Political Notebook

Kelley brings politics and a show to Roch

The 2010 governor's race is already in full swing, with gubernatorial candidate Steve Kelley visiting Rochester today. But forget the traditional campaign rally. The former DFL state senator is hosting a discussion on the justice system featuring poetry, music and theatrical performances.

Kelley hosted a similar event a few weeks ago in Lakeville. He will be taking the show on the road next month to Bemidji.

Guests include former Hennepin County District Judge Myron Greenberg and Laura Bloomberg with the Center for School Change at the U of M's Humphrey Institute. Entertainment includes Twin Cities Actors performing scenes from "The Merchant of Venice," poet Dobby Gibson and the Southeastern Minnesota Youth Orchestras.

Kelley is one of several Democrats who have already tossed their hats in the political ring. Others filing for governor include former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, Rep. Paul Thissen, Sen. John Marty, Sen. Tom Bakk and former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton.

Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty still has not announced whether he will run for re-election. But a recent Star Tribune story said he would have a "narrow advantage" in the race.

The event runs from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Rochester Civic Theatre, 20 Civic Center Dr. S.E. The event is free, although guests are asked to bring an item to donate to a local food shelf.

Not the year for gay marriage debate

Today marks a crucial first deadline at the state Capitol. All policy bills must have cleared at least one chamber's policy committees in order to stay alive. Several bills both in favor and against gay marriage will miss that deadline — failing to get even a single hearing.

It seems with the state grappling with a $4.6 billion budget deficit, there is little appetite among state lawmakers to wade into this social debate.

Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Wabasha, has authored a bill that would amend the state Constitution to define marriage as union between a man and a woman. That proposed change would be submitted to the state's voters during the 2010 general election.

Meanwhile Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester, is co-sponsoring the "Marriage and Family Protection Act," which would removes gender specific references in the state's marriage laws.

Other proposals include a bill that would allow for civil unions and another bill that would require Minnesota to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

Nursing requirements ruffles Mayo's feathers

Winona Democratic Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes is sponsoring a bill that would mandate hospitals follow certain nurse staffing guidelines to protect patient safety. The bill would require all hospitals to draft a staffing plan by July 1, 2010. Direct care nurses must agree with this plan. Hospitals that fail to complete the plan could be subject to stiff penalties — including the suspension or revocation of its license to operate.

The bill also outlines specific requirements when it comes to how many patients a direct care nurse can have at a time, depending on the situation. Supporters argue this bill is about preserving patient safety.

But Mayo Clinic is not a fan. The clinic's lobbyist Frank Iossi said the clinic is concerned about putting mandates on state hospitals instead of allowing hospital staff to determine what nursing levels are needed.

The bill gets a hearing this afternoon before the Senate's Health, Housing and Family Security Committee.

Senjem keeps distance on tax proposal

Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem is making it clear he is not a fan of hiking local taxes to help pay for the Mayo Civic Center expansion.

Senjem introduced a bill today allowing the city of Rochester to increase its lodging tax by 1 percent and establish a 1 percent tax on food and beverage sales.But the Rochester lawmaker is recorded as the bill's author "by request," meaning he does not necessarily back the idea.

Senjem has said he favored the idea of extending the city's existing sales tax instead of levying a new tax. I wrote about this in today's column. Meanwhile, the proposal has the backing of the rest of the Rochester delegation.

According to the bill, the tax would expire once all debt and interest is paid off for the center and related skyway access, lighting, parking and landscaping. Senjem said he is concerned the bill is not specific enough as to when the tax must end. Technically, he said the city could leave some debt on the center allowing the tax to go on indefinitely.

Winds changing on turbine tax for schools?

Two years ago, the Minnesota Department of Education proposed taking away a tax benefit from wind turbines that goes to local schools. State education officials advocated deducting money from this wind energy production tax from state aid given to schools in these wind-rich areas. This wind tax money would stop flowing to districts July 1 of this year.

When the change was proposed, the argument was made that this wind tax is unfair for school districts that don't have wind turbines in their area. Lawmakers approved the change in 2007.

But as southern Minnesota schools have stepped up pressure to have this money restored, it appears the state's education department is backing down. Department spokeswoman Christine Dufour said the department is "currently in the process of reviewing the legislation."

In addition, Gov. Tim Pawlenty  "is open to discussing the removal of the deduction for school districts with the Legislature," according to his spokesman Alex Carey.

Here's a story I wrote for today with more details. Here's a link to Austin Democratic Rep. Robin Brown's bill aimed at restoring this wind tax funding boost.

A reprieve from budget cuts — for now

Gov. Tim Pawlenty unveiled his revised budget recommendations this afternoon. Thanks to a $2.6 billion infusion of federal stimulus dollars, K-12 education would get an extra $28 million funding boost on top of the governor's previously proposed increases over the next two-year budget cycle. Colleges and universities would also be spared from 8.2 percent in cuts.

Pawlenty's budget would restore $10 million out of $25 million of proposed cuts for the court system. The governor is also proposing that the state take back responsibility for housing short-term offenders, easing the burden on counties.

But there are plenty of cuts in the future. Beginning January 2011, the governor would move ahead with his proposed health care cuts. Democrats say that would mean 113,000 people would lose state health insurance. Over the next four-year budget cycle, Democrats charge the governor's budget would amount to a 35 percent cut in health care — including a substantial cuts to state hospital payments.

In addition, higher education would take an 11 percent funding hit in those later years. State aid to cities and counties would be frozen in the 2012-2013 budget at the level of cuts the governor is proposing over the next two years. Democrats say that amounts to a 23 percent cut in aid over the four-year budget.

Pawlenty to release updated budget

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is expected to release his updated budget proposal at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow. His budget is being adjusted to make sure Minnesota gets federal stimulus dollars that come with certain requirements  — especially in the health care area.

The budget also comes after February's updated budget forecast showed that the state's two-year budget deficit had climbed to $6.4 billion. But thanks to an infusion of $1.8 million in federal stimulus dollars, the deficit amount dropped to $4.57 billion.

Senate Democrats unveiled their budget proposal last week, which includes $2 billion in additional revenue and 7 percent across-the-board cuts to all ares of the budget. Most of the revenue increase would come from a tax hike on the state's wealthiest residents. Here's that story.

House Democrats are expected to release their own budget proposal soon.

Steam line, volleyball center get thumbs up

Two Rochester projects made the cut in the Senate bonding bill. The Senate is expected to vote on the bonding bill today.

Those projects include $4 million for the expansion of the National Volleyball Center and $5 million to build a new steam pipeline from Olmsted County's Waste-to-Energy facility to Rochester Community and Technical College. Both appropriations are little less than asked for, which I write about in my column today.

Also notable is that $5 million is included for an environmental study of a high-speed rail route from Chicago to the Twin Cities along the Mississippi River. A Rochester request for $500,000 to study becoming a stop on the high-speed route got voted down in a Senate committee. But a similar proposal lives in the House. Today the Star Tribune has a story about Rochester's rail efforts.

A "legislative festoring hole"

That's what Winona Rep. Gene Pelowski is calling two election bills he was sponsoring — until earlier this week. Pelowski pulled his sponsorship off two bills he was asked to carry by the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office. Since he was the lone sponsor, those house bill will just sit there "like a legislative festering hole," Pelowski said.

The bills, HF 1283 and HF 1284 are housekeeping bills that the office had asked Pelowski to sponsor. But on a broader level, Pelowski's refusal to carry these bills illustrates his broader frustration with some of the election reform legislation being brought before the house election committee he chairs.

Pelowski said he is concerned that several of the bill being brought forward were not probably vetted and have serious problems. He said he is also concerned about passing any costs on to counties faced with budget crunches.

"I am dead serious about this. We are not going to do an unintended mandate. So if any of these bills are a mandate to the counties that say, 'You are going to eat the cost of any of this reform, I won't do it. I'll vote now," Pelowski said.

Pelowski did meet with Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie yesterday to discuss his concerns. The Winona Democrat said while some issues were addressed, he still has a lot of problems with many of the bills. He added that there is no reason why any of this election legislation has to pass this year.

"There is nothing essential in any of these bills. The sun will come up, the world will continue to turn whether these bills are passed or not," he said.

Yesterday, Ritichie visited Rochester to speak before the Cascade Township annual meeting. When asked about Pelowski's concerns, he said it is critical these election reforms his office is recommending move ahead this session so there is plenty of time before the 2010 election. He also said there will be federal funds to cover many of these changes.

MN Secretary of State visits Rochester today

Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie will be spending today's township election day in Cascade Township, which borders Rochester. Ritchie is expected to discuss the on-going Senate recount dispute between Al Franken and Norm Coleman. The Secretary of State will also be talking about election reform.

Ritchie is pushing a string of election reforms, which are outlined in this news release. His proposals include creating an early-voting option for citizens. During the last election 1 in 10 voters cast their ballot by absentee.

He is also backing measures aimed at limiting frivolous ballot challenges during election recounts.

The Cascade Township meeting begins at 8:15 p.m. at Calvary Evangelical Free Church at 5500 25th Ave. N.W. I'm planning to cover the meeting and will have a story for Wednesday.