http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/?rsssource=1 League notes from the desk of Minnesota Fantasy Legislature commissioner Michael Marchio. Copyright 2008, Minnesota Public Radio Fri, 09 May 2008 17:10:03 -0600 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=4.1 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Michael Marchio Only one week left in the session, and your lawmakers still have a lot of work left to do. Will there be a mall expansion? How about a state park on Lake Vermilion? Has the Central Corridor left the station... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/weekly_recap_4.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/weekly_recap_4.shtml Fri, 09 May 2008 17:10:03 CDT Michael Marchio Well, here it is, what should be the most controversial conference committee report of the session. HF3800 has just been introduced and it is the Commish's humble opinion that the chamber will be splitting in all sorts of interesting ways.... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/liveblogging_transportation_po.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/liveblogging_transportation_po.shtml Thu, 08 May 2008 21:57:16 CDT Michael Marchio It took a while, but Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) and Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park) finally got a signature on their bridge victim compensation bill. The governor signed an additional 12 bills, including Rep. Karla Bigham and Sen.... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/winkler_and_latz_get_their_sig.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/winkler_and_latz_get_their_sig.shtml Thu, 08 May 2008 15:47:02 CDT Michael Marchio This morning, the gallery of the House was filled with veterans of the Second World War. Many of them wearing their military insignia hats identifying their ships and units, their Representatives on the floor read of their service as each... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/greatest_generation_honored_in.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/greatest_generation_honored_in.shtml Thu, 08 May 2008 12:27:41 CDT Michael Marchio Your lawmakers are earning their paychecks tonight, folks. Both chambers are meeting, possibly until or past midnight. What are they doing so late? Mostly approving conference committee reports so they can be sent to the governor. I'll give you a... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/westromwestromwestrom.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/westromwestromwestrom.shtml Wed, 07 May 2008 21:46:06 CDT Michael Marchio Lately the Commish has been giving more attention to the House than the Senate. What can I say, Representatives love floor-a-paloozas and floor-a-paloozas love them. Today, though, we're going to give the Senate their long-promised floor-a-palooza. On Monday, the House... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/senate_floorapalooza_stem_cell.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/senate_floorapalooza_stem_cell.shtml Wed, 07 May 2008 15:32:45 CDT Michael Marchio Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul) may be hovering around the #40-range in our power rankings, but she's been on a roll this week. On Monday, her foreclosure bill, SF3396 that would allow a one-year deferment on foreclosures for people stuck... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/busy_morning_for_sen_anderson.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/busy_morning_for_sen_anderson.shtml Wed, 07 May 2008 11:18:13 CDT Michael Marchio A couple of constitutional amendments are making steady progress and might actually get on the ballot this November. The first one, which I wrote about last week, would have a council set wages for lawmakers, instead of current law which... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/lawmaker_pay_and_special_sessi.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/lawmaker_pay_and_special_sessi.shtml Tue, 06 May 2008 14:25:09 CDT Michael Marchio There aren't many more quotable lawmakers than Minority Leader Seifert. Along with Rep. Tom Rukavina and Sen. Steve Murphy he could go in the MFL hall of fame for delivering zingers. Rep. Seifert said what he saw on the floor... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/does_that_make_rep_seifert_han.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/does_that_make_rep_seifert_han.shtml Tue, 06 May 2008 12:04:15 CDT Michael Marchio On most days, maybe because the DFL has such a large majority, or just because there are half as many lawmakers, the Senate ends their floor session earlier than the House. When they do, some usually wander over into the... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/some_rowdy_senators.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/some_rowdy_senators.shtml Mon, 05 May 2008 15:59:20 CDT Michael Marchio Rep. Winkler's 156 point behemoth, HF2553, the bridge relief compensation, has made it past its last House stop, getting the conference committee report approved. Next will be the Senate approval of the report, and then the governor's desk. I spoke... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/house_bridge_relief_on_the_way.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/house_bridge_relief_on_the_way.shtml Mon, 05 May 2008 13:57:54 CDT Michael Marchio Okay MFL managers, we're going to shoot for two floor-a-paloozas today. There was no budget breakthrough this weekend, but at best we've got another two weeks left, so the Commish is going to do his best to get your teams... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/shooting_for_two_floorapalooza.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/shooting_for_two_floorapalooza.shtml Mon, 05 May 2008 13:03:46 CDT Michael Marchio You know the session is nearing its final days when every committee is a conference committee. The health care reform bill, omnibus public safety, transportation policy, higher ed policy, economic development, and agriculture and veterans bills are sadly the only... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/weekly_recap_2.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/weekly_recap_2.shtml Fri, 02 May 2008 14:15:55 CDT Michael Marchio The Commish would like to think it took his mention in the blog to jumpstart House and Senate negotiations, but it was probably going to happen anyway. The difference, you'll remember, was that the House provided $40 million with no... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/an_answer_on_bridge_victim_com.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/an_answer_on_bridge_victim_com.shtml Fri, 02 May 2008 11:29:12 CDT Michael Marchio Apparently so, according to Sen. Gen Olson (R-Minnetonka). She informed the body of this neat factoid when offering an amendment to the state government policy bill, SF3190, to the make hockey the official state sport. She also said Sen. Jim... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/sen_tomassoni_was_an_olympian.shtml?rsssource=1 http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/fantasy_legislature/archive/2008/05/sen_tomassoni_was_an_olympian.shtml Thu, 01 May 2008 15:16:04 CDT