Dakota County Board Supports MAGIC Act in MN Legislature

Editor's Note: Dakota County Commissioner Tom Egan represents Mendota Heights, Lilydale, Mendota and a portion of Eagan. He was elected to office in 2004 and is now serving his second four-year term. Egan will write regularly to Patch readers about county government.

The Dakota County Board of Commissioners recently passed a resolution joining the vast majority of Minnesota counties that support legislation known as the Minnesota Accountable Government Innovations and Collaboration Act or “MAGIC” for short.

MAGIC represents a change in the state/county relationship by allowing counties such as Dakota to utilize their creativity and expertise to improve the quality of services while potentially delivering services in a more efficient and effective manner. It can help counties avoid many wasteful and unnecessary state mandates. 

The MAGIC Act (SF1340) was proposed legislation that grants counties greater autonomy to act in the interests of citizens on matters of county concern while also providing a streamlined process for implementing alternative methods of service delivery through a state agency waiver process. The MAGIC Act (SF 1340) during the 2011 legislative session passed the Minnesota Senate on a 62-1 vote with no opposition, but the House ran out of time to pass the bill before the session concluded.

MAGIC would give counties an opportunity to provide evidence of the effectiveness of alternative delivery methods of services through pilot projects, which must receive approval from the appropriate state agency.  No county may operate more than two pilot projects at a time and no state agency may authorize more than 10 pilot projects at any point in time.

The Dakota County Board eagerly looks forward to taking this legislation up again next year.