Political Notebook

Mayo and Zumbrota doc appointed to health reform committee

It looks like two doctors from southeast Minnesota will be play a key role in helping establish new guidelines for how Minnesota pays for and delivers health care.

Mayo Clinic's Dr. Doug Wood and University of Minnesota professor Dr. Therese Zink of Zumbrota have both been appointed to the 17-member Minnesota Health Care Reform Task Force. Dayton has charged the committee with three goals:

1. Improve access to health care for all Minnesotans.

2. Lower health care costs by reforming how we pay for health care and changing the incentives, so we reward healthy out comes and not sickness.

3. Improve the health of all Minnesotans and address the huge disparities that plague our state.

"Health care costs are rising at unsustainable rate, undermining the budgets of Minnesota families, businesses, and our state and federal government budgets. The status quo is not good enough; we need to find new ways to delivering better quality health care at a lower price. The mission of this task force is to provide recommendations about how we best can accomplish this," Dayton said in a statement.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce also annouced today it is forming the Minnesota Health Insurance Exhange. That group is charged with establishing a state health insurance exchange that complies with the federal health care overhaul.

Last month, some Republican lawmakers criticized the governor for using a $4 million grant to help set up the exchange. They question whether the governor has the power to spent the money without explicit legislative approval. Dayton administration officials say the governor followed the rules by included the funding in his formal budget proposal. No lawmakers objected to it within the 20-day time period for objections to be filed.

 

Klobuchar talks boots and Bieber in Red Wing

Sen. Amy Klobuchar paid a visit to Red Wing this afternoon as part of a statewide "Made in America" tour. She checked out Red Wing Shoes' new flagship store, which features the world's largest boot. While there she talked about the importance of making sure students are getting the training they need to take advantage of these manufacturing jobs. She said it's crucial to get rid of regulation and red tape that makes it tougher for companies to do business.

"We are not just competing in our country. We are competing against companies in other countries that have our safety regulations that are doing things faster or they are doing things differently, and that is what we need to do as a country," she said.

While Klobuchar was in town I couldn't help but ask her about news that she has apparently drawn the wrath of teen heartthrob Justin Bieber. The Star Tribune reports that Bieber told a Washington-area radio host that he thinks the Minnesota senator should be thrown in jail for a bill she is sponsoring that would make it a felony to profit from streaming unlicensed online content.

"Whoever she is, she needs to know that I’m saying she needs to be locked up, put away in cuffs,” Bieber said.

So what does Klobuchar think about all this?

"He was just simply misled about what was in that bill. That's all the happened," she said.

The senator said her bill is targeted at commercial theft and foreign piracy of things like books, music and movies. She added her bill unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Commission without objection and that it has lots of support from song writers and composer. She added that Bieber's own lawyers have tried to get a cease and desist order against a website using the singer's music because it violates his property rights.

 

 

Drinking and driving while wearing a costume? Not a good idea

Today's award for the most eye-catching press release goes to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. To publicize a drunken driving enforcement wave, the patrol used the arrest videos of people in costume from last Halloween to create a 30-second public safety announcement. A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, French maid and Jeannie from "I Dream of Jeannie" are all featured in the video.

This enforcement wave will be in the Twin Cities metro. There's no mention of whether something similar will be going on in our area. According to the news release, alcohol-related crashes accounted for seven of the 17 traffic deaths and 10 serious injuries during the Halloween period between 2008 and 2010.

To see the "Unmasked" video, click here.

Franken and Klobuchar both in Med City today

The state's two DFL senators — Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar — are both visiting IBM in Rochester this afternoon. They are hosting a town hall for IBM employees, technical leaders and master inventors.

The discussion is expected to focus on recent passage of the "America Invents Act," which is aimed at improving the patent system. The Post-Bulletin's Jeff Kiger plans to cover the event.

Earlier in the day, Franken will be in Byron where he is expected to talk about efforts to overhaul the "No Child Left Behind" education law. Specifically, he will talk about a provision he supports that would invest in  science, technology. engineering and math education. He will tour Byron's high school and middle school and meet with school officials, teachers and students. His visit also makes good on a promise to visit Byron High School if they were named an Intel School of Distinction. The school was one of six that recently won the award for its math program.

Norton: Treat sales tax for Vikes stadium like Roch sales tax

In a recent interview,  Rep. Kim Norton argues that if Rochester's local-option sales tax has to go before the voters at a general eleciton, the same should apply to a proposed sales tax increase to pay for a new Vikings stadium.

"We are cutting health care, cutting human services, we're cutting education, we're cutting higher education and raising tuition, and yet we are going to stop everything and not even have a vote on a tax to pay for a football stadium? That doesn't make any sense to me," the Rochester Democrat said.

She noted that Rochester is required to put its $139.5 million local-option sales tax before the voters at the 2012 general election. A key part of that proposal are projects geared towards economic development. So she asks why should the city of Rochester be required to put this on the ballot and not Ramsey County?

"It would be up to the Vikings and the advocates to sell it to the community," she said.

Rochester had a tough time last session getting legislative approval for its sales tax proposal. The city originally wanted voters to weigh in on a $160 million sales tax plan. But House Committee Tax Chair Greg Davids argued that it was too large and that there was not enough support among members of his caucus for a sales tax proposal that size. He initially advocated cutting $58.5 million from the project, but agreed to but some of those dollars back as part of a compromise. City officials also wanted the vote to happen at a special election, but Senate Tax Committee Chair Julianne Ortman said she would only grant legislative approval for the sales tax proposal if the vote happened at a general election.

The Minnesota Vikings oppose a referendum on the sales tax in Arden Hills arguing that it will kill the project. Davids has said he is OK with the tax proposal not going to the voters. He argues that stadium issues are different than traditional local-option sales taxes that are used for a variety of purposes. In the past, he voted in favor of allowing Hennepin County  to raise its sales tax without a referendum to build the Twins stadium.

On this same topic, Minnesota Public Radio reports today that several Republicans want to require a sales tax referendum as part of a stadium deal. In our region, that position is clearly not limited to Republicans. Along with Norton, Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester, has also said she wants to see a referendum.

How big is big enough when it comes to bonding bill?

When it comes to the question of how big the state's 2012 bonding bill should be, Republicans and Democrats remain quite far apart.

While visiting the Stewartville Fire Hall, House Capital Investments Committee Chair Larry Howes said he expects to put together a bonding proposal ranging from $350 million to $450 million in size. He said that is a size that he believes many conservatives in his caucus will be willing to get behind.

"Until somebody tells me to go a little higher, I'm going to stick with that for now," he said.

It should be noted that some conservatives, including state Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, oppose any bonding this year.

Meanwhile,  Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL lead on the House Capital Investments Committee, said she plans to introduce her own $775 million bonding proposal. She argues the state should borrow the most amount of money it can while staying within established debt guidelines.

"There is no reason to scrimp this year in this particular economic time. The interest rates are still so incredible that we are practically paying no interest on this, so to squander this opportunity makes no sense," Hausman said.

It still remains to be seen what type of a bonding proposal DFL Gov. Mark Dayton will bring forward.

Representatives of the House Capital Investment Committee made three stops in the area today. They visited Stewartville to consider a $485,000 request to renovate and expand the fire hall. They also stopped at Rochester Community and Technical College to listen to the pitch for an $8.8 million project to relocate Rochester's Workforce Center, Inc. to the campus. They then headed to Austin to learn about the Austin Port Authority's proposal to expand The Hormel Institute. They are looking for $13.5 million.

House bonding committee snubs Mayo Civic Center

The House Capital Investment Committee announced its tour plans for Monday and noticeably absent is a stop at Rochester's Mayo Civic Center. The city is seeking $35 million to expand the civic center and has ranked it as its number one bonding priority.

But the House committee will not be making a stop at the center. Instead, they are planning to start their day at the Stewartville Fire Hall. The city of Stewartville is looking for $485,000 to renovate and expand the fire hall. Two Rochester Republicans — Rep. Mike Benson and Sen. Carla Nelson — are sponsoring a bill for the project.

The committee will also stop at Rochester Community and Technical College to learn about a project that would relocate the city's workforce center to the college campus. The college is seeking $3.1 million for the project. Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester, is sponsoring the bill in the House.

Recently Rochester City Council President Dennis Hanson announced it is time to take a step back from the civic center project and analyze whether or not it still makes sense to move ahead with the expansion plan. This comes at a time when the center is faced with $10.4 million in repairs. Most of those repairs would be taken care of as part of an expansion.

Liebling, who is the author of the civic center funding bill, said she was surprised to hear the committee is not planning to visit the center.

"I sure hope that none of these people who are so against civic centers, especially our civic center, are lining up to have state money go into a Vikings stadium," Liebling said.

She said while the Vikings stadium would be private, the Mayo Civic Center is a public facility.

I am trying to find out if the House bonding committee is going to visit any other civic centers seeking money. No luck yet getting an answer.

Koch: Dayton needs to do more than set a stadium vote deadline

During a visit to Rochester on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said DFL Gov. Mark Dayton needs to put together a specific stadium proposal and lobby fellow Democrats in the legislature to back it.

Koch said Dayton needs to do more than just set a deadline of Nov. 23 for a stadium vote — he needs to put forward a firm plan. She said there are so many unanswered questions including whether the stadium will be in Arden Hills or Minneapolis and how it will be funded.

"I'm listening, I am engaged in the discussions, but we don't have necessarily a a set location yet, we don't have a funding mechanism. That is not something I can go to my member with and whip a vote on. They need a concrete proposal to know if the are for or against it," Koch said.

She added that for any stadium deal to pass it is going to take bipartisan support because there are not enough votes in the Republican-led Senate to pass a stadium bill. She said it is the governor's responsibility to determine the level of support among Democrats for building a new stadium.

Dayton has said he wants to call a special session for lawmakers to vote on a stadium proposal. He said there does not need to be a final stadium plan in order for him to call the special session, but he does want legislative leaders to agree to limit the session to a stadium bill.

Walz boasts hefty campaign war chest

Candidates looking to take on DFL 1st District Congressman Tim Walz better start fundraising now.

Walz raised $220,325 during the third quarter this year, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission. He has raised nearly $806,000 to date and has more than $503,000 in the bank. So far, Republican state Sen. Mike Parry of Waseca is the only candidate to announce he is running against Walz.

Republican 2nd District Rep. John Kline raised more than $183,000 this quarter. He has raised more than $764,000 to date and has more than $686,000 on hand. DFL candidate Dan Powers has announced he plans to run against Kline again. He has not filed a third quarter finance report.

Walz will be in Rochester tomorrow for a "Congress on Your Corner" event. Constituents can share their views with the congressman. He will be in the produce department at Hy-Vee Barlow Plaza, 1315 Sixth St. N.W., from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

Parry attacks Walz on free trade votes

It has begun. Just got my first official press release from the Mike Parry for Congress campaign. In the release the Republican state senator from Waseca goes after DFL Congressman Tim Walz for voting against free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama yesterday.

Here's a copy of the release:

Waseca- Mike Parry, candidate for the 1st Congressional District, gave the following statement upon passage of three free trade agreements in Congress today, Wednesday, October 12.

"I commend Congress for passing three free trade agreements with bi-partisan support today.  These free trade agreements will help spur economic growth which is desperately needed.

I've spoken with a number of folks in the agriculture community in southern Minnesota-- there was near-unanimous support for all three agreements.  This is another example of politicians in Washington, like Congressman Walz, being out of touch with the people they represent. 

I look forward to returning common-sense representation to the people of southern Minnesota."

Walz voted for the South Korea Free Trade Agreement saying it will benefit farmers in southern Minnesota. But he voted against agreements with Colombia and Panama. He said he has serious concerns about Colombia's human rights record and corruption and instability in Panama.

“I believe that as the leader of the free world, the United States must be guided in its trade policy by our values,” he said in a written statement.

Incidentally, looks like Parry's website is up and running. Here's a link.