Capitol View

Capitol View: May 11, 2011 Archive

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The Daily Digest

Posted at 6:23 AM on May 11, 2011 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Daily Digest

The Vikings and Ramsey County reached a deal on a new Vikings stadium. The plan could have some hiccups at the Legislature as lawmakers express skepticism of the state's share.

St. Paul would become the state's most expensive city to shop if the Vikings stadium plan is approved.

The Senate will vote on a constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage today.

Gov. Dayton renews his call for Republican lawmakers to wrap up their budget.

Tidbit: Expect GOP leaders to release conference committee targets sometime in the next two days.

The K12 Conference Committee appears to have a preliminary agreement.

St. Paul schools will see a $25 million shortfall if the GOP plan is enacted.

Is Gov. Dayton trying to have it both ways on casino gambling? At a Tuesday news conference, Dayton said he was open to all forms of revenue to balance the budget. But Dayton told members of the Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce that "his proposed budget didn't include raising revenue through new casinos, and he preferred that the Republican-controlled Legislature didn't include such measures either." Dayton also openly campaigned on building a state owned and operated casino.

Dayton is also planning an American Indian business summit.

The Minnesota House approved a plan that redraws the state's congressional maps.

The Minnesota House paved the way for the Surly Brewery expansion.

A House panel approves a $28 million flood prevention bill.

Somalis and the Minnesota Health Department are at odds over autism and vaccines.

The Minnesota Senate votes to cover the 2010 recount costs.

Congress

Apple and Google were in the spotlight in a Congressional hearing chaired by DFL Sen. Al Franken.

Franken discussed mobile privacy with the Washington Post.

President Obama mocked the GOP position on immigration.

The Washington Post checks to see how much Obama has done on border security.

3M's CEO was pressed on the company's political donations.

President Obama declared twenty Minnesota counties disaster areas as a result of flooding.

GOP Rep. John Kline is expected to start releasing the first round of K12 bills this week.

Kline and DFL Rep. Collin Peterson were the best shots in their respective caucuses.

DFL Rep. Betty McCollum says the Stillwater bridge plan overlooks congestion.

GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen is going to put forward a bill that increases the number of safe truck parking spots across the country.

Race for President

Vice-President Joe Biden will attend a private fundraiser in Minneapolis today.

Tidbit: The fundraiser will be held at a home in Kenwood. Gov. Dayton owned the home years ago.

The Daily Caller says GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann will announce her run for president during a trip to Iowa on May 26th.

Tim Pawlenty will speak at a Reagan Birthday party in Iowa.

Politico says the IRS is looking strongly at enforcing a "gift tax" that could force the wealthy to take a big tax hit if they give to anonymous 501c4s.

(1 Comments)

DNR dusts off shutdown plan

Posted at 12:50 PM on May 11, 2011 by Tim Pugmire
Filed under: MN Legislature

Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Landwehr says he's begun looking at a six-year-old plan for shutting down non-essential government services in case it's needed.

State lawmakers are trying to meet a May 23 deadline for solving a projected $5 billion budget deficit. If the impasse continues through the end of the fiscal year on June 30, then non-essential government functions begin shutting down. Landwehr told reporters today that his staff has already dusted off a shutdown plan written in 2005 that would include the closure of state parks.

"July 1st is two months away," Landwehr said. "We're starting to think about what we might have to do in that case. But we won't get serious until we get close to the end of the session and see whether or not there's some likelihood there will be some success."

Landwehr said it was his idea to look at the plan.

Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, the chair of the House environment and natural resources committee, said he's still working hard to reach a timely budget agreement and avoid a shutdown.

"We don't want that to take place," McNamara said. "We want to get done, not have government shutdown. We want the state parks open and no worry as we had in '05 wondering are they going to be open or not. We want to get done on time."

The budget bill that McNamara is currently working on includes a provision to keep state parks open during future government shutdowns.

Dayton to troll for walleye, budget deal

Posted at 1:28 PM on May 11, 2011 by Tim Pugmire (1 Comments)
Filed under: MN Legislature, Mark Dayton

fish 5 11 003.jpg
Gov. Mark Dayton prepared for Saturday's start of the fishing season by purchasing his license today at the Department of Natural Resources headquarters in St. Paul.

Dayton will host his first governor's fishing opener near Grand Rapids. He told reporters he plans to be on the water at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

"Unfortunately, my usual experience with fishing is I don't catch any and no one with me catches any," Dayton said.

Dayton said he will be away from the Capitol for about 24 hours. But he's not concerned about missing valuable end-of-session negotiation time with legislative leaders. Dayton said he'll have his cell phone on the boat, and he's also expecting to see House Speaker Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, and House Majority Leader Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, at the opener.

"Maybe we can tie our two boats side by side and we can negotiate that way," Dayton quipped. "If somebody wants to offer final resolution to the budget in between hauling in walleyes, I think I'll be able to handle that."

(1 Comments)

Same Sex Marriage amendment: How they voted

Posted at 2:50 PM on May 11, 2011 by Tom Scheck (9 Comments)
Filed under: MN Legislature

The Minnesota Senate voted 38-27 to allow voters to decide in '12 whether MN Constitution should be amended to ban same sex marriage. DFL Sen. Leroy Stumpf is the only Democrat to vote in favor of the measure.

Here's a map of how the Senate voted. Click on the links to see how your Senator voted.

(9 Comments)
May 2011
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The feature examines statements made by Minnesota politicians and checks them for accuracy. Based on data analysis, document reviews and interviews with non-partisan analysts, statements are rated true, misleading, false or inconclusive. More

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