Political Notebook

Lawmakers get back to work

With the ceremonial first day behind them, Democrats are moving ahead with their legislative agenda. At 1 p.m., House Speaker Paul Thissen, House Majority Leader Erin Murphy, Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk and Assistant Majority Leader Katie Sieben will outline the majority party's vision for the 2013 session.

Later in the afternoon, Democrats will unveil a bipartisan bill to set up a health insurance exchange in Minnesota. The exchange will be an online marketplace where Minnesotans will be able to shop for and compare health insurance plans. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, gives states the option of setting up their own exchange or one set up by the federal government. The effort got little support from Republican lawmakers last session who opposed the federal health care bill.

The bill's sponsors, Rep. Joe Atkins of Inver Grove Heights and Sen. Tony Lourey of Kerrick, will discuss the legislation. They will be joined by Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter, Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman, Administrative Commissioner Spencer Cronk, Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson and other state lawmakers.

This year's bill will have at least two Republican co-sponsors — Rep. Greg Davids of Preston and Rep. Jim Abeler of Anoka. Davids said he prefers having a state-run exchange versus one run by the federal government.

"If I have a problem, I would rather call 651 than 202," Davids said.

 

Democrats elect their new leaders

Two days after their massive electoral comeback at the polls, legislative Democrats elected their new leaders. In both the House and Senate, DFL members on Thursday rewarded the individuals that helped them reclaim control of both chambers.

Senate Democrats elected Sen. Tom Bakk of Cook to be Senate Majority Leader. He had served the past two years as minority leader. In the House, the DFL caucus named current House Minority Leader Paul Thissen of Minneapolis as their choice for Speaker of the House.

No southeast Minnesota lawmakers got picked for the other key legislative positions. Here's the list of other lawmakers getting the leadership nod. In the Senate, Sen. Katie Sieben of Newport was elected assistant majority leader and Sen. Sandy Pappas was chosen as the next president of the Senate. Sen. Rich Cohen, of St. Paul, was named chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and Sen. Rod Skoe of Clearbrook will be chairman of the Senate Taxes Committee.

In the House, members chose Rep. Erin Murphy of St. Paul as majority leader. She played a key role in helping recruit candidates for the election.

Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester, said she did have some concerns about the top House leadership spots being held by two metro-area lawmakers. Rep. Paul Marquart of Dilworth also ran for the post. But in the end, Norton said she expects Murphy will do a good job.

"I was just concerned with the two Twin City representatives at the top, and I would have much preferred having geographical balance," she said.