Mary Liz Holberg - the Right Values, the Right Experience

Issues

Mary Liz has worked hard on the issues that matter to Lakeville voters - please visit the Accomplishments Page for more information.

Priorities

• Fiscal accountability and balanced budget
• Adequate funding to improve transportation
• Equity in education funding
• Support policies to strengthen families

Education

State Representative Mary Liz Holberg (R-Lakeville) helped to pass a number of new laws to support our public schools in 2005 and 2006.

THE BIGGEST STATE BUDGET FOR SCHOOLS IN HISTORY: Mary Liz Holberg voted for the $12.6 billion finance bill for public schools in 2005. (HF 141). This makes state support for public schools the largest single item in Minnesota's budget.

PROVIDING $800 MILLION MORE FOR SCHOOLS: The 2005 school finance bill (HF 141) raised state spending on schools to 42.4% of the state budget. In 1997, it was only 32.4% of the state budget. When you combine state spending on public schools and higher education, over half of the whole state budget goes to our schools.

RESTORING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: Mary Liz Holberg voted to increase ECFE by 22% above levels in the 2003 bill with extra funds that became available as the economy recovered in 2006. (HF 4162)

WATCHING SCHOOL BUDGETS: Mary Liz Holberg helped to pass a new law (SF 2994) that will allow parents and taxpayers to get a better understanding of the past, current, and future budgets of school districts.

MORE MATH FOR STUDENTS: Mary Liz Holberg voted for a new law (SF 2994) that will require more students to take more and harder math classes so they are ready for work in a more competitive world.

UNDERSTANDING BALLOTS FOR SCHOOL LEVIES: Mary Liz Holberg helped to pass a new law that will require clearer language on ballots for school levies. "Voters need understandable language on the ballot, so they know what they are being asked to finance with local taxes," Mary Liz Holberg said.

REWARDING ACCOMPLISHMENT: Mary Liz Holberg was a strong voice for two new laws (HF 4162 and HF 141) that will give extra money to teachers and school districts that improve student achievement with programs for performance-based pay and meaningful staff development. Over half the school districts in Minnesota have expressed their intent to apply for the Quality Compensation (or QComp) program.

STATE SPENDING ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED IN A DECADE

Education Finance General Fund:

Source: Non-Partisan Legislative Fiscal Staff; Spreadsheets for 1995-2005 at: www.house.leg.state.mn.us/fiscal/commpage.htm#K12

Veterans

State Representative Mary Liz Holberg (R-Lakeville) helped to pass a number of new laws to support our veterans in 2005 and 2006.

GRANTS TO VFW AND AMERICAN LEGION POSTS: Mary Liz Holberg helped to pass a law (HF 4162) that provided $580,000 of grants to local veterans' service organizations that have service-based missions to reach out to veterans.

"ONE-STOP SHOP" FOR SERVICE TO VETERANS: Mary Liz Holberg supported a new law (HF 4162) that allocated $100,000 to create a website where veterans or their families can find out about all the services that are available in Minnesota.

EMERGENCY FUNDS FOR VETERANS: Mary Liz Holberg was a strong voice for a new law (HF 4162) that included $2 million to provide short-term and emergency funds for veterans facing crises, such as emergency medical coverage.

LOCAL ASSISTANCE FOR VETERANS: Mary Liz Holberg was an advocate for a new law (HF 4162) that includes $200,000 in grants for the Veterans Service Officers in each county to help veterans in their local area.

HELPING VETERANS AT COLLEGE: Mary Liz Holberg helped to enact a law (HF 4162) that appropriated $600,000 to create offices on college campuses to help veterans and their families find out about programs and services that are available.

IMPROVING STAFF SERVICE AT VETERANS HOMES: Mary Liz Holberg supported $6 million of new spending (HF 4162) to finance the hiring of 42 new staffers at the Minnesota Veterans' Home in Minneapolis and to make improvements at other veterans' facilities around the state.

DIGNITY AT FUNERALS: Mary Liz Holberg voted for a new law (HF 2985) that forces protestors to stay back from memorial services, grave-side ceremonies, and the homes of family members on the day of a funeral. This was triggered by disruptive protests at the funeral of Cpl. Andrew J. Kemple in Anoka last winter.

GOVERNMENT WORKERS CALLED TO ACTIVE DUTY: Mary Liz Holberg supported a new law (HF 2126) that will help families of local and state government workers who are called to active duty by maintaining their civilian wages while they are in uniform.

TAX CREDITS FOR VETERANS OF MIDDLE EAST: Mary Liz Holberg spoke strongly for a tax credit of $59 per month on state income taxes for Minnesota residents who serve or have served in designated combat zones since September 11, 2001. (HF 785)

RECALLING GUARD TO ACTIVE DUTY: Mary Liz Holberg supported a new law (HF 1481) that provides pay and allowances for certain National Guard personnel who are ordered back to active duty.

TEN DAYS OF FAMILY LEAVE: Mary Liz Holberg voted (HF 3664) to require all employers to provide up to 10 days of leave to family members who have a relative who is injured or killed while serving on active duty.

FAREWELL OR WELCOME HOME CEREMONY: Mary Liz Holberg helped to pass a new law (HF 3664) that requires all employers to allow a day of leave to an employee whose relative is participating in a ceremony when leaving for or returning from active duty.

COLLEGE CREDIT FOR MILITARY TRAINING: Mary Liz Holberg worked for a new law (HF 3664) that directs the University of Minnesota and MnSCU colleges to give full credit for military training courses, if they meet standards from the American Council on Education.

FAIRNESS ON COLLEGE COSTS: Mary Liz Holberg supported a new law (HF 3664) that waives late fees for veterans whose tuition from federal programs arrives late. The bill also grants in-state tuition to veterans.

STATE PARKS: Mary Liz Holberg voted for a new law (HF 3664) that exempts service personnel from entrance fees at state parks when they are home on leave.

JOB PROTECTION: Mary Liz Holberg pushed for a new law (HF 3664) that changes Minnesota statutes to the higher federal standards for protecting the job positions of service personnel who have been called to duty.

"We owe our freedom and everything we have to America's veterans and their families," Mary Liz Holberg said. "We have kept faith with those veterans in the past two years. Those efforts will continue."

Cracking Down on Drunk Drivers

About 6,133 Minnesotans have died in vehicle crashes related to alcohol in the past 25 years. That is more than twice as many people as were killed in the attacks on September 11, 2001.

In 2005 alone, another 3,571 Minnesotans were injured in alcohol-related crashes. Statewide, the number of arrests reached an all-time high last year, fueled by increased enforcement and a lowering of the legal standard for drunken driving. Law enforcement officers caught 36,870 people driving while intoxicated in 2005, and they're arresting drunken drivers at a pace that could top that this year. Strong action needs to be taken to reduce this source of death, injury, and misery in Minnesota. Mary Liz Holberg has cracked down on impaired driving in recent years.

REDUCING THE DWI LEVEL TO .08 BLOOD ALCOHOL CONTENT: Mary Liz Holberg helped to pass the new law (Senate File 58) that lowered the legal level for DWIs to .08 BAC. That led to over 1,500 more arrests last year.

PRISON FOR DRUNK DRIVERS WHO PREVIOUSLY KILLED: Mary Liz Holberg voted for the new law (House File 2656) that makes a second DWI offense a felony if a prior DWI offense was a conviction for criminal vehicular homicide.

IMPOUNDING CARS AND PLATES OF VERY DRUNK DRIVERS: Mary Liz Holberg helped to pass the new law (House File 1) that provides procedures for seizing the license plates and/or vehicles of drivers arrested with very high levels of alcohol in their blood. Provisions are included to protect other people who own the vehicles in which other people were arrested.

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS: Mary Liz Holberg helped to change the law (House File 2656) that allows the use of blood tests to show a driver had "metabolites" in the blood which reflects recent use of drugs that impair driving ability. This evidence can now be used in court and as justification for revocation of both a driver’s license and parole.

REQUIRING TIGHTER ASSESSMENTS OF ACCUSED DRIVERS: Mary Liz Holberg was a leader in efforts to pass the new law (HF 1) that tightens the requirements for "chemical dependency assessments" that are often used by prosecutors, judges, and Driver and Vehicle Services to determine charges and punishments for impaired drivers. Under the old law, defendants just met with assessors for a discussion. Now, assessors must contact the defendant’s relevant family members, criminal justice agencies, and probation officer (if any), and review relevant records and reports.

SPEEDING UP REVOCATION OF DRIVERS’ LICENSE: Mary Liz Holberg helped to pass a new law (House File 1) that authorizes the BCA laboratory to report results from blood tests directly to Driver and Vehicle Services to speed up the revocation of licenses of drivers with illegal blood alcohol contents.

WORK REMAINS TO BE DONE: Since 2001, Minnesota has had a felony DWI law with sentences of three to seven years for drivers with three or more DWI convictions in the prior ten years. Judges are required to impose sentences in these cases, but are allowed to "stay" or delay imposition of sentences, although there is a presumption that defendants will go to prison. But in the 2,273 felony convictions for DWI under the new law, judges have stayed sentences in 84% of the cases. This trend may require further legislative action.

Cracking Down on Sex Offenders

Rep. Mary Liz Holberg (R-Lakeville) was a leading voice in the Legislature on several bills that were signed into law to strengthen protections against sex offenders in 2005 and 2006.

There were 2,373 rapes and 4,012 other sex offenses in Minnesota in 2004, according to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. That translates into 17 sexual assaults every day in Minnesota. It seems that these criminals are getting bolder. That is why the Legislature took several major steps to crack down on sex offenders in the last two years.

LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR THE WORST OF THE WORST: Mary Liz Holberg supported a new law (in House File 1) that created a sentence of “life without the possibility of release” for offenders whose latest crime involves factors such as: 1) torture; 2) intentional mutilation; 3) use of any object to force submission; 4) leaving the victim in an unsafe place; 5) exposing a victim to inhumane conditions; 6) committing a crime with more than one victim; or 7) committing a crime with more than one perpetrator.

LIFE UNLESS NO LONGER DANGEROUS FOR OTHERS: Mary Liz Holberg helped to pass the new law (in House File 1) that commits other serious sex offenders to prison for at least the minimum years of sentence imposed by the judge, but continues that sentence for an “indeterminate term” until the Commissioner of Corrections rules that the person is no longer a threat to society.

INFORMING VICTIMS: Prosecutors now must notify victims of sex crimes if no charges are going to be brought against a prime suspect. (House File 2656)

CIVIL COMMITMENT TO A MENTAL HOSPITAL AFTER PRISON: Mary Liz Holberg voted for a new law (in House File 1) that streamlines the process for sending sex offenders who have completed their prison terms to secure facilities at Moose Lake or St. Peter for up to the rest of their lives if they are not deemed to be a threat to society.

LONGER SENTENCES FOR LESSER SEX OFFENSES: Mary Liz Holberg was a backer of a new law (in House File 2656) that creates longer sentences for sex offenders who commit lesser crimes.

CATCHING CHILD PREDATORS: Mary Liz Holberg was a strong supporter of a new $1 million appropriation (in House File 4162) which will fund a state-wide team to detect pedophiles who are stalking children on the internet.

PUTTING MORE SEX OFFENDERS ON THE WEBSITE: Mary Liz Holberg was a key backer of a new $200,000 program (in House File 4162) to post the names, photos, and last known addresses of any sex offenders who do not make their regular check-ins with probation officers. More serious sex offenders in a given zip code can already be identified at: www.corr.state.mn.us/level3/search.asp

REVOKING RELEASE OF SEX OFFENDERS: Mary Liz Holberg helped to pass new laws (in House File 1 and House File 2656) that will make it easier to revoke the release of sex offenders who fail to register, who fail to appear for twice-a-year photographs, or who fail to respond to police inquiries.

CRACKING DOWN ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Mary Liz Holberg also helped to fund a $268,000 task force that will investigate human trafficking for labor or sexual purposes. (House File 4162). Much stronger sentences were created for human trafficking in minor children. (House File 2656).

DOUBLING STRICT SUPERVISED PROBATION FOR PEDOPHILES: Mary Liz Holberg pushed through a new law (in House File 2656) that increases to ten years the time that child pornographers and molesters are under the strict scrutiny by probation officers after they leave prison.

DISCOURAGE PREDATORS FROM MOVING TO MINNESOTA: Mary Liz Holberg also helped to enact a law (in House File 2656) that imposes strict supervision and prompt local notification about offenders who move to Minnesota after finishing their prison sentences in other states.

JESSICA’S LAW

Many people ask how Minnesota is progressing in passing Jessica’s Law. Jessica Lunsford was 9 years old and walking home from her Florida school when she was kidnapped, raped and murdered by John Couey, who has been convicted of the crime. Many states have passed different versions of “Jessica’s Law” to crack down on child molesters, rapists, and other sex offenders.

Mary Liz Holberg has already helped to pass most of the elements of this initiative into Minnesota law:

1. life without release for violent offenders;
2. indeterminate sentences with long minimum terms and no release until deemed no longer a threat to society;
3. tougher sentences for less violent sex offenders;
4. civil commitment to mental hospitals after prison, where appropriate;
5. greater monitoring of released offenders; and
6. more protections for the public.

Funding must still be sought in 2007 to place more offenders on GPS-tracking ankle bracelets.

Abortion

• Mary Liz Holberg was the chief author of the landmark Women's Right to Know legislation which provides women important health information before having an abortion. Women's Right to Know is saving lives!
• Mary Liz Holberg will fight to ban partial birth abortions. It is time Minnesota join the many states that have made this dangerous, late-term form of abortion illegal.
• Mary Liz will work to ensure your tax dollars are not used to fund abortions.
• Mary Liz Holberg supports the funding of crisis pregnancy centers to provide a caring environment for women with unplanned pregnancies.
• Mary Liz supports efforts to ease the adoption process and to provide loving homes for newborn babies.
• Mary Liz Holberg has a solid pro-life, profamily voting record and is the strongest pro-life candidate in the race for State Representative!

Paid by the Elect Holberg Committee 12195 Upper 167th St. Lakeville, MN 55044. Questions? Email our webmaster