The future of the Chicano Latino Affairs Council and two other

minority State agencies

Hello Latino leaders and Chicano Latino Affairs Council friends,

I am writing about a very important matter for CLAC and the two other
minority state agencies, CAPM (Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans)
and CBM (Council on Black Minnesotans), whose executive directors
share our concerns. SF1047 and HF577 are being discussed this week,
starting tomorrow Tuesday, by a conference committee at the
Legislature.

Senate bill SF1047 is proposing that the State fund our upcoming
fiscal-year budget through the Minnesota Humanities Center in the
form of a grant along with a 20% cut in our budget. CLAC and the other
councils have an excellent ongoing partnership with the Minnesota
Humanities Center, which produced the Latino videos and
documentaries you were recently invited to view on TPT and SPNN.
These programs, which will be shown again on these stations’
channels, can be seen at any time in the following site:
http://www.minnesotahumanities.org/legacyCLAC

The Humanities Center and CLAC have very different missions,

nature and scope. We can continue to develop excellent collaborative
programs; however, a merger or other type of relationship between a
nonprofit and a state agency would change the status of the Council.
While CLAC is very interested in continuing this partnership, having our
funding channeled through a nonprofit organization would lead to a
highly complicated management of those funds and other significant
problems.

CLAC has been a state agency since 1978; its mission is to offer
recommendations to Minnesota’s state governor and legislature on
Latino public issues and to serve as liaison between state government
and the Latino community; this is a uniquely significant role in the
democratic system. CLAC should continue to get appropriations
directly from the State while also continuing to collaborate with our
nonprofit, private and government partners in pursuit of that mission.
Receiving grants from a nonprofit organization could at some point
lead CLAC to lose its state status and funding.

The House bill (HF577) being discussed by the same committee does
not recommend that the Councils’ appropriations go through
Minnesota Humanities Center in the form of a grant.

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We are requesting that you and your networks call or email the State
Gov Finance Omnibus Conference Committee members (below) and
support our position favoring HF577 over SF1047 in the above
matter. A decision by the conference committee members, who will
next meet tomorrow, Tuesday 5/3, from 10:15am to 12 noon in State
Office Bldg. room 300 will be reached by May 6th, 2011.

I am attaching documents and link below, which can help you make an
independent judgment on this matter.

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/comm/committee.asp?comm=87018

Thank you for your support of CLAC, the Latino community and the
other minority Councils!

Hector Garcia | Executive Director

Chicano Latino Affairs Council (CLAC) | www.clac.state.mn.us
60 Empire Drive, Suite 203 | St. Paul, MN 55103
 651.296.2992 Cell 612.998.3014 | 651.297.1297 |  hector.garcia@state.mn.us

Engaging the Latino community through public service since 1978...

Members of the Conference Committee

Senator Mike Parry (R) District 26

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Capitol Building, Room 309
St. Paul, MN 55155-1606
651.296.9457
sen.mike.parry@senate.mn

Senator Paul E. Gazelka (R) District 12

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Capitol Building, Room 325
St. Paul, MN 55155-1606
651.296.4875
sen.paul.gazelka@senate.mn

Senator Dave Thompson (R) District 36

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Capitol Building, Room 323

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St. Paul, MN 55155-1606
651.296.5252
sen.dave.thompson@senate.mn

Senator Theodore J. "Ted" Daley (R) District 38

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Capitol Building, Room G-24
St. Paul, MN 55155-1606
651.297.8073
sen.ted.daley@senate.mn

Senator Ray Vandeveer (R) District 52

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Capitol Building, Room 328
St. Paul, MN 55155-1606
651.296.4351
sen.ray.vandeveer@senate.mn

Representative Morrie Lanning (R) District: 09A

379 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-5515 or 800-657-3742
rep.morrie.lanning@house.mn

Representative Keith Downey (R) District: 41A

407 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-4363
rep.keith.downey@house.mn

Representative Mike Benson (R) District: 30B

515 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-4378 or 888-858-4753
rep.mike.benson@house.mn

Representative Kirk Stensrud (R) District: 42A

553 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-3964

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rep.kirk.stensrud@house.mn

Representative Bruce Anderson (R) District: 19A

365 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-5063
rep.bruce.anderson@house.mn