David Olson

May 23, 2014

The Capitol Note: U.S. Senate hopeful McFadden doesn’t vote in primary elections

Mike McFadden, who hopes to challenge sitting Democrat Al Franken, hasn't cast a ballot in a primary for the last 20 years. Other GOP candidates for the seat, including Rep. Jim Abeler, Sen. Julianne Ortman and Chris Dahlberg have been involved in the process.

Aug 23, 2013

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.

Aug 13, 2013

LIPP: Public Policy Achievement (Workers’ compensation reform)

Shar Knutson and Brad Lehto, Minnesota AFL-CIO; David Olson, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

Jun 5, 2013

Leaders in Public Policy winners will be honored on July 11

State Rep. Karen Clark, who was the lead sponsor of legislation legalizing same-sex marriage, will receive the lifetime achievement award as part of the fourth annual Leaders in Public Policy awards, sponsored by Capitol Report and Politics in Minnesota. Clark and the other honorees will be recognized at a ceremony at the Saint Paul Hotel on July 11.

Apr 24, 2013

House passes $15.7B education finance bill

K-12 education finance bills that account for roughly 40 percent of the state’s general fund spending are moving through the House and Senate floors this week.

Mar 15, 2013

Dayton budget II: No sales tax, homeowner rebate

Gov. Mark Dayton rolled out the specifics of his revised budget plan Thursday at the Capitol. And as he had intimated, the reworked budget eliminated a raft of proposed sales tax changes, including a hot-button plan to tax a range of business-to-business services.

Mar 13, 2013

Dayton defends plan to increase income taxes on wealthy

The Democratic governor, speaking in front of members of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce on their day at the Capitol, outlined the broad strokes of his revised budget plan, due out this week. He said it will include about $1.8 billion in new revenue generated by an income tax increase on the top 2 percent of earners in the state and a proposed cigarette tax increase.

Jan 2, 2013

Bakk on Session ’13: ‘An honest budget’

As DFL legislative leaders prepare for the start of session next Tuesday, fixing the state’s general fund budget – $1.1 billion in deficit, and plagued by a decade’s worth of patchwork repairs – is the job that’s most on the minds of DFL Senate Majority Leader-elect Tom Bakk.

Oct 31, 2012

GOP-aligned business PACs outspend Democratic counterpart

GOP-aligned independent groups have rushed to fill the campaign spending gap that Republicans face in their battle for continued control of the Minnesota Legislature.

Aug 29, 2012

Growing pains for the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce has been flummoxed in recent legislative sessions not so much by their usual sparring partners in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party but by a new coterie of conservative Republicans.

Jun 20, 2012

Lobbying expense report obscures more than it reveals

Lobbyist spending reports from this year’s legislative session have been unveiled by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (CFPD). But a word of caution is warranted in assessing the numbers: They don’t include lobbyists’ salaries.

Jun 20, 2012

Spending for those who can’t

In surveying the 2012 campaign cash landscape in Minnesota, it’s not immediately obvious who’s going to help Republican legislators defend their majorities.