Political Party

House DFL jumps into unallotment lawsuit

Minnesota House Democrats voted this morning to wade into the legal fight over Gov. Tim Pawlenty's unilateral budget cuts this summer.

Members of the House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee voted in favor of filing a friend of the court brief in a lawsuit brought by six Minnesotans who are suing Pawlenty over his use of unallotment. The vote was on a party line basis — 14 to 8.

Meanwhile, Rochester Democratic Rep. Tina Liebling has said she thinks the legislature is not going far enough. She said she supports the idea of the legislature suing the governor.

"I believe that there is a very strong legal basis for it. I believe what the governor did was illegal and possibly unconstitutional and needs to be challenged in court," Liebling said.

Here is a link to that story.

Pawlenty spending cap proposal gets plenty of reaction

Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Thursday proposed a state constitutional amendment that would cap the state's general fund budget at the revenue level of the most recent two-year period. Here is a link to the Associated Press story on the proposal.

Republicans, including Rochester Sen. Dave Senjem, praised Pawlenty for the proposal.

“This proposed constitutional amendment requiring that state government spending be tied to actual general fund revenue is government at its best — one that is both responsive to the concerns of the public
and responsible with the hard-earned tax dollars that we are entrusted with.” 

But Democrats were skeptical of the governor's proposal. They also noted that none of Pawlenty's budget proposals during his time in office would meet this requirement. The Associated Press quotes DFL Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller as saying, "At first blush it does seem odd that on your way out the door with a pending $5-7 billion deficit, you would now recommend something you never even proposed to the Legislature."

Senate Tax Committee Chair Tom Bakk sent a letter to the governor inviting him to discuss his proposed amendment before the committee on Dec. 7. Bakk mentions that Pawlenty's proposal is similar to one that U.S. Sen. Michele Bachmann.

 Bakk wrote, "Unfortunately, she never agreed to bring her bill before the Senate Tax Committee for a hearing, even after multiple requests by the chair. This left many of us on the committee to wonder what her intentions for the proposal genuinely were. As the Governor of our state, I trust that you truly support your idea and would like to see it passed next session."

Bakk, a Democrat who is running for governor, also called on the governor yesterday to call a special session of the Legislature before the end of the year so that a bonding bill can be passed. Here is a link to that story.

Click here to Download Bakk Letter

Pawlenty touts Pine Island interchange, some transportation advocates grumble

Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Monday touted efforts in Pine Island to get a new interchange built using public and private dollars and announced an initiative to boost these types of partnerships statewide.

The $36 million interchange would serve the 2,325-acre Elk Run development, which is slated to include a Biobusiness Park, commercial space and residential homes. To get the interchange built, Elk Run developers donated an estimated $13 million in right-of-way for the project.

Pawlenty said in the past, Minnesota has been hesitant to ask private businesses to help pay for infrastructure that would benefit them. But the Republican governor said that needs to change.

“Now we’re much more aggressively and proactive ly looking for areas of improvement that would benefit existing or future commercial or private interest and then asking those interests to join us,” Pawlenty said.

But some question whether Pawlenty’s proposal will hurt efforts to get road upgrades in rural areas with limited economic development. J.D. Burton, a spokesman with the U.S. Hwy 14 Partnership, said his organization is frustrated that residents have been waiting decades for the roadway to be upgraded from a two- to four-lane road from North Mankato to Dodge Center. Over the next 20 years, the state transportation department still does not have the funding needed to finish the project. The stretch from Dodge Center to Owatonna is slated to cost $151 million.

“If the governor is suggesting now we need to have a multi-billion company to support us and that is the only way we are going to get our projects done, then I think that is unwise for the future of transportation in our state,” Burton said.

Mayors push for candidates to take stand on LGA

The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities today announced a campaign aimed at urging voters to ask gubernatorial candidates whether they support Local Government Aid. As part of that announcement, they unveiled a two-minute video that states cities have lost $782 million in LGA since 2003 and that Minnesota property taxes have gone up 64 percent.

The coalition also takes aim at Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty. It features a video of him when he was running for governor in 2002. In the video, Pawlenty says, "You can't run around the state and say I'm not going to increase taxes and then cut LGA in a way that drives up local property taxes."

While Pawlenty makes these comments, a chart shows the cuts in LGA and the rising property taxes.

Austin Mayor Tom Stiehm is also featured in the video. He talks about the impact of state aid cuts on Austin's public safety.

"We're down one police officer already," he said. "We are anticipating another police officer going in August."

Pawlenty's spokesman Alex Carey offered this reaction to the coalition's campaign.

“During these difficult economic times, cities need to streamline and become more efficient, and not turn reflexively to local property tax increases. For 2009, Governor Pawlenty capped the cut in LGA payments to cities at 3.3 percent. Cities should be able to find ways to manage a small reduction to their revenues, just like families and businesses are doing, without massively hiking local property taxes.”

To watch the video, go here.

Pawlenty blocks ACORN from getting state dollars

Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty today joined fellow GOPers who are working to block ACORN from getting any taxpayer money. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, has drawn the ire of Republicans following an undercover sting where ACORN workers offered tax advice to two conservatives dressed up as a pimp and a prostitute.

In a letter to Management and Budget Commissioner Tom Hanson, Pawlenty wrote that given recent reports of the left-leaning organization's questionable behavior and potential illegal activity, he was issuing a directive that ACORN stop receiving state funds. Pawlenty's letter

This comes after the U.S. Senate voted in favor of blocking ACORN from getting any federal dollars. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, is also calling on President Obama to use his executive authority to extend the ban to all federal agencies.

For Pawlenty, a possible presidential candidate for 2012, the announcement garnered plenty of media attention including from Politico.

So just how much money does ACORN get from the state? According to the Associated Press, ACORN officials say they have no contracts with the state. The story quotes ACORN deputy political director Kevin Whelan as saying Pawlenty's move "seems like it's motivated by politics or publicity."

GOP gubernatorial candidate Marty Seifert had scheduled a press conference for tomorrow morning to call for ACORN to be blocked from receiving state funds.

Pawlenty: Proposed tax puts genomics partnership 'in jeopardy'

Gov. Tim Pawlenty sent a letter today to Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Al Franken expressing his opposition to a $40 billion tax on the medical device industry that is party of the Senate Finance Committee's health care reform proposal.

In the letter, the Republican governor warns that the tax could harm The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, a partnership between Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota. The state provided upwards of $80 million in direct and leveraged funding for the partnership since it was announced in 2003, according to Mayo Clinic Spokesman Bob Nellis.

Pawlenty writes, "During the past 6 years, the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic have initiated a bioscience initiative backed by tens of millions of state dollars. The more than 1,400 expected jobs involved in this effort and Minnesota's leadership in this area are now in jeopardy."

Asked whether Mayo Clinic opposes this tax provision, Nellis said the clinic does not have a position on the proposed tax.

Nellis added that the 1,400 job estimate cited by Pawlenty is for jobs created directly or indirectly by the partnership over the next 10 to 20 years.

In the letter, Pawlenty also argues the tax would hurt the state's medical device makers including Medtronic, Boston Scientific, 3M and St. Jude. He adds that the tax would not only apply for pacemakers and heart valves but also 80,000 other products including wheelchairs, thermometers and diagnostic imaging equipment. You can click the link below to read the letter.

Download 09.14.09 Gov. Pawlenty letter to Sens. Klobuchar & Franken

Pawlenty to Dems: Thanks, but no thanks

Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty has declined an offer to be part of a "Minnesota Leadership Summit" being planned by DFL leaders.

Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher had announced they were planning to invite current and former governors, senate majority leaders and speakers of the house to discuss the state's budget problems.

In a letter to Pogemiller and Kelliher, Pawlenty said the state already has a leadership summit writing "It's called the legislative session and it lasts approximately five months."

Pawlenty went on to criticize how lawmakers handled the last session.

"This past year, rather than taking timely and decisive action to deal with our budget deficit, the Legislature's DFL leadership wasted the first few months of the session."

Here is a link to Download Pawlenty letter.

Dems to tour local colleges, talk unallotment

Members of the House Higher Education committee, led by its Iron Range DFL Chair Tom Rukavina, will be visting eight colleges and universities in southern Minnesota over the next two days to discuss the impact of $100 million in cuts as part of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's unallotment.

Here is the intinerary for Thursday.

9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Southeast Technical College in Red Wing
11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. in 106 Maxwell Hall at Winona State University
2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Rochester Community and Technical College
3:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. at Riverland Community College in Austin

Some local DFL lawmakers are planning to join in the discussions at the schools within their districts. They include Rep. Gene Pelowski of Winona, Sen. Ann Lynch and Rep. Tina Liebling both of Rochester, and Rep. Jeanne Poppe and Sen. Dan Sparks, both of Austin.

It should be noted that Rukavina is among about a dozen Democrats considering a run for governor in 2010. The colorful lawmaker has developed a reputation over the years for outspokeness. Politics in Minnesota recently reported that Rukavina had a campaign slogan suggestion for Gov. Tim Pawlenty in 2012 if he runs for president — "Let me screw up the country like I screwed up Minnesota." Hmmm....somehow I don't think that slogan will win T-Paw's favor.

Pogemiller wants Dems to get own WCCO radio segment

Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller is none too happy with WCCO News Radio. He recently sent a letter to the station voicing concern about WCCO not only continuing Gov. Tim Pawlenty's weekly radio show but also expanding the amount of time he is on air as a fill-in host.

Pogemiller writes, "Occasionally affording some airtime to someone from the opposing party is not sufficient to counterbalance the Governor's partisan messages and ongoing cultivation of his public persona."

So Pogemiller is asking that "in the interest of fairness and more fully informing your listening public" that the station provide a periodic segment following the governor's show for Democrats to offer their point of view. He ends the letter stating that "A publicly licensed station such as yours should be interested in ending the ongoing monologue and embrace a dialogue of the ideas and issues facing our state."

Guess we'll have to wait and see how WCCO responds.

Two more Republicans eye governor's race

The GOP candidate pool for governor just keeps getting more and more crowded. The Associated Press is reporting today two Republican state senators are also considering a run. They include Sen. David Hann of Eden Prairie and Sen. Mike Jungbauer of East Bethel.

They join a large pool of conservative leaders that have already committed or are thinking about running for the state's top post. Some of those on the list include House Minority Leader Marty Seifert — who is planning a campaign stop in Rochester next week — and former House Speaker Steve Sviggum. Former Congressman Jim Ramstad has said he is thinking about getting in. Others include Rep. Paul Kohls of Victoria, former state auditor Pat Anderson and state Rep. Paul Koering of Fort Ripley.

Meanwhile, current Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty is in Colorado today for the Aspen Ideas Festival. Pawlenty will be a panelist on Friday with the title "How to Get Great Teachers Into Every Classroom.

The event is drawing some big names includes former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker III, columnist David Brooks, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, author Thomas Friend man and CBS "Face the Nation" moderator Bob Schieffer.