The Rochester Chamber of Commerce wanted redevelopment of the Rochester Mayo Civic Center included in the bonding bill. Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem (R-Rochester) failed to get it in. Actually, Republicans at the Capitol were barely able to cobble together a bonding bill and it was the state's smallest ever.
As Senate Majority Leader and Chair of the Capital Investment Committee, you'd think he'd have the ability to deliver what his city's business community needs.
When Senjem appeared before the Rochester Chamber of Commerce he first tried to explain that his failure wasn't actually a failure -- they could apply for a grant to redevelop the Civic Center.
"I don't know if you could have written criteria that more closely identifies with Mayo Civic Center," the Rochester Republican said.
Senjem, who is chairman the Senate Capital Investment Committee, helped craft the $496 million bonding bill that was signed by DFL Gov. Mark Dayton last week. That bill did not include $35 million requested by the city of Rochester to expand Mayo Civic Center. To qualify for an economic development grant, a project must bring in money from Minnesota and outside the state, help cover maintenance costs of a public facility and create jobs. If Rochester doesn't get the grant money, "it's purely politics," Senjem said.
But local Democrats said the grant fund is not good enough. Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester, said there will be plenty of competition for those limited dollars. She blamed Republicans in the Minnesota House for failing to advocate for the civic center project.
"We needed stronger advocates in the majority to get that bill through, and that's the honest truth," she said.
Rep. Duane Quam (R-Byron) tried to blame the Chamber for lobbying for the wrong thing:
Quam said Rochester should have sold the project as a convention center project instead of a civic center project since the funding would go primarily toward creating additional convention space.
Way to get things done for your people, Duane. Why weren't you representing your city and the needs of the businesses in your district?
Senjem joined in the blame game and blamed the city's lobbyist for the failure:
Senjem blamed the city's lobbyist for the project's failure to get into the bonding bill. He said the strategy had been to include the Mayo Civic Center in the bonding bill because the design work had already been done and to include the St. Cloud Civic Center because that community had put money toward the project. But he said the plan was to leave out the Mankato Civic Center because no design work had been done. He said Rochester's lobbyist, Flaherty & Hood, P.A. of St. Paul, who also lobbies for Mankato, began "creating all kinds of hoopla and political difficulty."
Now that's leadership, Republican-style. Don't do what needs to get done then blame somebody else for your failure.
The problem isn't government, the problem is who is running the legislature.
This legislative session (and like a broken record), they promised to focus on creating jobs. They had massive trouble passing a stadium bill which, because billionaire sports team owners always get their way, became their top priority. They had all sorts of trouble passing a bonding bill and ended up passing the smallest one ever. Their tax bill was full of Underpants Gnome Economic Theory and hurt the middle class so Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed it.
While Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk may have characterized the MNGOP-controlled legislature as the "Do Nothing Legislature," they outdid themselves this session in one particular aspect: they introduced 78 far right bills instead of doing what they said they were going to do -- create jobs.
Below the fold, you'll find a list that goes up to 42. But since I listed 19 ballot measures as one item, its actually 61. Next if you consider that companion bills were introduced for 17 of the items listed, that increases the total to 78.
This is more than twice last session's 32 bills that I counted.
Its also explains why they only passed 245 bills, the smallest amount since 1869 -- they were too busy considering their RWNJ wet dreams.
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk and House Minority Leader Paul Thissen toured the state the day after the worst legislative session in our state's history ended. They used this tour as an opportunity to tell the Minnesotans how the Republicans are incapable of governing. They labeled this session the Do Nothing Legislature.
Bakk even said the following before the session adjourned:
"We're going to use 250 calendar days," Bakk said. "That, members, is the second longest calendar days since statehood. We're going to pass, assuming this bill gets signed and the Revisor's bill gets signed, about 245 bills. Members, that's the fewest number of bills that has been signed into law since 1869."
MPR's Poligraph even agreed with him:
Bakk's claim is basically correct.
The Evidence
The Legislative Reference Library keeps track of each two-year session's basics - how long they lasted, how many bills were introduced, and how many bills became law, among other statistics.
Excluding last year's special session to approve budget bills, the current session actually lasted 248 calendar days, so Bakk is two days off.
Nevertheless, this part of Bakk's claim is still on point: this session was the second longest in terms of calendar days since statehood.
...
Bakk is also correct that 245 bills became law this session. That's the fewest since 1869, when the same number of new laws were put on the books.
This is important. A central theme to the DFL's 2012 strategy is to talk about the Do Nothing Legislature. Republicans are going to have a hard time refuting it.
During the debate on the ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage in the Minnesota State Constitution, Sen. Patricia Torres-Ray (DFL-Mpls) asked author Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove) a very important question: How will the amendment protect my marriage? Patricia is married to a man.
What a great question!
I assumed he'd have an illuminating answer. After all, gays wanting to get married caused Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch and MNGOP Deputy Chair and Senate Communications Director Michael Brodkorb to commit adultery. All conservatives know that gays wanting to marry threatens their marriages and even the nation's security!
Sen. Limmer: Madam President and Senator Torres Ray, in the event that this bill would pass, I don't believe that this bill would do anything to promote or enhance your marriage.
What!?! He's got to be kidding! So this guy in the following video got it wrong? When I saw this video it all made sense ... I saw the vast gay conspiracy for what it was.
DFL and labor activist/staffer Jason Metsa announced that he will be seeking Tom Rukavina's seat this fall. Metsa ran Rukavina's 2010 gubernatorial campaign and has been very active on a whole lot of campaigns recently.
Metsa, 31, is a fifth-generation Iron Ranger with roots in the Angora and Nashwauk area. His family moved to Rochester for part of his childhood during the economic collapse in the '80s, but he returned to graduate from Babbitt-Embarrass in the late '90s.
Metsa began organizing a slew of Range political campaigns in 2006, working for various candidates and the DFL before being hired to coordinate political operations for the influential Labor Council last year.
"A lot of young people have had to move away [from the Range] to find jobs," said Metsa. "We need to create jobs for them here."
He told me he'll focus on helping advance nonferrous mining development in the area. He said he believes that the future of the Range depends on people getting involved in their communities.
Aaron notes that Metsa faces Lorrie Janatopoulos in the DFL endorsement race. The convention is this Saturday.
Now that one of the worst legislative sessions is over (rivaled only be the shutdown of 2011), Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton is flying from St. Paul to Duluth, Moorhead and Rochester to talk about how bad things have gotten at the legislature. He's kicking off the 2012 election cycle in MN.
DFL legislators from each area will join Dayton, Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk and House Minority Leader Paul Thissen and hold press conferences at their airport to highlight how little the Republicans were able to do.
For everyone not living under a rock for the last two months, the Republican-led legislature had an incredibly hard time getting any Republicans to support any kind of stadium bill.
They barely passed a bonding bill and it is the smallest in history.
Their tax bill was full of Underwear Gnomes Economic Theory, i.e., it was a joke full of tax breaks for the rich. Furthemore more it hurt the middle class. Gov. Dayton vetoed it. His veto letter is quite illuminating.
The only item of note they were able to accomplish was to pass a ballot measure to write vote suppression into our state's constitution. The MNGOP shrieked about vote fraud they couldn't find and want every voter to produce an ID. The IDs are not the main goal. Their main goal is to eliminate same-day registration. Republicans will have better electoral chances if fewer DFL-leaning demographics like students, seniors, military and minorities are able to vote.
It's time to get out there and elect DFLers to the State House and State Senate!
Every once in a while, a politician takes a principled stand. Even when taking such a stand holds the politician up to ridicule for going against the flow. Our country needs more leaders who will stand up for what's right rather than meekly conform to the wishes of the far right evangelicals.
Rep. John Kriesel (R-Cottage Grove) took a principled stand for freedom. He took a principled stand against bigotry and discrimination. He supports everyone's right to marry.
Kriesel is undoubtedly brave. He's a combat-wounded vet who received a Purple Heart. Watch him stand up on the floor of the Minnesota House of Representatives and stand up for equality.
Sen. David Hann (R-Eden Prairie) wanted to do to Ed Ehlinger what the Minnesota State Senate had done to former Sen. Ellen Anderson. Governor Mark Dayton appointed Anderson to head the Public Utilities Commission and Republicans in the Senate had rejected her appointment.
The only problem this time is Sen. Hann suffers from incompetence. Here's the basics:
For the second time in recent weeks, a Senate Health and Human Services confirmation hearing for Department of Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger was scheduled and later canceled with little explanation.
Thursday morning's hearing, which was added to the schedule late Wednesday, was canceled about an hour after it was scheduled to begin. Ehlinger, public health officials and a handful of DFL senators had been waiting for the hearing to begin before the cancellation announcement was made.
Hann wanted to hold a hearing into Ehlinger's appointment and bring it to a Senate floor vote the same day. Hann was a bit short on time as Senate Republicans were about to pass their stadium bill and adjourn. He was going to do both on the same day.
His problem is he was ignorant of a rule.
Senators are not allowed to vote on upholding a Governor's appointment on the same day a hearing on said appointee is held. Only unanimous consent overrides the rule.
Thanks to Sen. Hann's ignorance and incompetence, a very qualified man, Ed Ehlinger, will continue on as Commissioner of the Department of Health.
Near the end of the legislative session, the GOP-run Minnesota Legislature passed two tax bills. They're a fairly far cry from the massive, budget-obliterating handouts for wealthy business and luxury property owners that they'd tried for during most of the session, but they would negatively impact budgets for the state and/or cities, and there's no reason whatsoever to believe that they'd create jobs or significantly improve the state's economy in any way. So, it's a bit of a concern to me, that Governor Mark Dayton didn't bounce them immediately.
As for the omnibus tax bill, Dayton said there are many provisions he likes, but that he's still concerned about the impact of the bill's "tails" on the state's budget. A second package of mostly technical tax changes is also a concern to Dayton, because he said it contains local government aid formula changes that would hit certain cities hard. He said he plans to study both bills in detail before he decides whether to sign or veto them.
Hopefully, he's just looking to appear all serious and "gubernatorial," with that "study both bills in detail before he decides" language. As noted, there is no justification for throwing the righties a bone, with either of these.
Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) announced his retirement today. His announcement comes as a surprise, but, judging from comments from other long-time legislators I've talked to, the Legislature has become more and more dysfunctional as the MNGOP veers further and further rightward and makes trying to do what is right for Minnesota hard and harder.
Rukavina served 26 years, 13 terms. He is a powerhouse legislator and one of the Iron Range's progressive champions.
Personally, I loved his speech at the 2010 DFL convention when he was running for Governor:
Here's the key quote from his letter which I think is the reason he's retiring:
But all good things come to an end and I've decided to move on. I must say that the changing atmosphere at the Capitol has helped expedite my decision. I recall a kinder and gentler time here when even the most conservative members of our body still believed government could do good things for our people. But times have changed and I haven't so it's time for a new direction.
The clowns formerly known as the MNGOP are finally done with their shenanigans at the State Capitol.
Republicans at the legislature promised they'd have a laser-like focus on creating jobs. Instead, they introduced 48 constitutional amendments in the last two sessions. Last session, they couldn't produce a balanced budget. They were too busy pushing their hyper-partisan agenda. I counted 32 bills they considered instead of working on the budget.
When they finally did passed a budget, they didn't negotiate with Governor Mark Dayton in good faith. Then they shut down state government when Dayton wouldn't capitulate to their ever-changing demands.
This session, they once again promised to create jobs. But some MNGOP legislators didn't even want to pass a bonding bill. They eventually did. But not after pushing a whole lot of far right pet bills.
Now that the clowns are done, Alliance for a Better Minnesota is starting A Better Legislature campaign. Here's their video to kick it all off:
Yesterday, voters in North Carolina approved a constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage. They already had a law banning gay marriage. The bigots just wanted to be sure in case "libruls" tried to overturn their law.
There would be no more legal unions between unmarried people, gay or straight. It could take health care benefits away from families, it could take away domestic violence protections, hospital visitation rights, and all the very basic protections of civil unions.
Here's the deal. We have six months to do everything we can to make sure that the bigots don't win in Minnesota.
We can beat this so-called "Sanctity of Marriage" amendment by having one-on-one conversations with people we know.
I predicted that the bill that the Legislature passes will screw over Minneapolis. Minneapolis will contribute far more than the $150 million that the stadium bill says it will. According to analysis from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, who stands make money from their parking lots near the new stadium, Minneapolis' share will be between $742 million and just over $1 billion.
Mayor R.T. Rybak's administration has said the city's contribution of local sales taxes to a new stadium on the Metrodome site will amount to approximately $338 million for capital and operations over 30 years, or $675 million when including interest costs. But a provision in the stadium bill raises that figure if the local economy booms.
The city's contribution could reach $890 million if tax revenue grows by 5 percent each year for 30 years, based on a Star Tribune analysis of figures provided by the city's chief financial officer, Kevin Carpenter. In that scenario, the city would also be left with more money to spend on the convention center and economic development.
Conversely, the city's contribution could fall to $592 million if the taxes stay flat.
We taxpayers won't feel this pain all in one year. With future LGA cuts and myriad other funding cuts coming our way, it'll just be yet another reason why our property taxes will continue to climb.
Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL-Mpls) proposed an amendment to a supplementary appropriations bill to help women and girls escape sex trafficking and sexual slavery. Hayden's amendment would authorize the development of supportive housing for girls and women seeking to escape from exploitation and trafficking. The bill passed the Senate with bipartisan support.
"Each year, there are about 100,000 women and girls nationally who are subject to human trafficking and exploitation," said Hayden, "and there's a great need for additional supportive housing so they can escape and begin rebuilding their lives."
"I was gratified by the strong bipartisan vote for this amendment," Hayden continued. "It shows that there is a broad recognition of the severity of the problem and a genuine desire to address it."
This is a rare instance of bipartanship. The House passed the supplemental appropriation with a similar amendment attached and the bill is headed to the Governor's desk.
After nine hours or so of, depending on your perspective, "vigorous policy debate" or "shameless narcissistic grandstanding," the Minnesota House passed a Vikings stadium bill, by 73-58.
The House did lower the state's contribution $105 million from $398 to $293 million. Several House members say the Vikings can afford to spend more than their $427 million contribution.
Republican Pat Garafalo, of Farmington, laid out the new terms.
"With the changes we're putting into this bill, public support for the project will be reduced from $548 million to $443 million," Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington said. "Still a very generous support package from the public."
Vikings lobbyist Lester Bagley wouldn't comment as to whether the Vikings would balk at the change in the team's contribution. He said last week that the team would not spend more than $427 million.
I would call it unlikely, that the Senate will simply pass this bill, as is. Rather, it will do something different, and the two versions will have to reconciled and passed again, in both chambers. In which case, that comfortable House margin from tonight could diminish, even to negative territory, in a hurry.
The Rochester Chamber of Commerce wanted redevelopment of the Rochester Mayo Civic Center included in the bonding bill. Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem (R-Rochester) failed to get it in. Actually, Republicans at the Capitol were barely able to cobble together a bonding bill and it was the state's smallest ever.
In 2011, Republicans promised to work on the budget and focus on creating jobs. Instead they introduced 
Metsa, 31, is a fifth-generation Iron Ranger with roots in the Angora and Nashwauk area. His family moved to Rochester for part of his childhood during the economic collapse in the '80s, but he returned to graduate from Babbitt-Embarrass in the late '90s.
Sen. David Hann (R-Eden Prairie) wanted to do to Ed Ehlinger what the Minnesota State Senate had done to former Sen. Ellen Anderson. Governor Mark Dayton appointed Anderson to head the Public Utilities Commission and 
Near the end of the legislative session, the GOP-run Minnesota Legislature passed two tax bills. They're a fairly far cry from the massive, budget-obliterating handouts for wealthy business and luxury property owners that they'd tried for during most of the session, but they would negatively impact budgets for the state and/or cities, and there's no reason whatsoever to believe that they'd create jobs or significantly improve 
Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) 
The clowns formerly known as the MNGOP are finally done with their shenanigans at the State Capitol.
I 
Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL-Mpls) proposed an amendment to a supplementary appropriations bill to help women and girls escape sex trafficking and sexual slavery. Hayden's amendment would authorize the development of supportive housing for girls and women seeking to escape from exploitation and trafficking. The bill passed the Senate with bipartisan support.
