Shutdowns, Legacies, and Parks: Newly Acquired MN State Government Reports, Dec 2011

A sampling from the list of newly acquired MN state government reports, Dec 2011. 

State Government Shutdown Executive Summary
from Minnesota Management and Budget
     The causes, procedures, and results.

Driver Hand-Held Cellular Phone Use in Minnesota, June and August, 2011

David W. Eby, PhD, Jonathon M. Vivoda, MPH
     "The purpose of the present study was to continue tracking the statewide hand-held cellular phone use rate of drivers in Minnesota in order to better understand the exposure to this distracting activity."

DWI Repeat Offender Fund Expenditure Report, Federal Fiscal Year 2010

from MN Depts. of Public Safety and Transportation
     How much federal money is MN spending on repeat offender DWI reduction, and where does it go?

The Legacy Amendment: Evaluation Report
from the MN Office of the Legislative Auditor, Program Evaluation Division
     "In this early, general assessment of how the Legacy Amendment has been implemented, we identified the following four “ongoing concerns” facing the Legislature and the state agencies that administer the Legacy funds: (1) complying with the constitutional requirement that Legacy money be used to supplement, and not substitute for, “traditional” sources of funding; (2) finding a workable approach to limiting the use of Legacy money for administrative costs; (3) ensuring that conflict of interest concerns are adequately addressed; and (4) ensuring that the use of Legacy money will achieve the outcomes intended by the Legacy Amendment. We make various recommendations to help address these concerns."

Health Care Facility and Provider Database 
from the MN Dept. of Health
      "This database offers addresses, phone numbers, administrator names and state registration or licensure status for Minnesota health care providers. Federal certification classifications are also included. Provider types in the directory are boarding care homes, home health agencies, home care providers, hospices, hospitals, housing with services, nursing homes and supervised living facilities and other non-long term care providers. Providers can be selected by type, county, city or name."

MinnesotaCare:  An Overview
MinnesotaCare
both from the Research Dept., MN House of Representatives
     Brief and in-depth reports on MinnesotaCare.

Survey of State Estate, Inheritance, and Gift Taxes
from the Research Dept., MN House of Representatives
     "This information brief provides basic background information on the details of
state estate, inheritance, and gift taxes. The District of Columbia and 22 states,
including Minnesota, impose these taxes. Of these, 14 states, including
Minnesota, and D.C. impose estate taxes, six states impose inheritance taxes, and
two states impose both estate and inheritance taxes. Two states (one with an
estate tax and one with an inheritance tax) also impose gift taxes."

Minnesota State Parks and Trails: Directions for the Future:  Connecting People to Minnesota’s Great Outdoors
from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Trails
     "The Legacy Amendment mandate presents an opportunity to develop the division’s direction over the next ten years, establishing priorities and broader strategies to protect and manage the resource base, develop and maintain recreational facilities, and better serve existing customers and reach out to new ones." 

MN Zoo:  2011 Report to the Community
from the MN Zoo

Enjoy!
Melissa@Central.