In her legislative report to the county board Tuesday, Sherburne County Planner Amanda Larson with Health & Human Services (HHS) said having a surplus this time around helped. And with 2014 being an election year, it gave lawmakers an incentive to get things done.

Larson said there were about 2,800 bills introduced, with 160 signed into law.

 

The Supplemental Budget Bill passed with $283 million in new spending. Of that amount, HHS got the biggest chunk with $103.9 million, followed by $54 million for education and $35 million for the judiciary and public safety.

 

Larson said two of the biggest and most contentious issues were E-cigarettes and medical marijuana.

 

“Both the House and Senate banned the sale and possession of E-cigarettes to youth under 18 and required the product to be sold behind the counter with other tobacco products,” she told the board.

 

Larson said there was strong support in the Senate and some support in the House to ban E-cigarette use under the Clean Indoor Air Act, which would have also banned it in business establishments. But after much debate, the conference committee compromised by banning the product in any buildings owned or operated by government entities or schools, daycares, healthcare facilities and clinics.

Larson said it is anticipated the legislature will pursue a more aggressive ban next session.

 

Near the end of the session, lawmakers finally passed legislation allowing the use of refined oil from marijuana for medical use.

“We became the 22nd state to allow medical marijuana and it is by far the most restricted,” said Larson.

 

The Dept. of Health will oversee the manufacture of the drug in two sites, with a distribution center set up in each of the state’s eight congressional districts. Medical marijuana will be available in oil or pill form only.

 

After lengthy discussions, the legislature decided chronic pain and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder will not qualify, although the health commissioner has the authority to add more medical conditions to the eligibility list in the future.

 

The law limits eligibility to the following conditions:

• Cancer associated with sever or chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, or severe wasting;

 

•Glaucoma;

 

•HIV/AIDS;

 

•ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Syndrome);

 

•Seizure-inducing epile-psy;

 

•Severe and persistent muscle spasms from Multiple Sclerosis;

 

•Chron’s Disease;

 

•Terminal illness with a life expectancy of less than a year or that causes sever pain, sever vomiting or wasting.

 

To obtain the drug, patients will need to be certified by a doctor, physician assistant or advanced practice nurse. A patient registry will be created at the Dept. of Health for the therapeutic use of the drug. It is estimated medical marijuana will serve about 500 people in Minnesota.

 

Larson said as part of the bill, penalties for sale or distribution of the drug have increased. Anyone found guilty of transferring medical marijuana to anyone who is not a registered patient could be fined up to $3,000 instead of the current $200/misdemeanor penalty. 

 

After a brief public hearing without public comment, the board, acting as he Sherburne County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, approved the sale of two lots in the Evergreen Park Development in Becker.

 

The land, which is the former site of the Sherburne County History Center, was sold to Imperial Development Company LLC for $135,000 for operation of a general store.

 

Sherburne County Assessor Dan Weber said the building will cover between 9,100 and 9,800 square feet and generate approximately $22,000 in taxes.

 

The board awarded the contract to reconstruct a section of Co. Rd. 15 near 211th Ave. to Hardrives at $2,315,244.59.

 

Other bidders were Knife River at $2,357,719.97 and North Valley Inc. at $2,715,027.75.

 

In other action the board:

 

• Approved the Federal Boating Safety Supplemental Equipment Grant in the amount of $5,750 to be used to fund additional patrol shifts;

 

• Approved an application for the Office of Justice Recidivism Reduction Grant, which seeks to improve public safety by strengthening collaboration between criminal justice and social services for young adults. The two-year grant ranges from $100,000 to $300,000 with no county match required;

 

• Approved a juvenile justice grant application for $60,000 to support truancy intervention;

 

• Approved a payment of $8,094 to Sherburne Soil & Water from a block grant received by the county from the state.