Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Republicans Tour State to Take Easter Candy from Children and give it to Rich Donors.
State Republican House and Senate leaders toured the State yesterday calling on the poor to just go away and asking the middle class to “really sacrifice” in order to give large tax breaks to the very wealthy.
“Nobody talks about how much the truly rich have suffered the last few years” an un named spokesperson for the group said: “One of my donors was only able to buy one Lexis for his mistress last Christmas.“
“Sure un-employment is high and lots of people are losing their homes but if we give even bigger tax breaks to millionaires they would be able to hire some of these people to dress up like the Easter Bunny and cleaning up after the debutant balls they want to have.”
House Speaker Zellar’s who stated last week that voting was a privilege not a right agreed with Rep Mary Kiffmeyer that more money was needed to keep the poor from voting. “If the poor and middle class started voting then the rich would have to start paying the same tax rate the rest of us pay, then where would we be?” a spokesperson said.
The Republicans tour included touring local middle schools and yelling at teachers calling them “over paid idiots” and “worthless drains on the public coffers” in front of their classes.
Many students were upset that the Republicans demanded that they give up 15% of their Easter Candy and give it to the richest kid in the room. “Don’t worry he’ll give back whatever he doesn’t eat” the GOP leaders claimed.
The Republicans next stop was central Minnesota Nursing homes where they promised to “gut the staff “and take all the walkers so the Koch brothers could use them for Croquet hoops at their mansion.
Sherburne Co. DFL Meeting!
Next Sherburne County DFL meeting:
Thursday, April 28th
7:00 pm
Pebble Creek Golf Course
Blue Moon Restaurant & Grille.
Thursday, April 28th
7:00 pm
Pebble Creek Golf Course
Blue Moon Restaurant & Grille.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Today
HOUSE
The Education Reform Committee will hear three bills at 8:15 a.m.: HF 133, a bill providing for trial placements for eligible children at Minnesota State Academies; HF 183, a bill to require teacher candidates to pass basic skills exam; HF 300, Comprehensive eye exams recommended for early childhood development screening.
The Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee will hear four bills relating to fishing regulations at 8:15 a.m. for possible inclusion in an omnibus game/fish bill - no votes will be taken on individual proposals. HF 16, HF 107, HF 225 and HF 242.
The Judiciary Policy and Finance Committee will hear HF 68, a bill making careless driving that results in a death a gross misdemeanor, at 8:15 a.m.
The State Government Finance Committee will hear HF 4, a bill reducing the state workforce, at 8:15 a.m.
The Government Operations and Elections Committee will hear two bills at 10:15 a.m.: HF 192, the Reinventing Government Employment Act, which reduces the work force, removes contract restrictions and proposed a right to work constitutional amendment, and HF 102, a bill establishing a state science and technology program.
The Public Safety and Crime Prevention and Policy Committee will hear HF 306, a bill establishing Emily's Law and lowering the age for some juvenile offenders, at 10:15 a.m.
The Taxes Committee will hear two bills at 10:15 a.m.: HF 258, a bill authorizing licensed ambulance services to submit claims directly to the state, and HF 394, a bill expanding the public safety radio system exemption.
The Education Finance Committee will hear three bills at 12:30 p.m.: HF 407, a bill repealing the reduction of state short-term borrowing through school district payment changes; HF 341, a bill repealing the MMB school district state-aid payment reduction requirement; HF 257, a bill creating the early graduation achievement scholarship program.
SENATE
The Judiciary and Public Safety Committee will hear three bills at 1 p.m.: SF 229, a bill authorizing eminent domain portion of easement discharge; SF 137, a bill modifying mortgage foreclosure redemption periods; SF 136, technical changes to the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act.
WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY
STATE OF THE STATE: In his first State of the State address, Gov. Mark Dayton doubled down on his campaign promise of building "a better Minnesota" -- complete with increased investment in education and transportation -- and made clear his intention to tax the state's wealthiest residents to pay for it.
"If we do so, by working together, we can rightfully tell the people of Minnesota that we succeeded. We did the very best we could, given the very difficult circumstances we inherited," Dayton said. "And if we all succeed together, the people of Minnesota will win. If we fail, the people of Minnesota will lose. It's that simple. It's that inescapable."
But it took less than an hour for the political realities at the Capitol to bring the rhetoric of Dayton's speech -- some 5,000 words long, and reportedly written by Dayton himself -- back down to earth. "It was a little shy on details," Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said of the speech. "I'm not sure how he can keep [those promises]," she added, citing the state's crushing budget deficit and rejecting his call for higher taxes.
Dayton surprised Republican legislative leaders by taking aim at an early-session committee hearing -- of the House HHS Finance panel chaired by Jim Abeler -- that included an overview of government shutdown procedures. Koch and House Speaker Kurt Zellers said they were blindsided by that, and that the subject had never come up in their many conversations in recent weeks. Koch called it "odd." See more PIM coverage of the speech and reaction from lawmakers here.
RITCHIE'S PROMOTION: Laughter erupted just before Gov. Mark Dayton entered the House chamber, when a House sergeant-at-arms inadvertently announced the arrival of Gov. Mark Ritchie.
FEINWACHS' HMO CLAIMS: PIM's Paul Demko recently wrote about the crusade of former MN Hospitals Association counsel Dave Feinwachs to crack open the books of the HMOs that currently administer about $6 billion in state health care spending per biennium. How worried are the health plans? Following Feinwachs' appearance before the House HHS Finance Committee on Tuesday, we're told, committee members were blitzed with visits from HMO lobbyists on Wednesday. And House GOP freshman Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen has already introduced a bill, HF 412, to increase the reimbursement rates that the HMOs pass on to service providers.
FEINWACHS LAWSUIT: Feinwachs has also filed a lawsuit against the health plans, alleging defamation in retaliation for his claims. Details.
HOUSE PASSES BUDGET BILL: Following impassioned debate, the House of Representatives passed the GOP budget-reducing bill that would trim more than $800 million of the state's $6.2 billion deficit. The Senate is expected to take it up today, with the goal of sending it to Gov. Mark Dayton before he delivers his budget next week. Three GOP reps voted against the bill: Debra Kiel of Crookston, King Banaian of St. Cloud and Rich Murray of Albert Lea. Mound Republican Steve Smith was not present for the vote.
WESTROM BILL WHISPERS: Lobbyists and child advocates have been buzzing about a little-noticed bill that's up for a hearing in the House Public Safety Committee today. Rep. Torrey Westrom's HF 306 would reduce the age at which juveniles can be charged as adults for certain violent offenses. While Westrom introduced a similar bill in 2008 that would've lowered the age to 13, this one would allow prosecution of children age 10 and older for some crimes.
VIKES IN THE RATHSKELLER: In the Capitol cafeteria yesterday, Lester Bagley of the Minnesota Vikings was seen in earnest conversation with Nick Riley, a lobbyist for Ramsey County, amid piles of paperwork. One of the Vikes' proposed stadium sites is in the Ramsey County community of Arden Hills.
NEW BILLS: Rep. Keith Downey has introduced two new government-reduction bills: HF 418, which would consolidate some "back office" functions in the Department of Administration, and HF 419, which would eliminate or merge nine current state agencies. Other new House bills here.
TEACHER TENURE: Teacher tenure was a hot topic in the Senate Education Committee. Senate Republicans want to revisit this job security issue, which some feel allow less-than-stellar educators to remain in their posts. No action was taken, but look for lively testimony in meetings ahead.
CRAVAACK APPLAUDED: One northern Minnesota mining lobbyist praised U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack for his cooperation in streamlining the environmental permitting process at the federal level. The feds have a history of coming into the process late in the game, the lobbyist noted -- and if they have concerns, the permitting process can screech to a halt.
CHAMBER CONCERNS: Several folks in the know have commented recently that regional chambers of commerce around the state have growing differences with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. One former state senator noted that greater Minnesota chambers have "a very different agenda" than their statewide representative body, since the economies of smaller communities depend on state revenues from colleges and universities, and local government aid, all of which face cuts this session.
HAUSMAN ON DNR: Earlier in the week, we got word on who would fill out the top staff slots in Gov. Mark Dayton's DNR, and by Wednesday at least one DFLer was miffed at some of the names included on the list. DFLer Alice Hausman (pictured right) told PIM she had some strong concerns about the new roles of former state Sen. Bob Lessard and ex-Pioneer Press outdoors writer Chris Niskanen, who will serve as special assistant to the commissioner for outreach and communications director, respectively.
In Hausman's view, Lessard -- a longtime hunter who runs fishing resorts -- will likely work to benefit sportsman groups over others, increasing the already substantial political clout of those interests at the Capitol. She called Niskanen a mouthpiece for the same outdoors groups and the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council. Niskanen used the newspaper to go after House members who questioned such groups, she said.
"Now the taxpayers are going to be paying for their offices and their salary," she said. "It's a coup that's complete, and it's been accomplished right under taxpayer's noses."
One mining lobbyist we spoke to said that he and his colleagues were mostly content with Dayton's picks, but that Lessard -- who is referred to as the "Old Trapper" -- is clearly cut from hook-and-bullet cloth, and therefore bound to upset enviro-minded members from the Twin Cities.
NEWMAN: GOP Sen. Scott Newman, who had been in hot water over an e-mail from his office that said the freshman lawmaker wouldn't meet with the Minnesota Nurses Association because they backed his opponent in November, was cleared by a Senate subcommittee Wednesday. The four-lawmaker panel -- which includes Sens. Michelle Fischbach, Linda Scheid, Bill Ingebrigtsen and Kathy Sheran -- found unanimously that there was no probable cause that Newman broke ethics rules, and no reason to move forward with an investigation.
The decision came after an hours-long hearing that saw DFL Sen. Ron Latz questioning Newman as if he were deposing him. Newman, and his attorney Fritz Knaak, repeatedly acknowledged that the e-mail was a political mistake, unsavory and even "foolish," but said there was no ethics violation.
BILLS IN COMMITTEE WEDNESDAY
HF 9: Nuclear power plant moratorium repealed. Passed Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee. Referred to House floor.
HF 88: School personnel maintenance of effort requirements changed and financial decisions referred to school districts. Passed Property and Local Tax Division. Referred to House floor.
HF 89: Voter photo identification required. Passed Government Operations and Elections. Referred to State Government Finance.
HF 180: Criminal offenses committed near county lines may be charged in the county of offense or the county of the arresting law enforcement agency. Passed Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance. Referred to Judiciary.
HF 203: Legislative approval for certain rules to take effect. Passed Government Operations and Elections. Referred to House floor.Thursday, February 10
(source: politics in minnesota)
The Education Reform Committee will hear three bills at 8:15 a.m.: HF 133, a bill providing for trial placements for eligible children at Minnesota State Academies; HF 183, a bill to require teacher candidates to pass basic skills exam; HF 300, Comprehensive eye exams recommended for early childhood development screening.
The Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee will hear four bills relating to fishing regulations at 8:15 a.m. for possible inclusion in an omnibus game/fish bill - no votes will be taken on individual proposals. HF 16, HF 107, HF 225 and HF 242.
The Judiciary Policy and Finance Committee will hear HF 68, a bill making careless driving that results in a death a gross misdemeanor, at 8:15 a.m.
The State Government Finance Committee will hear HF 4, a bill reducing the state workforce, at 8:15 a.m.
The Government Operations and Elections Committee will hear two bills at 10:15 a.m.: HF 192, the Reinventing Government Employment Act, which reduces the work force, removes contract restrictions and proposed a right to work constitutional amendment, and HF 102, a bill establishing a state science and technology program.
The Public Safety and Crime Prevention and Policy Committee will hear HF 306, a bill establishing Emily's Law and lowering the age for some juvenile offenders, at 10:15 a.m.
The Taxes Committee will hear two bills at 10:15 a.m.: HF 258, a bill authorizing licensed ambulance services to submit claims directly to the state, and HF 394, a bill expanding the public safety radio system exemption.
The Education Finance Committee will hear three bills at 12:30 p.m.: HF 407, a bill repealing the reduction of state short-term borrowing through school district payment changes; HF 341, a bill repealing the MMB school district state-aid payment reduction requirement; HF 257, a bill creating the early graduation achievement scholarship program.
SENATE
The Judiciary and Public Safety Committee will hear three bills at 1 p.m.: SF 229, a bill authorizing eminent domain portion of easement discharge; SF 137, a bill modifying mortgage foreclosure redemption periods; SF 136, technical changes to the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act.
WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY
STATE OF THE STATE: In his first State of the State address, Gov. Mark Dayton doubled down on his campaign promise of building "a better Minnesota" -- complete with increased investment in education and transportation -- and made clear his intention to tax the state's wealthiest residents to pay for it.
"If we do so, by working together, we can rightfully tell the people of Minnesota that we succeeded. We did the very best we could, given the very difficult circumstances we inherited," Dayton said. "And if we all succeed together, the people of Minnesota will win. If we fail, the people of Minnesota will lose. It's that simple. It's that inescapable."
But it took less than an hour for the political realities at the Capitol to bring the rhetoric of Dayton's speech -- some 5,000 words long, and reportedly written by Dayton himself -- back down to earth. "It was a little shy on details," Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said of the speech. "I'm not sure how he can keep [those promises]," she added, citing the state's crushing budget deficit and rejecting his call for higher taxes.
Dayton surprised Republican legislative leaders by taking aim at an early-session committee hearing -- of the House HHS Finance panel chaired by Jim Abeler -- that included an overview of government shutdown procedures. Koch and House Speaker Kurt Zellers said they were blindsided by that, and that the subject had never come up in their many conversations in recent weeks. Koch called it "odd." See more PIM coverage of the speech and reaction from lawmakers here.
RITCHIE'S PROMOTION: Laughter erupted just before Gov. Mark Dayton entered the House chamber, when a House sergeant-at-arms inadvertently announced the arrival of Gov. Mark Ritchie.
FEINWACHS' HMO CLAIMS: PIM's Paul Demko recently wrote about the crusade of former MN Hospitals Association counsel Dave Feinwachs to crack open the books of the HMOs that currently administer about $6 billion in state health care spending per biennium. How worried are the health plans? Following Feinwachs' appearance before the House HHS Finance Committee on Tuesday, we're told, committee members were blitzed with visits from HMO lobbyists on Wednesday. And House GOP freshman Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen has already introduced a bill, HF 412, to increase the reimbursement rates that the HMOs pass on to service providers.
FEINWACHS LAWSUIT: Feinwachs has also filed a lawsuit against the health plans, alleging defamation in retaliation for his claims. Details.
HOUSE PASSES BUDGET BILL: Following impassioned debate, the House of Representatives passed the GOP budget-reducing bill that would trim more than $800 million of the state's $6.2 billion deficit. The Senate is expected to take it up today, with the goal of sending it to Gov. Mark Dayton before he delivers his budget next week. Three GOP reps voted against the bill: Debra Kiel of Crookston, King Banaian of St. Cloud and Rich Murray of Albert Lea. Mound Republican Steve Smith was not present for the vote.
WESTROM BILL WHISPERS: Lobbyists and child advocates have been buzzing about a little-noticed bill that's up for a hearing in the House Public Safety Committee today. Rep. Torrey Westrom's HF 306 would reduce the age at which juveniles can be charged as adults for certain violent offenses. While Westrom introduced a similar bill in 2008 that would've lowered the age to 13, this one would allow prosecution of children age 10 and older for some crimes.
VIKES IN THE RATHSKELLER: In the Capitol cafeteria yesterday, Lester Bagley of the Minnesota Vikings was seen in earnest conversation with Nick Riley, a lobbyist for Ramsey County, amid piles of paperwork. One of the Vikes' proposed stadium sites is in the Ramsey County community of Arden Hills.
NEW BILLS: Rep. Keith Downey has introduced two new government-reduction bills: HF 418, which would consolidate some "back office" functions in the Department of Administration, and HF 419, which would eliminate or merge nine current state agencies. Other new House bills here.
TEACHER TENURE: Teacher tenure was a hot topic in the Senate Education Committee. Senate Republicans want to revisit this job security issue, which some feel allow less-than-stellar educators to remain in their posts. No action was taken, but look for lively testimony in meetings ahead.
CRAVAACK APPLAUDED: One northern Minnesota mining lobbyist praised U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack for his cooperation in streamlining the environmental permitting process at the federal level. The feds have a history of coming into the process late in the game, the lobbyist noted -- and if they have concerns, the permitting process can screech to a halt.
CHAMBER CONCERNS: Several folks in the know have commented recently that regional chambers of commerce around the state have growing differences with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. One former state senator noted that greater Minnesota chambers have "a very different agenda" than their statewide representative body, since the economies of smaller communities depend on state revenues from colleges and universities, and local government aid, all of which face cuts this session.
HAUSMAN ON DNR: Earlier in the week, we got word on who would fill out the top staff slots in Gov. Mark Dayton's DNR, and by Wednesday at least one DFLer was miffed at some of the names included on the list. DFLer Alice Hausman (pictured right) told PIM she had some strong concerns about the new roles of former state Sen. Bob Lessard and ex-Pioneer Press outdoors writer Chris Niskanen, who will serve as special assistant to the commissioner for outreach and communications director, respectively.
In Hausman's view, Lessard -- a longtime hunter who runs fishing resorts -- will likely work to benefit sportsman groups over others, increasing the already substantial political clout of those interests at the Capitol. She called Niskanen a mouthpiece for the same outdoors groups and the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council. Niskanen used the newspaper to go after House members who questioned such groups, she said.
"Now the taxpayers are going to be paying for their offices and their salary," she said. "It's a coup that's complete, and it's been accomplished right under taxpayer's noses."
One mining lobbyist we spoke to said that he and his colleagues were mostly content with Dayton's picks, but that Lessard -- who is referred to as the "Old Trapper" -- is clearly cut from hook-and-bullet cloth, and therefore bound to upset enviro-minded members from the Twin Cities.
NEWMAN: GOP Sen. Scott Newman, who had been in hot water over an e-mail from his office that said the freshman lawmaker wouldn't meet with the Minnesota Nurses Association because they backed his opponent in November, was cleared by a Senate subcommittee Wednesday. The four-lawmaker panel -- which includes Sens. Michelle Fischbach, Linda Scheid, Bill Ingebrigtsen and Kathy Sheran -- found unanimously that there was no probable cause that Newman broke ethics rules, and no reason to move forward with an investigation.
The decision came after an hours-long hearing that saw DFL Sen. Ron Latz questioning Newman as if he were deposing him. Newman, and his attorney Fritz Knaak, repeatedly acknowledged that the e-mail was a political mistake, unsavory and even "foolish," but said there was no ethics violation.
BILLS IN COMMITTEE WEDNESDAY
HF 9: Nuclear power plant moratorium repealed. Passed Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee. Referred to House floor.
HF 88: School personnel maintenance of effort requirements changed and financial decisions referred to school districts. Passed Property and Local Tax Division. Referred to House floor.
HF 89: Voter photo identification required. Passed Government Operations and Elections. Referred to State Government Finance.
HF 180: Criminal offenses committed near county lines may be charged in the county of offense or the county of the arresting law enforcement agency. Passed Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance. Referred to Judiciary.
HF 203: Legislative approval for certain rules to take effect. Passed Government Operations and Elections. Referred to House floor.Thursday, February 10
(source: politics in minnesota)
Monday, February 7, 2011
WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK
EVENTS:
Monday:
YouthLink/Kulture Klub (Artists working with homeless youth). 11-1 p.m. Capitol Rotunda. (Also same time/place Tuesday.)
Tuesday:
ARRM (Caregivers for persons with disabilities). 1 p.m. Capitol Rotunda.
Wednesday:
AIDS Action Day at the Capitol. MN AIDS Project. 11 a.m. Capitol Rotunda.
Gov. Mark Dayton's State of the State Address. Noon. Minnesota House of Representative Chamber.
U of M Heller Herwicz Economics Institute: Addressing Climate Change: Economic Perspectives on Pricing Environmental Risk . 5:30-7 p.m., McNamara Center. Minneapolis RSVP here.
St. Paul Republicans Meeting: 7 p.m. O'Gara's. St. Paul.
Thursday:
Freedom to Marry Day Rally. OutFront Minnesota. Noon. Capitol Rotunda.
Drinking Liberally Event: Featuring Wy Spano. 7:30 p.m., 331 Club. Minneapolis.
St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting: Speaker: Robert Stephens, founder of The Geek Squad. 5-9 p.m., Grand Ballroom, RiverCentre, St. Paul.
TODAY'S CAPITOL SCHEDULE
The House will be in session at 3 p.m.
The Senate will be in session at 11 a.m.
The Civil Law Committee will hear HF 292, a bill changing child custody policies, and HF 211, a bill modifying deceptive trade practice actions and class action court policies.
The House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee will begin work reconciling the two versions of the GOP's "Phase One" budget bill: HF 130 and SF 60. The House measure includes a state employee wage freeze, $200 million in agency budget reductions this biennium, and temporary LGA cuts. The Senate's has no wage freeze, $125 million in agency savings and permanent LGA cuts. GOP leadership in both chambers has so far deferred to the conferees on how the bills should be reconciled, but said they hope to have the work done by mid-week. House conferees will be: Mary Liz Holberg, Bud Nornes, Bob Gunther, Jim Abeler and Greg Davids. For the Senate, Claire Robling, Mike Parry, David Hann, Julianne Ortman and Michelle Fischbach will handle negotiations.
WHAT'S COMING UP
REVENUE: Sen. Julianne Ortman (left) has recently led her Taxes Committee in a review of the state's costly tax expenditures, something she said will continue all session, signaling at least some openness to bringing in more revenue to fix the state's budget deficit. That stands in contrast with much of the GOP's campaign rhetoric and the overtures from leadership so far this session. The end goal of the review, Ortman said last week, will be more about improving policy than looking for revenue, although she admitted that could be a secondary effect. Ortman mentioned lowering some tax rates while broadening the tax base as something worth considering. Freshman GOP Sen. John Howe mused in a hearing recently about regularly reviewing all tax expenditures with the goal of trimming many back. When asked whether that might be seen as a de facto tax increase, Howe flatly replied: "Well, I didn't sign the no new taxes pledge."
Finance chair Claire Robling, for her part, has also signaled some openness to finding additional revenue. "We are giving up a ton of revenue here," Robling told the Associated Press. "We're looking for our best bang for the buck, in a time where we really need job creation. Maybe we should be looking at some of these exemptions and asking if they are really bolstering economic growth. If they're not, maybe something else might be more effective."
Sens. Geoff Michel and Amy Koch, meanwhile, remain cool to the idea of bringing in any additional revenue. Michel said Friday the state will have about $32 billion to spend this biennium, and that he doesn't intend to spend more, no matter the source. "The final answer cannot be we're raising taxes," Michel said Friday. "We're not going to ask for more."
VOTER ID BATTLE BREWING: Testimony will continue this week over Voter ID legislation. Last week, the first hearing saw a standing-room-only crowd. Pro-photo ID testifiers, according to Dan McGrath of Minnesota Majority, included folks from his group, members from election watcher Andy Cilek's Minnesota Voters Alliance and a handful of Tea Party types. On the opposite side, advocates for the disabled, Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota, and the state chapters of the League of Women's Voters and ACLU.
The state is set for an interesting battle. Two pieces of legislation are being floated, one of them chief-authored by former Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer. Gov. Mark Dayton has called the push a solution in search of a problem, while House Speaker Kurt Zellers said Friday he plans to push the bill even absent DFL support. Yesterday, Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota held its first educational forum in what they billed as a two-year campaign to educate voters on why photo ID is not necessary. Speakers included that group's executive director, current Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.
EDUCATION: Gov. Mark Dayton laid out his first major education proposal Friday, renewing his pledge to increase K-12 funding in his budget, signaling an openness to alternative teacher licensure and other changes. See more details here.
COMMISH: Majority Leader Amy Koch said Friday she expects the Senate to begin having hearings on Dayton administration commissioner appointees very soon. Republicans haven't voiced much criticism as of yet, with the exception of Revenue Commissioner-designate Myron Frans, who has drawn fire for being unavailable to start his new job until mid-April.
MMB: Margaret Kelly, the city of St. Paul's finance director, will be an the new state budget director, MMB said Friday.
ON THE FLOOR: Expect to see HF 1, a bill to speed up environmental permitting, along with bills on alternative teacher licensure measure and the repeal of the nuclear power plant moratorium on the House floor this week. The Senate is expected to have a quiet week on the floor after passing nuclear, budget and alt-licensure bills last week. SF 1, the Senate GOP's so-called jobs bill, could be on the Senate floor as early as next week.
QUOTED, NOTED: Gov. Mark Dayton on his hectic first month on the job at a news conference Friday: "I'm not bored."
NEW DFL CHAIR: Ken Martin, the force behind several successful DFL fundraising efforts over the last few years, was elected chair of that party on Saturday. Marge Hoffa was selected as co-chair.
Source: Politics in Minnesota
Monday:
YouthLink/Kulture Klub (Artists working with homeless youth). 11-1 p.m. Capitol Rotunda. (Also same time/place Tuesday.)
Tuesday:
ARRM (Caregivers for persons with disabilities). 1 p.m. Capitol Rotunda.
Wednesday:
AIDS Action Day at the Capitol. MN AIDS Project. 11 a.m. Capitol Rotunda.
Gov. Mark Dayton's State of the State Address. Noon. Minnesota House of Representative Chamber.
U of M Heller Herwicz Economics Institute: Addressing Climate Change: Economic Perspectives on Pricing Environmental Risk . 5:30-7 p.m., McNamara Center. Minneapolis RSVP here.
St. Paul Republicans Meeting: 7 p.m. O'Gara's. St. Paul.
Thursday:
Freedom to Marry Day Rally. OutFront Minnesota. Noon. Capitol Rotunda.
Drinking Liberally Event: Featuring Wy Spano. 7:30 p.m., 331 Club. Minneapolis.
St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting: Speaker: Robert Stephens, founder of The Geek Squad. 5-9 p.m., Grand Ballroom, RiverCentre, St. Paul.
TODAY'S CAPITOL SCHEDULE
The House will be in session at 3 p.m.
The Senate will be in session at 11 a.m.
The Civil Law Committee will hear HF 292, a bill changing child custody policies, and HF 211, a bill modifying deceptive trade practice actions and class action court policies.
The House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee will begin work reconciling the two versions of the GOP's "Phase One" budget bill: HF 130 and SF 60. The House measure includes a state employee wage freeze, $200 million in agency budget reductions this biennium, and temporary LGA cuts. The Senate's has no wage freeze, $125 million in agency savings and permanent LGA cuts. GOP leadership in both chambers has so far deferred to the conferees on how the bills should be reconciled, but said they hope to have the work done by mid-week. House conferees will be: Mary Liz Holberg, Bud Nornes, Bob Gunther, Jim Abeler and Greg Davids. For the Senate, Claire Robling, Mike Parry, David Hann, Julianne Ortman and Michelle Fischbach will handle negotiations.
WHAT'S COMING UP
REVENUE: Sen. Julianne Ortman (left) has recently led her Taxes Committee in a review of the state's costly tax expenditures, something she said will continue all session, signaling at least some openness to bringing in more revenue to fix the state's budget deficit. That stands in contrast with much of the GOP's campaign rhetoric and the overtures from leadership so far this session. The end goal of the review, Ortman said last week, will be more about improving policy than looking for revenue, although she admitted that could be a secondary effect. Ortman mentioned lowering some tax rates while broadening the tax base as something worth considering. Freshman GOP Sen. John Howe mused in a hearing recently about regularly reviewing all tax expenditures with the goal of trimming many back. When asked whether that might be seen as a de facto tax increase, Howe flatly replied: "Well, I didn't sign the no new taxes pledge."
Finance chair Claire Robling, for her part, has also signaled some openness to finding additional revenue. "We are giving up a ton of revenue here," Robling told the Associated Press. "We're looking for our best bang for the buck, in a time where we really need job creation. Maybe we should be looking at some of these exemptions and asking if they are really bolstering economic growth. If they're not, maybe something else might be more effective."
Sens. Geoff Michel and Amy Koch, meanwhile, remain cool to the idea of bringing in any additional revenue. Michel said Friday the state will have about $32 billion to spend this biennium, and that he doesn't intend to spend more, no matter the source. "The final answer cannot be we're raising taxes," Michel said Friday. "We're not going to ask for more."
VOTER ID BATTLE BREWING: Testimony will continue this week over Voter ID legislation. Last week, the first hearing saw a standing-room-only crowd. Pro-photo ID testifiers, according to Dan McGrath of Minnesota Majority, included folks from his group, members from election watcher Andy Cilek's Minnesota Voters Alliance and a handful of Tea Party types. On the opposite side, advocates for the disabled, Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota, and the state chapters of the League of Women's Voters and ACLU.
The state is set for an interesting battle. Two pieces of legislation are being floated, one of them chief-authored by former Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer. Gov. Mark Dayton has called the push a solution in search of a problem, while House Speaker Kurt Zellers said Friday he plans to push the bill even absent DFL support. Yesterday, Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota held its first educational forum in what they billed as a two-year campaign to educate voters on why photo ID is not necessary. Speakers included that group's executive director, current Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.
EDUCATION: Gov. Mark Dayton laid out his first major education proposal Friday, renewing his pledge to increase K-12 funding in his budget, signaling an openness to alternative teacher licensure and other changes. See more details here.
COMMISH: Majority Leader Amy Koch said Friday she expects the Senate to begin having hearings on Dayton administration commissioner appointees very soon. Republicans haven't voiced much criticism as of yet, with the exception of Revenue Commissioner-designate Myron Frans, who has drawn fire for being unavailable to start his new job until mid-April.
MMB: Margaret Kelly, the city of St. Paul's finance director, will be an the new state budget director, MMB said Friday.
ON THE FLOOR: Expect to see HF 1, a bill to speed up environmental permitting, along with bills on alternative teacher licensure measure and the repeal of the nuclear power plant moratorium on the House floor this week. The Senate is expected to have a quiet week on the floor after passing nuclear, budget and alt-licensure bills last week. SF 1, the Senate GOP's so-called jobs bill, could be on the Senate floor as early as next week.
QUOTED, NOTED: Gov. Mark Dayton on his hectic first month on the job at a news conference Friday: "I'm not bored."
NEW DFL CHAIR: Ken Martin, the force behind several successful DFL fundraising efforts over the last few years, was elected chair of that party on Saturday. Marge Hoffa was selected as co-chair.
Source: Politics in Minnesota
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Voter suppression.
Andy Birkey over at the Minnesota Independent (a blog well worth reading) did a great job reporting on this story on our own Mary Kiffmeyer’s effort to suppress voting in our State. Click on the title to read Andy's report.
Last election 2.9 million votes were cast in Minnesota. Kiffmeyer’s own “Minnesota Majority” offered rewards and trained hundreds of so called “poll watchers” for evidence of voter fraud. Yet only 26 people were found to have voted without the right to. That’s .000009 of all the votes cast for those of you who follow Mary’s advice and are home schooled.
And what is the cost for Kiffmeyer’s voter Id bill? Some suggest it’s upwards of $25,000,000 give or take, not counting the legal challenge that’s sure to come when you disenfranchise large groups of citizens like the elderly, college students and women living in shelters.
Kiffmeyer prepared a demonstration of how the system would work but the system broke down during her presentation so the dog and pony show will be presented at a later date presumably when she works out the bugs.
For those of us who were hoping to Kiffmeyer would focus on reducing state expenditures or dealing with the highest foreclosure rates in the state or even with creating some jobs in our area, we will just have to wait until Mary spends 25 million dollars to keep 26 people out of 2.9 million from voting.
Friday, February 4, 2011
WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY -
February 4, 2011- Friday
EVENTS:
5B RACE: U.S. Rep. and GOP darling Chip Cravaack will host a fundraiser for House 5B GOP candidate Paul Jacobson today in downtown Hibbing.
DFLERS IN DASSEL: DFLers will meet Saturday morning at Cokato Dassel High School to select a new leadership slate. The two top slots are unopposed, with Ken Martin running for chair and Marge Hoffa for associate chair. Candidates with opponents include the party secretary candidates (Vanessa Blomgren and Jacob Griffen), treasurer candidates (Tom Hamilton and Lil Ortendahl), and Affirmative Action Officer candidates (Frank Brown and Eric Margolis).
WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY
PHASE ONE: After two-and-a-half hours of heated debate that, as Majority Leader Amy Koch (pictured right) put it afterward, resembled the more raucous debates typical of the House, the Legislature's upper chamber passed the Republican "Phase One" budget bill on a party line 37-27 vote.
The House bill (HF 130) and Senate bill (SF 60) now head to conference committee with significant differences. The House measure includes a state employee wage freeze, $200 million in agency budget reductions this biennium, and temporary LGA cuts. The Senate's, meanwhile, has no wage freeze, $125 million in agency savings and permanent LGA cuts.
House conferees will be: Mary Liz Holberg, Bud Nornes, Bob Gunther, Jim Abeler and Greg Davids. For the Senate, Claire Robling, Mike Parry, David Hann, Julianne Ortman and Michelle Fischbach will handle negotiations.
Holberg has maintained that $200 million in agency savings can be found, and she's pledged to file records requests with agencies to find out where state employees are "hiding" or spending money. Robling, meanwhile, has called her $125 million cut a "goal" and said Thursday she doesn't think $200 million in savings can be found.
"WILL NOT YIELD": One of the tenser moments of the debate came when former DFL Finance Chair Dick Cohen (pictured left) asked two high-ranking Republicans -- Bill Ingebrigtsen and Mike Parry -- to yield to questions about budget-cutting measures in the bill. They refused, which seemed to shock Cohen. "If this were a courtroom, I'd object," he said on the floor. After the budget vote, Ingebrigtsen said he thought Cohen was simply looking for an argument. Meanwhile, no one we spoke to could recall the last time a senator had refused to yield in floor debate.
NOTABLE AYE: We noticed GOP Sen. Julie Rosen waited until the last minute to cast her vote on Sen. Linda Berglin's budget bill amendment that would have removed cuts to child protection grants. We spotted Rosen casting a keen eye to the vote board, and as it became clear the amendment would fail (eventually by a 28-36 vote), she voted for the changes.
ALT-LICENSURE: The Senate also passed its alternative teacher licensure bill (SF 40) by a 40-23 vote, with three DFLers voting green on the measure. The House version (HF 63) is almost to the floor, where it's expected to enjoy easy passage. Now, though, attention turns to Gov. Mark Dayton, -- who, while signaling some openness to the idea, has remained largely noncommittal. He and Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius will hold a news conference on education reform this morning.
WORD IN THE HALLS: Sen. Ann Rest might be in the running to head the Dayton administration's Department of Administration. One caveat: Though Rest won re-election with 58 percent of the vote in November, there are people in both parties who think it could be up for grabs in a special election.
LOBBYING MARY LIZ: We're guessing that Rep. Mary Liz Holberg never aspired to a daily schedule stacked end-to-end with the pleadings of lobbyists. But that's exactly what she's finding as House Ways and Means chair. When we passed by Holberg's fourth-floor office yesterday around mid-morning, there were no fewer than six veteran lobbyists packed into the SRO waiting area outside.
MEDICAID: A familiar complaint from Republicans has been the stress of working under federal maintenance-of-effort requirements that govern the state's Medicaid spending. On Thursday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent a letter to governors outlining some flexibility -- such as it is -- they may have when it comes to spending. Notably absent? Any openness to allowing states to scale back eligibility and trim enrollment, which is among the surest ways to reduce spending.
VOTER ID BILL PACKS THE ROOM: It was standing room only for Thursday's House Gov Ops and Elections hearing on two different photo ID bills, one authored by former SOS Mary Kiffmeyer, the other by Rep. Mike Benson. There was no shortage of testimony on all sides of the issue, but no vote was taken.
TINKERING WITH TECHNOLOGY: Kiffmeyer brought along a 10-minute video to tout the benefits that new technology brings to the election process. One problem: She couldn't get the video to play. Stay tuned - she'll try again at Tuesday's Gov Ops and Elections Committee hearing.
NEW BILLS: Fairly light activity in both chambers on Thursday. Most notably, freshmen House Republicans Bob Barrett and Mike Benson introduced an immigration bill, HF 358, that would outlaw so-called "sanctuary city" ordinances that direct local officials not to cooperate with immigration inquiries. And Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, along with eight GOP co-sponsors, introduced HF 355, a bill to reduce home-schooling mandates. DFL Rep. Ann Lenczewski introduced a bill to make former legislators wait a year before returning to the Capitol as lobbyists (HF 363). Here are listings of Thursday's House and Senate bill intros.
COMMISH MEETS COMMITTEES: New Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius made her debut before two House committees. Appearing before the House Education Finance Committee, she outlined an agenda for her department, and delivered a plea for preservation of education funding: "If we don't fund education now," she warned, "we will pay for it in the future."
GAROFALO'S PLEDGE: Telling fellow House Education Finance members that his committee has been more candid than other committees about the challenges they face, Rep. Pat Garofalo pledged that he would not be offering "any negative or critical comments about Gov. Dayton's budget."
LEGISLATIVE DIGS: When asked if a lot of legislators were living at downtown's Kellogg Square Apartments, one state rep chuckled, "My guess is if you have a meeting there, you'd have a quorum -- in the House and maybe in the Senate."
BILLS HEARD IN COMMITTEE THURSDAY:
HOUSE
H.F. 1: Changes to environmental permitting and review. Passed Government Operations and Elections Committee. Sent to House floor.
H.F. 57: A bill criminalizing the sale or possession of synthetic marijuana. Passed by Judiciary Policy and Finance Committee. Sent to House floor.
H.F. 63: Alternative teacher licensure. Passed Ways and Means Committee. Sent to House floor.
H.F. 110: Increasing membership of the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement. Passed by State Government Finance Committee. Re-referred to Ways and Means.
H.F. 152:Making possession or sale of identification documents without authorization or possession a crime. Passed Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee. Re-referred to Judiciary.
SENATE
S.F. 33: Freedom of Choice in Health Care. Passed by Judiciary and Public Safety Committee. Sent to Senate Finance.
S.F. 42: Changes to DNR permitting and review. Passed by Judiciary and Public Safety Committee. Sent to Senate Finance.
S.F. 158: Outdoor heritage fund appropriations and modifications. Passed by Environment and Natural Resources Committee for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill.
Source: Politics in Minnesota
EVENTS:
5B RACE: U.S. Rep. and GOP darling Chip Cravaack will host a fundraiser for House 5B GOP candidate Paul Jacobson today in downtown Hibbing.
DFLERS IN DASSEL: DFLers will meet Saturday morning at Cokato Dassel High School to select a new leadership slate. The two top slots are unopposed, with Ken Martin running for chair and Marge Hoffa for associate chair. Candidates with opponents include the party secretary candidates (Vanessa Blomgren and Jacob Griffen), treasurer candidates (Tom Hamilton and Lil Ortendahl), and Affirmative Action Officer candidates (Frank Brown and Eric Margolis).
WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY
PHASE ONE: After two-and-a-half hours of heated debate that, as Majority Leader Amy Koch (pictured right) put it afterward, resembled the more raucous debates typical of the House, the Legislature's upper chamber passed the Republican "Phase One" budget bill on a party line 37-27 vote.
The House bill (HF 130) and Senate bill (SF 60) now head to conference committee with significant differences. The House measure includes a state employee wage freeze, $200 million in agency budget reductions this biennium, and temporary LGA cuts. The Senate's, meanwhile, has no wage freeze, $125 million in agency savings and permanent LGA cuts.
House conferees will be: Mary Liz Holberg, Bud Nornes, Bob Gunther, Jim Abeler and Greg Davids. For the Senate, Claire Robling, Mike Parry, David Hann, Julianne Ortman and Michelle Fischbach will handle negotiations.
Holberg has maintained that $200 million in agency savings can be found, and she's pledged to file records requests with agencies to find out where state employees are "hiding" or spending money. Robling, meanwhile, has called her $125 million cut a "goal" and said Thursday she doesn't think $200 million in savings can be found.
"WILL NOT YIELD": One of the tenser moments of the debate came when former DFL Finance Chair Dick Cohen (pictured left) asked two high-ranking Republicans -- Bill Ingebrigtsen and Mike Parry -- to yield to questions about budget-cutting measures in the bill. They refused, which seemed to shock Cohen. "If this were a courtroom, I'd object," he said on the floor. After the budget vote, Ingebrigtsen said he thought Cohen was simply looking for an argument. Meanwhile, no one we spoke to could recall the last time a senator had refused to yield in floor debate.
NOTABLE AYE: We noticed GOP Sen. Julie Rosen waited until the last minute to cast her vote on Sen. Linda Berglin's budget bill amendment that would have removed cuts to child protection grants. We spotted Rosen casting a keen eye to the vote board, and as it became clear the amendment would fail (eventually by a 28-36 vote), she voted for the changes.
ALT-LICENSURE: The Senate also passed its alternative teacher licensure bill (SF 40) by a 40-23 vote, with three DFLers voting green on the measure. The House version (HF 63) is almost to the floor, where it's expected to enjoy easy passage. Now, though, attention turns to Gov. Mark Dayton, -- who, while signaling some openness to the idea, has remained largely noncommittal. He and Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius will hold a news conference on education reform this morning.
WORD IN THE HALLS: Sen. Ann Rest might be in the running to head the Dayton administration's Department of Administration. One caveat: Though Rest won re-election with 58 percent of the vote in November, there are people in both parties who think it could be up for grabs in a special election.
LOBBYING MARY LIZ: We're guessing that Rep. Mary Liz Holberg never aspired to a daily schedule stacked end-to-end with the pleadings of lobbyists. But that's exactly what she's finding as House Ways and Means chair. When we passed by Holberg's fourth-floor office yesterday around mid-morning, there were no fewer than six veteran lobbyists packed into the SRO waiting area outside.
MEDICAID: A familiar complaint from Republicans has been the stress of working under federal maintenance-of-effort requirements that govern the state's Medicaid spending. On Thursday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent a letter to governors outlining some flexibility -- such as it is -- they may have when it comes to spending. Notably absent? Any openness to allowing states to scale back eligibility and trim enrollment, which is among the surest ways to reduce spending.
VOTER ID BILL PACKS THE ROOM: It was standing room only for Thursday's House Gov Ops and Elections hearing on two different photo ID bills, one authored by former SOS Mary Kiffmeyer, the other by Rep. Mike Benson. There was no shortage of testimony on all sides of the issue, but no vote was taken.
TINKERING WITH TECHNOLOGY: Kiffmeyer brought along a 10-minute video to tout the benefits that new technology brings to the election process. One problem: She couldn't get the video to play. Stay tuned - she'll try again at Tuesday's Gov Ops and Elections Committee hearing.
NEW BILLS: Fairly light activity in both chambers on Thursday. Most notably, freshmen House Republicans Bob Barrett and Mike Benson introduced an immigration bill, HF 358, that would outlaw so-called "sanctuary city" ordinances that direct local officials not to cooperate with immigration inquiries. And Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, along with eight GOP co-sponsors, introduced HF 355, a bill to reduce home-schooling mandates. DFL Rep. Ann Lenczewski introduced a bill to make former legislators wait a year before returning to the Capitol as lobbyists (HF 363). Here are listings of Thursday's House and Senate bill intros.
COMMISH MEETS COMMITTEES: New Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius made her debut before two House committees. Appearing before the House Education Finance Committee, she outlined an agenda for her department, and delivered a plea for preservation of education funding: "If we don't fund education now," she warned, "we will pay for it in the future."
GAROFALO'S PLEDGE: Telling fellow House Education Finance members that his committee has been more candid than other committees about the challenges they face, Rep. Pat Garofalo pledged that he would not be offering "any negative or critical comments about Gov. Dayton's budget."
LEGISLATIVE DIGS: When asked if a lot of legislators were living at downtown's Kellogg Square Apartments, one state rep chuckled, "My guess is if you have a meeting there, you'd have a quorum -- in the House and maybe in the Senate."
BILLS HEARD IN COMMITTEE THURSDAY:
HOUSE
H.F. 1: Changes to environmental permitting and review. Passed Government Operations and Elections Committee. Sent to House floor.
H.F. 57: A bill criminalizing the sale or possession of synthetic marijuana. Passed by Judiciary Policy and Finance Committee. Sent to House floor.
H.F. 63: Alternative teacher licensure. Passed Ways and Means Committee. Sent to House floor.
H.F. 110: Increasing membership of the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement. Passed by State Government Finance Committee. Re-referred to Ways and Means.
H.F. 152:Making possession or sale of identification documents without authorization or possession a crime. Passed Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee. Re-referred to Judiciary.
SENATE
S.F. 33: Freedom of Choice in Health Care. Passed by Judiciary and Public Safety Committee. Sent to Senate Finance.
S.F. 42: Changes to DNR permitting and review. Passed by Judiciary and Public Safety Committee. Sent to Senate Finance.
S.F. 158: Outdoor heritage fund appropriations and modifications. Passed by Environment and Natural Resources Committee for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill.
Source: Politics in Minnesota
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Is Bachmann always wrong?
Michelle Bachmann gave a "tea Party" response to the SOU. To fact check her claims check this link out or jusk click on the title of this post to see. One thing for sure is that Bachmann wants to return to the policies of G.W. Bush.
http://politicalcorrection.org/factcheck/201101250021
http://politicalcorrection.org/factcheck/201101250021
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
DFL Statement Commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
ST. PAUL (January 17, 2011) - Today, in recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, State DFL Chair Brian Melendez released this statement:
"Today we celebrate both the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the tireless movement for equality and understanding that he helped foster. Through non-violent action, peaceful assembly and inspiring words, Dr. King helped show all Americans a better way forward and reminded our nation that all are created equal.
"While much work remains, we have come a long way since Dr. King addressed the nation from the Lincoln Memorial steps nearly half a century ago. He said that day that ours must be a nation where our children ‘will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.' And on this day we commemorate his leadership, his vision and the example that he set for generations to follow."
"Today we celebrate both the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the tireless movement for equality and understanding that he helped foster. Through non-violent action, peaceful assembly and inspiring words, Dr. King helped show all Americans a better way forward and reminded our nation that all are created equal.
"While much work remains, we have come a long way since Dr. King addressed the nation from the Lincoln Memorial steps nearly half a century ago. He said that day that ours must be a nation where our children ‘will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.' And on this day we commemorate his leadership, his vision and the example that he set for generations to follow."
Sunday, January 16, 2011
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