussed
this bill at some length on this list.) Prior to the Committee Hearing,
Representative Jean Wagenius made many changes to the bill in response to
suggestions from neighborhood groups and many folks on this list. Most of
those changes were aimed at making it easier to prove residency and making
the notification requirements of the annual meeting less onerous. Jay Clark
and I testified in favor of the bill.
Two members of the public came to testify against the bill, including list
member Basim Sabri. After considering Rep. Wagenius' amendments, however,
both were generally in favor of the bill although they retained some
concerns. Mr. Sabri's concern that people who are on the voting rolls of the
neighborhood organization should not lose their ability to vote because they
happen not to have identification at the meeting resulted in an amendment to
the bill allowing those who are already on the neighborhood's voting roll to
vote without proof of residency.
HF 404, as amended, passed the committee and it will now advance to the House
floor. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Jane
Ranum, Senator Myron Orfield and Senator Julie Sabo.
Thanks to everyone who brought concerns and comments to Rep. Wagenius and
made this a better bill than the draft we originally circulated. A huge
thank you to Rep. Wagenius who took hundreds of comments and incorporated
them into the legislation.
Scott Benson
Ward 11
Page Neighborhood
