Gov. Mark Dayton will have his say on a plan to require all Minnesotans to present a valid photo identification card before voting.Sponsored by Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) and Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove), HF210/ SF509* would require all voters to present a valid government-issued photo ID with their current address before casting their ballots. Limited exceptions would be made for college students and those in nursing homes, battered women’s shelters and similar facilities.The House re-passed the bill 74-58 as amended by a conference committee. The Senate re-passed it 37-25 on May 18. It now goes to the governor for action.Overall, the bill is intended to boost the integrity of elections. In addition to requiring photo ID, it would provide that voters without an ID could cast a provisional ballot. Continue Reading
All but a handful of jobs and housing programs in the state would see their funding reduced, under the omnibus jobs and economic development finance bill headed for Gov. Mark Dayton’s desk.Sponsored by Rep. Bob Gunther (R-Fairmont) and Sen. Geoff Michel (R-Edina), HF1049/ SF887* would provide biennial funding for the Housing Finance Agency, Department of Employment and Economic Development, Department of Labor and Industry and a number of smaller agencies.The House voted 71-61 on May 19 to re-pass the bill as amended by conference. It now goes to the governor. The Senate re-passed it 37-27 on May 17.The bill’s net impact to the General Fund would be $138.2 million — a 17.8 percent reduction from base funding. Most programs would be reduced, with a few exceptions. The bill would infuse $2 million of new money in the first year of the biennium into vocational rehabilitation services, in order to leverage more federal dollars to help the disabled. Continue Reading
An omnibus state government finance bill that contains some ambitious plans for reforming state agencies and services will return to the House and Senate floors for re-passage.House and Senate conferees completed their work on HF577/ SF1057*. Sponsored by Rep. Morrie Lanning (R-Moorhead) and Sen. Mike Parry (R-Waseca), the bill would fund core state government operations and veterans programs for the 2012-2013 biennium.Under the agreed-to language, the conference report would spend a total of $600.3 million from the General Fund — a 34.2 percent reduction from base funding. Most agencies funded by the bill would receive a reduction of between 5 and 15 percent in their biennial operating budgets. Only the departments of Military Affairs and Veterans Affairs would see their budgets increase.The total number of state employees would be reduced 15 percent by 2015, and state workers would be collectively asked to pick up $90 million of the state’s current share of their health insurance costs. In addition to the funding reductions, the bill proposes a wide assortment of reform initiatives, including zero-based budgeting, performance pay programs and consolidation of information technology and other agency services.Lanning and Parry both expressed disappointment at what they said was unwillingness by Gov. Mark Dayton to negotiate with the conference committee. Continue Reading
A plan to require all voters to present a valid photo identification card at their polling place was passed 73-59 by the House.Sponsored by Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) and Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove), HF201/ SF509* would require all voters to present a photo ID with their current address before receiving a ballot. It now returns to the Senate, where a different version passed 37-26 on April 28.Under the provisions, voters without an ID could cast a provisional ballot that would be counted if they verify their identity to local authorities within seven days after an election. Also, voters without a current photo ID could apply for a free voter ID card; however, they must have appropriate documentation to prove their identity.The bill would also provide for a system of electronic polling place rosters to replace the current paper-based system; however, adoption of the new rosters would be optional to each local government.During nearly four hours of debate, supporters argued the bill would enhance the integrity of the state’s elections, while opponents argued it would disenfranchise some voters.Rep. Dean Urdahl (R-Grove City), whose birth certificate read “Baby Boy Urdahl,” said he sympathizes with those who have trouble proving their identity to the government; however, he overcame his personal difficulties in that area, and argued others would too.“I think we have the resiliency to surmount whatever problems come up,” he said.Rep. Kerry Gauthier (DFL-Duluth) said the bill amounted to a “poll tax” that unfairly targets people who can’t afford to obtain the documents they would need to get a photo ID. He added that the problem of voter impersonation has never been shown to exist in Minnesota.“It’s really about poll taxes, and it’s really about voter suppression,” he said of the bill. Continue Reading
Almost one-third of the state’s total budget comes from federal funding. With the federal government racking up an ever-increasing amount of debt, some wonder about the impact on Minnesota if Uncle Sam were to go bust.
In 2000, George W. Bush was elected president, despite getting fewer votes than Al Gore. Four years later, John Kerry came within a hair of defeating Bush, despite being more than 3 million votes behind him.A House committee signed off on a bipartisan plan to make sure the presidential candidate who gets the most votes always wins.Sponsored by Rep. Pat Garofalo (R-Farmington), HF495 would enact an interstate compact to elect the U.S. president by popular vote. The bill proposes that Minnesota’s electoral votes be cast for the candidate who wins the national popular vote, rather than the state’s popular vote.“It basically says that our state will agree to give its electoral votes to whoever gets the most votes,” said Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-St. Louis Park), who co-sponsors the bill.Supporters say the change would eliminate the issue of so-called “battleground states” having a disproportionate influence on presidential politics. Because many states reliably vote Democratic or Republican from one election to the next, presidential candidates often focus their attention on a handful of key states where the popular vote is more likely to swing.Patrick Rosenstiel, a senior consultant to National Popular Vote Inc., said the current system skews public policy in favor of issues that benefit battleground states. Continue Reading
Minnesotans may get to decide whether voters must show valid photo identification before casting their ballot.Sponsored by Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake), HF1597 would propose an amendment to the State Constitution that would require all voters to present a valid government-issue photo ID. If passed by the House and Senate, the measure would be put to the voters as a question on the 2012 General Election ballot.The House Government Operations and Elections Committee approved the bill on a 7-5 party-line vote and sent it to the House Ways and Means Committee. There is no Senate companion.“This is a strong, strong will-of-the-people issue,” Kiffmeyer said. “It is fair to take it to the people and let them have a direct say.”She also sponsors HF210, which would enact the voter ID requirement in statute. That bill would require Gov. Mark Dayton’s approval to become law; however, a constitutional amendment does not need the governor’s signature.During more than three hours of debate, opponents argued that no hard evidence exists of voter identification fraud in the state. Continue Reading
It’s a distinct possibility that local governments will get less aid money from the state this year. To help ease their budget pressures, lawmakers might also give them fewer mandates to carry out.
The House Government Operations and Elections Committee approved a pair of bills that would modify or repeal various mandates the state places on local units of government.
No one can accuse Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) of going down without a fight. When a proposal was made to strip $60 million out of an Iron Range trust fund to help balance the state’s budget, he resisted it every step of the way. “This is an outright theft of money from people that don’t deserve this,” he told members of the House Ways and Means Committee on March 28. He demanded to know whose idea the fund transfer was. “Who’s the moochers here?” Continue Reading
A proposal to require all Minnesota voters to show photo identification at their polling place was green-lighted after opponents’ fiscal concerns were partially addressed.
