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The Capitol Note: Bill authors defend Ritchie’s online voter registration
The issue of voting registration apparently did not arise during the debate over the legislation's passage more than a dozen years ago.
Disability groups rally for 5 percent funding increase in 2014
The increase would cost about $86 million in the current budgeting period, and advocates are hoping there will be extra cash in the state’s coffers after the November and February budget forecasts.
The Capitol Note: MMB plans to go forward with stadium bond sale
Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter rejected calls from American Indian activists who were pushing for the delay of bond sales on the new Minnesota Vikings stadium, the Star Tribune reports. The activists are trying to get assurances that the word "Redskins," the' nickname for the Washington, D.C. NFL team, will not be displayed inside the stadium.
Judicial retention bill faces uncertain future
The 2014 legislative session could set the stage for a high-profile battle over how Minnesota picks its judges. A broad coalition is renewing a push to pass a ballot initiative that would move the state to a judicial retention election system.
Lawsuit: Shelve online voter registration
Republican legislators and conservative groups filed a lawsuit this week aimed at suspending an online voter registration program that they claim was improperly implemented by Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a DFLer, without legislative approval.
Legislators will review online voter registration
The system launched under Secretary of State Mark Ritchie in late September has so far accepted more than 1,100 applications, 200 of which have come from new registrants.
GOP leaders call for probe of new online voter registration tool
In a letter sent to Legislative Auditor Jim Noble’s office on Monday, GOP leaders said Ritchie “unilaterally” started the program without vetting the proposal in committee hearings. The program allows new voters to register online or returning voters to update their information.
Shift payback news a boon to DFL House
The resolution of the 2011 Minnesota government shutdown produced one of the main talking points that DFLers rode to control of the Legislature in the 2012 elections. Despite DFL Gov. Mark Dayton’s hand in agreeing to the budget solution, House and Senate DFLers hammered the Republican legislative majorities for delaying aid payments to schools as part of the negotiated fix to a $5 billion defic[...]
Senate committee approves Brodkorb severance pay
Aside from the severance package, the committee will still need to convene at a later date to sign off on final defense payments.
MNsure reveals costs of health insurance plans
Minnesota's health insurance exchange will offer more than 100 insurance products with a starting prices as low as $91 per month when it opens for business on Oct. 1, state officials announced on Friday.
Special session: The imperfect storm
After several weeks of public posturing and private negotiations, Gov. Mark Dayton and legislative leaders have agreed to hold a special session next month to deliver disaster relief funds to parts of the state hit by severe storms – and nothing more.
No agreement on terms of special session — or whether one is necessary
Gov. Mark Dayton and legislative leaders met for an hour behind closed doors on Friday afternoon, but did not reach agreement on the terms of a special session. In fact, the consensus appears to be a preference for no special session if already appropriated funds can be utilized to cover $4.5 million in needed disaster relief.
Top News
- Melodie Rose named president at Fredrikson
- Supreme Court lawyers have rituals of their own
- Minnesota artists consider what’s next in AI copyrights
- Defining ‘and’ in sentencing statute falls to Supreme Court
- Hashtag rates higher libel protection
- Court: Performance issues, not bias, prompted union to fire organizer
- Robot milker case yields $122M
- 2023 Up & Coming Attorneys
Expert Testimony
- Briefly: A chat with Supreme Court Commissioner Tim Droske
- Perspectives: Oral arguments at high court stir lively debates
- Quandaries & Quagmires: Advance waivers: Lessons from Paul Hastings vs. Coca Cola
- Perspectives: Recent cellphone ruling recalls high court cases
