Political Party

Rochester woman testifies before Congress

Rochester resident Cheryl Burt was on Capitol Hill today to testify in favor of a bill that would strengthen safety standards for carbon monoxide alarms.

Burt lost her 16-month-old son and 4-year-old son to carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a malfunctioning furnace. Burt, her oldest son and her husband were also poisoned. The incident happened at the family's home in Kimball, near St. Cloud.

Burt spoke at a hearing held by the Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar serves on the committee and is sponsoring a bill that would require the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to strengthen the safety standards for all carbon monoxide alarms sold in the U.S.

To watch the hearing, go here.

Norton's seat belt bill gets passed — a first for House

Rochester DFL Rep. Kim Norton's bill that would allow police officers to pull drivers over for failing to wear a seat belt passed the Minnesota House Monday afternoon by a vote of 73 to 60. This marks the first the bill has passed the House, according to Sen. Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing.

Murphy is the bill's sponsor in the Senate and has been championing the issue for 17 years. Opponents have argued the measure is an invasion of personal liberties and could lead to more racial profiling. Supporters argued it would save an estimated 30 lives per year and mean $3.4 million in new federal funds.

So what made the difference this year?

"I think the difference was the author in the House was very aggressive and worked the bill hard and did a good job. Kim Norton made the difference," Murphy said.

The bill is expected to come up for a vote on the Senate this afternoon. If it passes, it will head to the governor.

Norton faces tough road on seat belt bill

This morning, it seemed as though Rochester DFL Rep. Kim Norton was poised to make legislative history — getting the primary seat belt bill through the House committee system to the House floor. But then came a road block. The bill instead ended up getting referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.

The primary seat belt bill would allow law enforcement to pull over and ticket motorists failing to wear a seat belt. Under current law, motorists can not be pulled over simply for not wearing a seat belt. But if a motorist is pulled over for a different traffic offense, they can be ticketed for not being belted up.

Norton said there are currently seven people on the committee who she says do not support the bill. To get the measure to pass, she would need to convince six of them to cast "yes" votes.

Opponents of the bill say it violates civil liberties and could lead to more racial profiling. Supporters say it would save an estimate 30 lives a year in Minnesota. The state would also get $3.4 million in federal money if it passes.

The bill has traditionally passed the Senate but gotten bogged down in the House. One thing is for sure — Norton will face a tough fight.

Olmsted commissioners talk 'green pipes' and inmates

Olmsted County Commissioner met with area lawmakers this morning at the Capitol for an update on some of the county's legislative priorities.

One key area of concern is the county's quest to get $6 million for a steam line project from the Olmsted County Waste-to-Energy plant to Rochester Community and Technical College. Dubbed the "Green Pipes" project, the proposal would get $5 million from the state in the Senate bonding bill. But no such luck in the smaller House bonding bill — the Green Pipes project was left out.

So as a House and Senate conference committee meets to hash out differences, county officials were keen to learn whether the Green Pipes project would make the cut.

Sen. Ann Lynch, DFL-Rochester, who serves on the conference committee, said she is optimistic the project will get bonding money.

"The odds are good," Lynch told commissioners.

Meanwhile, county officials also voiced concern that a deal to have the state take back responsibility for housing short-term offenders may not happen. That would come after Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty voiced support for the state taking back these offenders to help cash-strapped counties faced with housing these offenders.

County administrator Dick Devlin told lawmakers that the Olmsted County jail was housing more than 180 offenders this weekend and capacity is 200 to 210. If the state fails to take back responsibility for housing short-term offenders, it means the county may have to start paying to house inmates elsewhere or consider building a new jail.

Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester, said it is unclear what is going to happen with this issue. But if the legislature balks at the $8 million price tag for the state, then she said she will try and pitch a compromise floated by local officials. That plan would allow certain well-behaved inmates the chance to get out of prison early and counties would be responsible for probation of these inmates. In exchange, the state would take back responsibility for housing short-term offenders.

Lynch turns out to be lynchpin for public safety bill

A Senate public safety budget bill seemed headed for a defeat on Monday, until Sen. Ann Lynch switched her vote. The Rochester Democrat had originally voted no on the omnibus public safety bill. The bill includes a 7 percent cut to public safety and corrections.

But after the first vote failed, Lynch switch her "no" vote to a "yes," helping the bill to pass by a vote of 34 to 31.  A total of 11 Democrats joined Republicans in voting against the bill.

After the vote, Lynch said she did have some concerns with the bill. In particular, she was upset the bill did not include a measure she proposed aimed at helping counties struggling with having to house short-term offenders in county jails. The state used to house these offenders but began mandating the county house them.

Lynch said voting for these tough budget cuts is not easy.

"When you are looking at a $6 billion budget deficit and trying to balance that with good public policy, it doesn't often match up really neatly," she said.

When asked whether DFL leaders pressured her to vote yes, Lynch said it came down to supporting the Senate's budget work.

"I think that it is important that we move our omnibus funding bills forward," she said. "We have a job to get done and I am committed to that end. And I think that is what was reflected in that action."