Thursday, July 28, 2011
The St. Louis Park legislator is critical of the deal that ended the state shutdown.
After a 20-day state government shutdown that forced thousands of employees out of work and cost the state millions of dollars, Senate Republicans finally passed a two-year spending plan on July 19 that borrows nearly $3 billion to cover the majority of the state’s $5 billion deficit. While I’m disappointed that Republicans’ refusal to compromise resulted in such a fiscally irresponsible budget solution, I respect Gov. Dayton for doing everything in his power to end this shutdown and get Minnesotans back to work. Unfortunately, we will be paying for the Republicans’ beg, borrow, and steal budget for decades to come. I was not happy with the overall budget deal, particularly how the additional revenue was obtained. I did, however, vote for …
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Proposal calls for spending to continue at current levels if future budget impasses arise.
St. Louis Park Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 44) said a Republican plan to avoid future shutdowns is "a farce" that abdicates responsibility for enacting a new budget. "They are choosing to punt," he said. "In effect, this would enact a budget for those who do not want to increase spending one cent." Lake Elmo Sen. Ted Lillie (R-District 56)—joined by Lake Elmo Rep. Kathy Lohmer (R-District 56A), Brainerd Sen. Paul Gazelka (R-District 12), Eagan Sen. Ted Daley (R-District 38) and Burnsville Sen. Dan Hall (R-District 40)—announced a plan Thursday that would effectively prevent future state government shutdowns. Under the proposal, if a budget agreement isn’t reached by the end of a legislative session, funding for state services would …
They say the state is delaying the inevitable by borrowing to balance the budget.
“Disappointing.” “Irresponsible.” That was the overall reaction from St. Louis Park's three legislators toward the legislation that concluded the state government shutdown. Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-District 44A), Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-District 44B) and Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 44) are glad the shutdown is in the past but unhappy with the way the final budget relies so heavily on cuts and borrowing. “This is regrettable because there were better ways to do this fiscally,” Latz said. “The reduction is two-thirds cuts and one-third borrowing, and to me, this is like paying your bills with a very high interest credit card.” Simon called borrowing from the state’s tobacco fund and delaying part of the line-item budget for public schools a “…
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Lawmakers worked late into the night Wednesday.
Insults were hurled. Accusations were made. Pleas were ignored. But in the end, the people’s business was finished. At 9 a.m., Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law all 12 budget bills passed in the middle of the night Wednesday by the Minnesota House and Senate. Dayton’s signatures ended the 20-day shutdown of Minnesota government. Dayton kept his promise that he wouldn’t sign any of the bills until all 12 had passed through both houses of the legislature. At the start of this special session, it seemed as though the process would be over quickly. In its first hour, the Senate passed six of 12 bills while the House passed five. But by 1 a.m. Wednesday, just eight bills were ready to be sent to the governor, with the House passing an additional…
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
A special session to pass a budget and end the state shutdown started Tuesday afternoon.
Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly identified Linda Scheid's political party. She was a member of the DFL. The story has been edited to reflect this. It took less than an hour’s work for Minnesota lawmakers, who reconvened this afternoon, to pass five bills, the first of several that Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to sign. The House and Senate took their seats in the legislature at around 3 p.m., opened the special session, observed a moment of silence for the late Sen. Linda Scheid (DFL-Brooklyn Park) and then recessed for more than three hours. When they reconvened at around 7 p.m., they got to work. Within an hour, the Senate had passed six bills; the House had passed five. The legislature then went into recess …
The state government shutdown will end if nine budget bills are approved.
Minnesota legislators have been called back to their seats and an end to the government shutdown appears just hours away. Gov. Mark Dayton called for a special legislative session to begin at 3 p.m. today—19 days into the shutdown of the Minnesota state government—after approving preliminary versions of nine legislative bills totaling $35.4 billion over the 2011-2013 biennium. Legislators have resolved some of the session’s more contentious bills—on K-12 education, state government, jobs and economic development, taxes and higher education. The public safety/judiciary, transportation and environment bills were given the nod Monday afternoon, a day after legislators agreed in principle on a $11 billion Health and Human Services bill. No …
The moves bring the two sides closer to ending the state shutdown.
Just when budget negotiations appeared to be headed toward another impasse, quick work from Gov. Mark Dayton and GOP leaders led to a Monday evening announcement that Minnesota legislators could be back in their seats to confirm a deal as early as Tuesday. The parties gave cursory approval to the Public Safety/Judiciary and Transportation bills Monday afternoon and then, around 8 p.m., approved $664 million for an Environment bill. The fourth approved bill of the day appropriates an estimated $178 million in Legacy funds to outdoor heritage preservation. The four bills worked out Monday are the latest legislative moves in the past two days. MPR News reported Sunday evening that a handshake deal was reached on an $11 billion Health and…
Monday, July 18, 2011
Justin Kaufman was called back to work on Monday after getting laid off because of the shutdown.
The state shutdown isn't over yet, but Justin Kaufman is headed back to work nonetheless. Kaufman, a state negotiations manager who is also running for City Council, said he was called back to his office on Monday. He was laid off as a result of the shutdown on July 1. Kaufman added that he was told he was deemed "essential" this time around, and he returned to work with three other staffers—bringing the office to 14 workers on the job out of roughly 100. When news came on Thursday that a budget deal might be near, Kaufman said he was hoping to be back to work by mid-week, so Monday's news was certainly a pleasant surprise. However, he acknowledged that he and other laid off state employees have plenty of catch-up to do. "I think everybody…
Sunday, July 17, 2011
A GOP leader said "very good progress" was made toward approving the bills and ending the shutdown.
(Update) 8:20 p.m. — Gov. Mark Dayton, House Speaker Kurt Zellers (R-Maple Grove) and Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch (R-Buffalo) report reaching “considerable progress” during weekend budget negotiations. The parties struck a positive tone with their joint statement, released at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. MPR News reported on Sunday evening that a handshake deal has been reached on an $11 billion Health and Human Services bill. But despite any supposed progress—and contrary to Dayton’s intent—the governor won’t call a special session on Monday morning. “Work on the detailed budget bills continues to move in a positive direction, with an urgent focus on getting Minnesotans back to work,” the joint statement read. “A special session will be …
Friday, July 15, 2011
The lawmakers say it just postpones dealing with the problem.
The deal is “fiscally irresponsible,” said St. Louis Park Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 44). It could “set us up for bigger problems in future years,” worried Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-District 44A). It makes for "the most irresponsible budget in our state's history" added Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-District 44B) in a press release. The message is clear: St. Louis Park’s legislators aren’t enthusiastic about the agreement Gov. Mark Dayton struck with Republicans to end the shutdown. “At this point, I don’t expect to support it,” Latz said. Simon said he needs to read the actual legislation and "see the fine print." Winkler posted, "I will vote against the budget agreement" to his Twitter account on Thursday night. Of course, the legislators don't …
John Anderson
7:54 am on Saturday, July 23, 2011
GOP legislators should honor their oaths of office and non their "no tax pledge" to Grover Norquist. more ›