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Capitol View: June 8, 2011 Archive

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40 members of MN House max out per diem during session

Posted at 6:00 AM on June 8, 2011 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: MN Legislature, Mark Dayton

40 members of the Minnesota House have taken, $10,780 in daily expenses during the 2011 legislative session. That's the most House members could take in expenses.

23 Democrats and 17 Republicans took $77 a day for the 140 days that the Legislature was in session (including Saturdays and Sundays).

Per diem is an optional benefit for lawmakers. It is in addition to their annual salary of $31,141. The House spent a total of $1,223,878 on per diem payments during the 2011 legislative session.

Democrats taking the maximum amount of per diem:
David Dill, Crane Lake
Kent Eken, Twin Valley
Patti Fritz, Faribault
Lynn Carlson, Crystal
Bobby Jo Champion, Minneapolis
Karen Clark, Minneapolis
Andrew Falk, Murdock
Mindy Greiling, Roseville
Rick Hanson, South St. Paul
Alice Hausman, St. Paul
Jeffrey Hayden, Minneapolis
Bill Hilty, Finlayson
Tom Huntley, Duluth
Lyle Koenen, Clara City
John Lesch, St. Paul
Tim Mahoney, St. Paul
Carlos Mariani, St. Paul
Joe Mullery, Minneapolis
Mary Murphy, St. Paul
Gene Pelowski, Winona
Jeanne Poppe, Austin
Tom Rukavina, Virginia
Jean Wagenius, Minneapolis

Republicans taking the maximum amount of per diem:
Jim Abeler, Anoka
Tony Cornish, Good Thunder
Greg Davids, Prescott
Bob Dettmer, Forest Lake
Pat Garofalo, Farmington
Bob Gunther, Fairmont
Tom Hackbarth, Cedar
Mary Liz Holberg, Lakeville
Larry Howes, Walker
Joe Hoppe, Chaska
Tim Kelly, Red Wing
Morrie Lanning, Moorhead
Mark Murdock, Ottertail
Bud Nornes, Fergus Falls
Duane Quam, Rochester
Steve Smith, Mound
Kurt Zellers, Maple Grove

Democrats taking no per diem:
Tina Liebling, Rochester
Steve Simon, St. Louis Park

Republicans taking no per diem:
None

Here's the per diem report from the MN House

Crystal Reports - PerDiemRank 6-3-11

Update: I incorrectly reported that Erin Murphy maxed out her per diem in an earlier post when, in fact, it was Mary Murphy. My apologies.

32 Senate members max out expenses during legislative session

Posted at 6:05 AM on June 8, 2011 by Tom Scheck (11 Comments)
Filed under: MN Legislature, Mark Dayton

32 members of the Minnesota Senate took the maximum amount of per diem allowed during the 2011 legislative session. Nearly two thirds of the Senate Republican caucus, 23 in all, took the maximum amount of $12,040 during session. That amounts to $86 a day for the 140 days of the session (including Saturdays and Sundays).

The Minnesota Senate spent $756,556 on per diem payments during the 2011 legislative session.

Nine DFLers took the maximum amount in expenses.

Note: Senate Republicans scaled back the maximum per diem rate in January. The rate was lowered from $96 to $86.

Per diem is optional. It comes on top of the annual salary of $31,141 for lawmakers.

Democrats taking the maximum amount of per diem:
Linda Berglin, Minneapolis
Barb Goodwin, Columbia Heights
Ron Latz, St. Louis Park
James Metzen, South St. Paul
Sandy Pappas, St. Paul
Roger Reinert, Duluth
Ann Rest, New Hope
Linda Scheid, Brooklyn Park
Patricia Torres-Ray, Minneapolis

Republicans taking the maximum amount of per diem:
David Brown, Becker
Al DeKruif, Madison Lake
Michelle Fischbach, Paynesville
Paul Gazelka, Brainerd
Chris Gerlach, Apple Valley
Joe Gimse, Willmar
Dan Hall, Burnsville
David Hann, Eden Prairie
John Howe, Red Wing
Bill Ingebrigtsen, Alexandria
Mike Jungbauer, East Bethel
Warren Limmer, Maple Grove
Doug Magnus, Slayton
Carla Nelson, Rochester
Scott Newman, Hutchinson
Sean Nienow, Cambridge
Gen Olson, Minnetrista
Mike Parry, Waseca
Claire Robling, Jordan
Dave Senjem, Rochester
Dave Thompson, Lakeville
Ray Vandeveer, Forest Lake
Pam Wolf, Spring Lake Park

Democrats declining to take per diem:
None

Republicans declining to take per diem:
Roger Chamberlain, Lino Lakes

Here's the report from the MN Senate:

1278_001

(11 Comments)

The Daily Digest

Posted at 6:48 AM on June 8, 2011 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Daily Digest

Gov. Dayton and GOP legislative leaders are scheduled to meet privately at 12:30 today. Dayton and lawmakers are no closer to a budget deal.

The Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy focused more on standard talking points than on bridging any differences on the budget. In fact, a large part of the meeting focused over whether Dayton's commissioners are partisan.

GOP Sen. Mike Parry told MPR News that Gov. Dayton is worried that the GOP budget will "work well."

Shutdown worries have prompted MnSCU to call an emergency meeting for this morning.

MPR reports that nearly every lawmaker claimed thousands of dollars in expense payments despite the state's budget problems.

32 members of the Senate took the maximum in per diem payments (23 Republicans and nine DFLers). Rep. Roger Chamberlain, R-Lino Lakes, took no per diem.

40 members of the House took the maximum in per diem payments (23 DFLers and 17 Republicans). Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester and Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-St. Louis Park, took no per diem.

Under the Dome

The push is on to get a constitutional amendment to require people to show photo identification to vote on the 2012 ballot. Supporters say they would prefer the Legislature pass the amendment next session not in a special session.

Economy

The state has a high rate of underwater homes.

Delta announced that it will move Minnesota jobs and consolidate facilities in Atlanta.

Vikings Stadium

Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission Chair Ted Mondale tells the Pi Press that the stadium talks are at an impasse.

Corporate Contributions

Target has been urged to change its tune on political giving.

Congress

The feds approved disaster declarations for Anoka and Hennepin Counties.

President Obama met with Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel.

A few Senate members introduced a six month delay of debit "swipe rules."

Politico reports that GOP Rep. Chip Cravaack spent $1,400 in taxpayer money on an automobile lease. His office called the figure "inflated" because of initial purchasing costs.

Race for President

Tim Pawlenty emphasized tax cuts and reduced regulation in a speech in Chicago.

Obama adviser David Axelrod criticized Pawlenty. He said it would have served Pawlenty well to handle the finances of his state during his time as governor.

Washington Post economics blogger Ezra Klein called Pawlenty's plan "a joke" and said his vision for five percent growth over ten years is unrealistic.

The Washington Post says Christian conservatives are flocking to GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Political adviser Ed Rollins said on MSNBC that he's advising Bachmann. He is also spending time criticizing Sarah Palin saying she's not a "serious candidate."

Bachmann is one of five candidates to sign on to an Iowa Tea Party bus tour. Pawlenty has not committed to the event.

The Club for Growth criticizes Mitt Romney.

A Quinninpiac Poll shows Romney with a lead.

Romney is also leading in a South Carolina poll.

PoliGraph: Walz right on oil imports

Posted at 2:00 PM on June 8, 2011 by Catharine Richert (4 Comments)
Filed under: PoliGraph, U.S. House

Tim Walz recently introduced a bill that would expand oil and gas production in the United States.

To build support for the legislation, Walz frequently points out that the nation spends big bucks daily on oil imports.

"America has talked about eliminating our dependence on foreign oil for decades, but we continue to spend too much time talking and too little time acting," he wrote in a May 31, 2011 op-ed in the Rochester Post-Bulletin. "Each day, we send $1 billion overseas that can't be used to invest in our own economy."

Walz gets this one right.

The Evidence

The price of oil fluctuates daily and so does the amount of oil the United States imports.

But using recent Energy Information Administration data, Walz's estimate is essentially correct.

For instance, in January, the United States imported about 11.9 barrels of oil daily for an average cost of $1.1 billion. In March, the country spent an average of $1.2 billion a day on oil imports.

In 2010, the cost was similar: Every day, the cost of oil imports was in the ballpark of $1 billion.

The Verdict

Walz is correct: the United States spends about $1 billion on oil imports daily.

SOURCES

The Rochester Post-Bulletin, It's time to unleash America's energy potential, May 31, 2011

Tim Walz, Bipartisan Energy Working Group Unveils Plan for Job Creation, Energy Independence, accessed June 7, 2011

U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, May 2011

The Energy Information Administration, U.S. Imports by Country of Origin, accessed June 6, 2011

The Energy Information Administration, Crude Oil Prices, accessed June 6, 2011

The Energy Information Administration, Merchandise Trade Value, accessed June 6, 2011

The Truman National Security Project, Oil Addiction: Fueling Our Enemies, Feb. 17, 2010

Interview, Sara Severs, spokeswoman for Rep. Tim Walz, June 7, 2011

(4 Comments)

Union ad pushes tax hike to avoid shutdown

Posted at 4:17 PM on June 8, 2011 by Tim Pugmire (5 Comments)
Filed under: MN Legislature, Mark Dayton

Minnesota's public employee unions have launched a television advertising campaign aimed at convincing Republican legislators to support a budget compromise that would avoid a government shutdown.

With no budget agreement in sight, state officials are expected to mail out layoff notices Thursday to 36,000 state workers. A shutdown will begin July 1st without a new budget.

Four unions -- AFSCME Council 5, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, Inter Faculty Organization and Middle Management Association -- are backing the statewide ad, which takes DFL Gov. Mark Dayton's side in the budget impasse. Union leaders support his proposed income tax increase on top earners.

Eliot Seide, executive director of AFSCME Council 5, said the legislators who promised to grow jobs and boost the economy are now facing the largest layoff in state history.

"I want you to imagine for a second that this was a private sector company, a private sector company in Minnesota that was putting 36,000 people out of work," Seide said. "These same leaders in the Legislature would be on their knees begging that company to keep those people working."

But Republicans predict the ad will have little impact on their ranks. Sen. Geoff Michel, R-Edina, said he's convinced there's no need for a shutdown.

"We can get this done," Michel said. "We can do it on time. We can finish this in June. We've got enough revenue. We don't need a tax increase, and I find it hard to even contemplate a shutdown. We should be spending much more of our time on the work on putting together a budget, and less of our time worrying about these July scenarios, because we should make sure they don't happen."

(5 Comments)
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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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