The rules say what we want them to say

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Does anybody else see a comparison between the DFL-controlled Minnesota Legislature’s decision not to send its bonding bill to Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Democrat-controlled Congress’ delays in passing health care reform in Washington D.C.?House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, announced Tuesday that even though both houses passed a final bonding bill, legislative rules allowed them not to send it to Pawlenty, who has said he’ll veto it on arrival.Kelliher said they need a “cooling off period” with Pawlenty to figure out what he wants put in the bill and what he wants taken out of it. Pawlenty, for his part, said Tuesday he had already made that clear in his bonding request to the Legislature.The bonding bill faces a certain Pawlenty veto, but that could be overridden with a couple Republican votes in the House, while in D.C. it’s the Senate where Democrats need to pick up a few votes to pass the health care reform they want.But in both cases, it seems that Democrats are willing to throw up their hands and say “well, we tried” without actually, you know, getting something done.In Washington D.C., Democrats have the parliamentary option of passing a weak Senate health care bill and then pushing through stronger reforms such as the “public option” by shoving parliamentary procedure through a meat-grinder known as the reconciliation process.That process would allow them to pass budget-related legislation by a simple majority instead of needing 60 votes to end debate and avoid threats of a filibuster. More than 20 Democratic U.S. Senators have signed a letter in support of this procedural path, including U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., has said she supports it too, but hasn’t signed the letter yet.In St. Paul, DFLers have no easy way around a Pawlenty veto except to find the votes to override him. Continue Reading

Convention season begins, with some metro legislative endorsing battles

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Minnesota legislators retiring from their seats or facing endorsement battles should make for some interesting local party conventions in the Twin Cities area in coming weeks. House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, is stepping down from her House District 60A seat to run for governor, and the DFL endorsing convention for her seat is coming up at 9 a.m. Saturday at Washburn High School in Minneapolis. So far three DFLers, Marion Greene, Katie Hatt and Tom Nordyke have announced their candidacies. Rep. Cy Thao, DFL-St. Paul, is giving up his House District 65A seat, and a candidate forum featuring the four DFL hopefuls who want to replace him is set for 3 p.m. Saturday at the Washington Middle School Auditorium in St. Continue Reading

Bonding Bill vote today?

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A conference committee late Sunday night hammered out a (possible) final spreadsheet of projects the state would fund in its construction borrowing bill and could send that bill to a vote today.The $1 billion bonding bill as proposed does not include the $89.7 million Gov. Tim Pawlenty wanted to expand the sex offender treatment program at Moose Lake, and could face a Pawlenty veto if it is passed because it is $300 million larger than his list of requests.In the meantime, keep your eye out for live video of the House of Representatives floor session here and the Senate floor session here.UPDATE: The final conference committee report is here, and here is the spreadsheet.Final spending breakdowns include:* $100 million for the University of Minnesota, including $55 million for asset preservation and replacement, but only $5 million for a physics and nanotechnology building for which Pawlenty requested $53 million.* $306 million for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, including $52 million for asset preservation and replacement and money for science, engineering, bioscience and health studies classroom facilities in St. Cloud, Southwest Minnesota State, North Hennepin Community College, Lake Superior College and Anoka Ramsey Community College.* $130 million for the Department of Natural Resources, including $63.5 million for flood hazard mitigation grants, $21 million for state trails development and $11 million for state parks and trails rehabilitation.* $159 million for the Department of Transportation, including $67 million for local bridge rehabilitation and replacement, of which $10 million would go to Hennepin County’s Lowry Avenue Bridge project and $7 million for Minneapolis to build a bridge over the Northtown Rail Yard at St. Anthony Parkway.* $79 million for the Metropolitan Council, including $43.5 million for transit improvements and $11 million for the Como Zoo.* $134 million for the Department of Employment and Economic Development, including money for civic centers in Mankato, Rochester and St. Cloud, $16 million for Minneapolis’ Orchestra Hall and Peavey Plaza renovation, $16 million for St. Paul’s Ordway Center expansion and $5 million to build a St. Continue Reading

Let the negotiations commence

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If you have strong feelings about what should or should not be in this year’s bonding bill (Ordway expansion, Orchestra Hall renovation, sex offender treatment facilities, etc.), now is the time to contact the people who will be responsible for writing the final bill.The group of Senators and Representatives who will meet over the coming weeks to hammer out a final version of HF 2700 (the final spreadsheet showing differences between the House and Senate bills and Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s request is here) are:* Sen Keith Langseth, DFL-Glyndon and Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul, who are the committee chairs and will be the ones who negotiate the deals.* Sens. Ann Lynch, DFL-Rochester, Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, David Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm, and Paul Koering, R-Fort Ripley, will represent the Senate side in the conference committee.* Reps. Bev Scalze, DFL-Little Canada, Loren Solberg, DFL-Grand Rapids, Jean Wagenius, DFL-Minneapolis and Larry Howes, R-Walker, will represent the House of Representatives.Of course, the man with the veto pen is Pawlenty, so letting his office know how you feel about the bonding bill is also an important stop.When the conference committee settles on a compromise bill, it will return to the House and the Senate for final passage before it goes to Pawlenty. Continue Reading

The hardest working crew at the Capitol?

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For my money, nobody works harder than the folks at the Office of the Legislative Auditor at the Capitol. 
In less than one month, the nonpartisan audit and evaluation group has released reports bringing the following facts to light:
* An examination of alternative education programs in Minnesota found that elementary and middle school students enrolled in alternative education facilities showed progress when participating in “extended-time” or afterschool education programs, but the Minnesota Department of Education has limited the number of school districts that can offer these programs.
* A look at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities showed that the $89 million System Office is growing more quickly than other parts of the higher education system, has received mixed reviews for its performance and needs better oversight. * A look at the state’s public defender system finds it to be an overworked, underfunded, weak link in Minnesota’s judicial system with no easy way to fix it. * A look at Minnesota’s Workforce programs finds gaps in providing help to people looking for jobs or training that result from a lack of integration and oversight of the system. That’s not even mentioning audits of state payroll system security and the state’s 2009 fiscal statements. It may not be sexy work, but these watchdogs are doing what they can to make sure your and my tax dollars are not wasted. Continue Reading

Government union members rally as Pawlenty touts layoffs

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February 17 – Members of AFSCME Council 5 plan to rally at the Capitol today in support of a state government budget solution that won’t mean the kind of painful layoffs Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s supplemental budget plan proposes for state and local government workers. 
The union, which represents city, school, county, state and some private sector workers, says its top priority is a budget solution that includes raising revenue by taxing the wealthy and corporations. That approach was explicitly ruled out in Pawlenty’s budget proposal, which actually seeks to cut corporate tax rates, while reducing state aid to cities and counties by $250 million,  cutting $181 million from state agencies, and cutting $47 million from higher educaiton to help balance a $1.2 billion deficit in the budget cycle that ends next June. Both those cuts would likely lead to layoffs of government employees across the state, a probability Pawlenty’s budget commissioner Tom Hanson acknowledged during legislative testimony on Tuesday. The union hopes to pack 1,100 members into the Capitol Rotunda at 12:30 p.m. today. The rally is one part of the group’s Day On The Hill, which concludes with a reception at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront in St. Continue Reading

Sex offender funding + House bonding bill = Veto-proof majority

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Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s biggest wish list item got added to a $1 billiion state construction borrowing bill the House of Representatives passed Monday evening with a veto-proof majority. Pawlenty had asked for $89 million to add 400 beds to a Moose Lake sex offender treatment facility in his bonding request, but it wasn’t in the House bill as introduced last week. The Minnesota Senate included a $1 million placeholder for the item in the bill they passed last week by a veto-proof majority. Pawlenty last week proposed doubling sentences for some sex offenders and said the $89 million Moose Lake bonding proposal was needed because the existing 552-bed facility will be full by 2012 at the rate courts are sending people there. Inclusion by the House bill’s author, Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Continue Reading

CAPITOL REPORT | Busy Presidents’ Day for Minnesota legislature

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Presidents’ Day is a state holiday, but Minnesota lawmakers and Gov. Tim Pawlenty won’t be taking it easy on Monday.The House of Representatives is scheduled to debate and vote on their bonding bill, HF 2700, from Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul. The Senate passed their version last week, so this vote should move things into the negotiation stage, with Pawlenty threatening to veto the final bill if it’s too big and doesn’t have the things he likes in it, and House Republicans pledging to uphold that veto.Expect a long debate going into the evening, as state representatives have a reputation for leaving nothing unsaid when it comes to these things. Look for Republicans to take shots at particular items in the bonding bill they want to label “pork” and for DFLers to paint this bill as a “jobs bill” that will put people (construction union members mostly) back to work.Here’s the most recent spreadsheet showing what’s in each bill, and what Pawlenty wants.Pawlenty, meanwhile, will be releasing his supplemental 2010 state budget proposal, which will include his ideas for solving a $1.4 billion state budget deficit remaining in the current budget cycle, which ends in June 2011.Soon after, Pawlenty’s Commissioner of the Office of Minnesota Management and Budget, Tom Hanson, will release a February state revenue forecast that will show whether that $1.4 billion gap is expected to grow, shrink or stay about the same.State Economist Tom Stinson, who puts together those forecasts, suggested on Minnesota Public Radio recently it will stay about the same, but we’ll get another read from Pawlenty’s budget proposal.  Continue Reading

Pawlenty’s last State of the State – and a little perspective

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Gov. Tim Pawlenty delivered his eighth and final State of the State speech on Thursday, with a focus on “jobs, jobs, jobs” as his spokesman Brian McClung said in a preview on Wednesday. (Video from The Uptake below)Pawlenty called for tax cuts and tax credits in the speech, including cutting the corporate tax rate, tax exemptions for small businesses, an “angel investor” tax credit, capital gains tax cuts and other proposals.You can watch the address below. But here are a couple things to keep in mind while watching the speech:Pawlenty is releasing his supplemental budget proposal on Monday, and in it, he will have to provide a means of escaping a $1.2 billion budget deficit remaining in the state government’s budget cycle that ends in mid-2011.That’s because, according to Minnesota State Economist Tom Stinson in the state’s November economic forecast, it will be 2013 before Minnesota returns to the levels of employment it enjoyed in late 2007, just before the recession began.Here’s the big picture when it comes to Minnesota’s employment record over the past few decades. Pawlenty has been governor since 2002, so as he prepares to exit the Minnesota stage in hopes of entering the national stage, keep his performance in mind.And Pawlenty’s not alone in calling for tax cuts and credits. Sen. James Metzen, DFL-South St. Continue Reading

Senate passes bonding bill. Now what?

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With the two-thirds majority required to overturn any veto threat from Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the Minnesota Senate on Tuesday passed SF 2360, a $1 billion bonding bill on a vote of 52-14.If you want a concise summary of the arguments for and against the bill, Senate Media Services offers a short video summary here, as well as an argument from Sen. Keith Langseth, DFL-Glyndon, the bill’s chief author and bonding bill baron, about why the time is now for a big borrowing bill. That’s here, and you can also watch the whole floor debate here, if you’re so inclined.What’s the next step? The House of Representatives has its own bonding bill, HF 2700, from Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul, and it might be headed for a floor vote soon too. You can compare the differences between the two bills and how they differ from Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s plan in one pdf spreadsheet located here.If and when both chambers pass their own bill, they’ll need to be reconciled in conference committee before a final vote. Continue Reading