Polinaut: January 10, 2007 Archive

The Daily Digest: 1-10-07

Posted at 8:21 AM on January 10, 2007 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Daily Digest

It was a quiet day in Minnesota politics. Most state lawmakers attended a bipartisan retreat at the University of Minnesota. Forum Communications has a story on the event.

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is suing Allianz Life. The Star Tribune, MPR and the AP have stories.

GOP House Minority Leader Marty Seifert rips the buyouts of U of M coaches.

ECM Publishers say health care is at the top of the House and Senate agenda.

KARE-11 has a story on reservists who volunteered to head to Iraq. Pawlenty says he doesn't want to pass judgment before the announcement.

Some college officials are also cheering Pawlenty's aid package for veterans.

The St. Cloud Times says cities may unite to get more state aid.

Congress

The Hill says GOP Senator Norm Coleman opposes legislation that would allow the federal government to negotiate drugs costs with pharmaceutical companies.

The AP follows the Star Tribune which followed MPR on where the Minnesota delegation stands on a troop surge in Iraq.

Coleman is mentioned in this story on Delaware Senator Joe Biden.

He's also mentioned in this MSNBC story asking if a GOP Civil war can be avoided. He's also mentioned in this Washington Post column.

Coleman also gets in a spat with NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg over anti-terror funds.

DFL Senator Amy Klobuchar gets a not so welcome in Washington and political reporters are promised corn dogs. The Star Tribune has the items.

MPR interviews GOP Congressman Jim Ramstad on mental health parity.

AP says DFL Congressman Keith Ellison wants troops out of Iraq. This isn't really news since he's been calling for it since he announced he was running for Congress last March.

DFL Congressman Collin Peterson says he wants a Farm Bill passed by September.

Forum Communications also says the farm bill gets its start in farm country.

The Washington Post has a fabulous story on life at $7.25 an hour.

Blog Watch

Real Clear Politics has a column saying boomers are selfish.

Again, please let me know if you write or see anything interesting.

Quote of the day

"I hope to God that does not happen." Former Governor Arne Carlson who worried that "happy talk" will dominate the upcoming legislative session. Carlson says more would get done if lawmakers talk and argue (Gasp!).

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Minnesota Senate bumps up their per diem

Posted at 12:31 PM on January 10, 2007 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

AP has the story

Senators up maximum daily allowance by $30
By BRIAN BAKST Associated Press Writer
ST. PAUL (AP) - Minnesota senators boosted their maximum daily expense checks by 45 percent, bringing to $96 the allowance members can use for meals and incidental costs. They also bumped up the monthly housing allowance by $300, or one third.
The cost to taxpayers depends on how many senators collect checks - it's at their prerogative to get the allowances. But Sen. Dennis Frederickson, R-New Ulm, estimated that the tally could reach $200,000 a year.
For members who take the full per diem amount, the change enables them to draw $13,440 this year. They can take per diem payments seven days a week while the Legislature is in session, which is due to run 140 days in 2007.
The $30 raise and the extra lodging amount were approved by the Senate Rules and Administration Committee on a voice vote with no audible dissent. The action doesn't require any additional approval.
The House hasn't decided on its own per diem plan. That chamber set it at $66 in 2005.
Senators defended the hike, noting that the daily allowance hadn't gone up since 2001 and the lodging rate wasn't touched since 2000.
"It's reasonable to expect that members be reimbursed for reasonable expenses," said Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis.
Pogemiller said he doesn't consider the bump to be a backdoor pay increase.
House and Senate salaries have been stuck at $31,140 since 1999.
The housing checks go to members whose regular homes are at least 50 miles from the Capitol. They can rent apartments or stay at hotels and receive lodging reimbursements for their actual costs. The new monthly maximum is $1,200, an amount that is paid out year-round. Twenty-eight of 67 senators now collect the allowance, and 11 senators had rents that exceeded the old $900 maximum, Pogemiller said.
Frederickson said the Internal Revenue Service has pegged daily Twin Cities expense costs - both lodging and meals - at $177 in an index the IRS publishes. Combined, the two new rates total $132.75 a day.
"We want that amount to be high enough so citizens of ordinary means can afford to come and serve in the Legislature," he said.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-01-10-07 1323EST

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Pawlenty appoints Pat Anderson to head DOER

Posted at 3:48 PM on January 10, 2007 by Tom Scheck

Heres's the release:

GOVERNOR PAWLENTY APPOINTS PAT ANDERSON TO HEAD DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

~ She will oversee merger of department and ‘work herself out of a job’ ~

St. Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty today appointed former State Auditor Pat Anderson as Commissioner of the Department of Employee Relations (DOER), filling the last remaining Cabinet-level position in the Pawlenty Administration.

Anderson will oversee Pawlenty Administration efforts to move functions from DOER to other agencies, including the Departments of Administration and Finance, with the goal of eliminating DOER as a stand-alone agency. The Governor said he’s hopeful the legislature will approve a bill to eliminate the department, but that most of the move can be accomplished through reorganization orders if necessary. It’s expected that moving DOER’s functions to other agencies will take about a year-and-a-half.

“Pat Anderson has a record of holding government accountable and working to improve efficiency,” Governor Pawlenty said. “She’s the right person to make sure that this transition is done the right way. We expect her to work herself out of a job by completing the merger.”

Anderson, 40, served as State Auditor from 2003 through earlier this month. She previously served as Mayor of Eagan, Eagan City Councilmember and started and ran two businesses. The Business Journal named Anderson one of the state's "Most Influential Women to Watch," as well as one of Minnesota's "Top 40 Business and Community Leaders Under 40." She has an undergraduate degree in international relations from the University of Minnesota and a Master's degree in public administration from Hamline University.

DOER’s two main functions include human resource management and the state employee insurance division. It administers eleven labor agreements covering 37,200 state employees and a health insurance plan that serves 129,000 state employees and their dependents. The agency’s operations include Administrative Services, Information Services, Diversity and Equal Opportunity, Labor Relations Bureau, Strategic Staffing, and the Employee Insurance Administration.

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