Capitol View: February 4, 2009 Archive

Pawlenty talks about stimulus bill

Posted at 7:40 AM on February 4, 2009 by Tom Scheck

He was on NPR this morning.

Graduate early, get a check

Posted at 11:14 AM on February 4, 2009 by Tim Pugmire

A Republican legislator wants to provide college scholarships to students who graduate early from Minnesota high schools.

Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, says his Early Graduation Achievement Act would help make college more affordable for participants. Under the bill, a student could get $2,500 for every semester they avoid by graduating early, with a maximum scholarship of $7,500. Garofalo says the program would also save the state money, because the current per pupil spending for high school students is considerable more than the scholarships.

"One of the nice things about this program is that it's simple, it is easy and it is direct, Garofalo said. " It's very easy for parents to understand it. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that I think parents who are concerned about the affordability of college will be very interested in seeing their kids get involved in this program."

Garofalo says the bill would provide scholarships to 3,000 students a year. He says the incentive would not replace Minnesota's Post-Secondary Enrollment Option program, which allows high school students to earn college credits.

Bill would open the door on budget negotiations

Posted at 11:44 AM on February 4, 2009 by Tim Pugmire (1 Comments)

Those end-of-session encampments outside the governor's office, with Capitol reporters and lobbyists dutifully waiting for news from the closed-door budget talks, could become a distant memory under a proposed change to Minnesota's open meetings law.

Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, is sponsoring legislation that would require public access to any meeting involving the governor and House and Senate leaders to negotiate a bill, set budget targets or negotiate the state budget.

The proposal also covers meetings between the majority leader of the Senate and the speaker of the House to set budget targets or negotiate the state budget.

Marty's bill get a hearing this afternoon in the Senate Committee on State and Local Government Operations and Oversight.

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Rock meet Hard place

Posted at 12:24 PM on February 4, 2009 by Tom Scheck

There were plenty of stories today detailing the DFL reaction to Gov. Pawlenty's plan for long-term borrowing as a means of reducing the state's budget deficit. Pawlenty wants to borrow $1 billion and pay it back from future annual tobacco payments (the Star Tribune, the Pi Press and MinnPost all have stories from the committee hearing).

Here's the problem...

DFL Rep. Alice Hausman says Democrats don't have many alternatives. After the hearing, Hausman told reporters she's not entirely pleased with the tobacco proposal but worries about finding another $1 billion in money (and they aren't too fond of further spending cuts). Hausman said she'd like to vote for a progressive income tax but said it's unlikely to pass.

"We're being very careful about throwing the whole thing in the garbage because there has to be something that works and gets signed into law." Hausman said.

Republicans seem to sense the difficulty in the DFL ranks b/c their daily mantra has been "Where's your budget?" They make those claims even though the GOP hasn't put forward a budget plan either.

Side note: Former DFL Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe used to circumvent those GOP complaints by forcing an early vote on the governor's proposal. The idea was that the GOP didn't want to be on record voting for the package either. Perhaps that's why the governor's office hasn't put their plan in bill form yet.

It ain't politics but it's funny

Posted at 12:51 PM on February 4, 2009 by Tom Scheck

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Hackers are messing with electronic road signs in some states, warning of zombies and raptors down the road. Traffic safety officials aren't amused.

The latest breach came during Tuesday morning's rush hour near Collinsville, Ill., east of St. Louis. That's where hackers changed a sign along southbound Interstate 255 to read, "DAILY LANE CLOSURES DUE TO ZOMBIES."

Similar pranks have been pulled in recent days near Indianapolis and in Austin, Texas.

The Illinois Department of Transportation's Joe Gasaway worries that such pranks distract drivers from legitimate hazards down the road, perhaps endangering road crews.

In Illinois, tampering with an official traffic control device is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $250 fine.

More on what Minnesota can expect from stimulus

Posted at 4:16 PM on February 4, 2009 by Tim Pugmire

President Barack Obama continues to pressure Congress for speedy action on the $900 billion economic stimulus package.Today, the White House released more information on how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will affect each state.

Here's the Minnesota section:

AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT PLAN:

THE IMPACT FOR Minnesota

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is a nationwide effort to create jobs, jumpstart growth and transform our economy for the 21st century. Across the country, this plan will help businesses create jobs and families afford their bills while laying a foundation for future economic growth in key areas like health care, clean energy, education and a 21st century infrastructure. In Minnesota, this plan will deliver immediate, tangible impacts, including:

· Creating or saving 70,000 jobs over the next two years. Jobs created will be in a range of industries from clean energy to health care, with over 90% in the private sector. [Source: White House Estimate based on Romer and Bernstein, "The Job Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." January 9, 2009.]

· Providing a making work pay tax cut of up to $1,000 for 2,120,000 workers and their families. The plan will make a down payment on the President's Making Work Pay tax cut for 95% of workers and their families, designed to pay out immediately into workers' paychecks. [Source: White House Estimate based on IRS Statistics of Income]

· Making 41,000 families eligible for a new American Opportunity Tax Credit to make college affordable. By creating a new $2,500 partially refundable tax credit for four years of college, this plan will give 3.8 million families nationwide - and 41,000 families in Minnesota - new assistance to put college within their reach. [Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis of U.S. Census data]

· Offering an additional $100 per month in unemployment insurance benefits to 331,000 workers in Minnesota who have lost their jobs in this recession, and providing extended unemployment benefits to an additional 52,000 laid-off workers. [Source: National Employment Law Project]

· Providing funding sufficient to modernize at least 91 schools in Minnesota so our children have the labs, classrooms and libraries they need to compete in the 21st century economy. [Source: White House Estimate]

In addition to this immediate assistance for Minnesota, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will help transform our economy by:

· Doubling renewable energy generating capacity over three years, creating enough renewable energy to power 6 million American homes.

· Computerizing every American's health record in five years, reducing medical errors and saving billions of dollars in health care costs.

· Launching the most ambitious school modernization program on record, sufficient to upgrade 10,000 schools.

· Enacting the largest investment increase in our nation's roads, bridges and mass transit systems since the creation of the national highway system in the 1950s.

Klobuchar's jokes

Posted at 8:35 PM on February 4, 2009 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar previews some of the jokes she'll tell tonight at the Washington Press Club Foundation.

Listen here:

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