Deb Hilstrom

May 30, 2014

Severson locks up GOP endorsement for secretary of state

Former four-term Rep. Dan “Doc” Severson will take on a Democrat for the open secretary of state’s office in November, beating out elections-minded former state Sen. John Howe for the party’s endorsement on Friday. Delegates at the GOP convention in Rochester cast a single ballot choosing between the two, but Howe bowed out before the ...

Mar 5, 2014

The push for judicial retention elections

A bipartisan effort led by the Coalition for Impartial Justice is proposing a system of judicial review and retention elections to avoid the highly charged, politically explosive contests common in Wisconsin, Texas and other states.

May 29, 2013

2013 session leaves unfinished business

Whether the 2013 legislative session in Minnesota was a successful one depends on which Democrat you ask. While many long-sought DFL priorities were achieved at the end of the five-month session, including gay marriage and increased spending on education, a handful of high-priority issues were ultimately shelved in 2013 in the hustle and bustle of crafting a $38 billion budget.

May 3, 2013

Paymar fumes over nixed gun bill

DFL House Speaker Paul Thissen said Wednesday that the proposal lacked the necessary support to pass this session and would not be brought to the chamber floor.

May 1, 2013

The fine print: Minnesota budget bills contain little-noted provisions

Traveling in the House and Senate budget bills are dozens of little-discussed provisions that could become sticking points in final negotiations.

Mar 19, 2013

Gun proposals stall in the Legislature

After debating a bill to expand background checks to gun shows, private sales and online sales for nearly two hours Wednesday morning, the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee reconvened in the evening only for a moment to lay over the bill instead of taking a vote, leaving the fate of background checks hanging in limbo.

Mar 6, 2013

House lawmakers introduce new gun proposal without universal background checks

With less than two weeks to go before legislators hit a deadline to pass policy proposals, DFL Rep. Deb Hilstrom and more than 70 co-sponsors in the House introduced a proposal that would increase penalties for felons convicted of possessing firearms and makes it a felony for individuals who provide false reports of stolen or lost firearms or knowingly purchase a gun for an ineligible person. The [...]

Jan 4, 2013

Utilities brace for 2013 energy-policy battles

The outlook for energy policy is quite different as DFLers get set to take control of both the House and Senate in the 2013 legislative session. Business groups that had pursued an aggressive agenda in the last two years of GOP control will likely adopt a more defensive posture.

Dec 21, 2012

Public defenders seek 14 percent budget increase

Two years ago, the state’s public defender system was in dire shape. The number of lawyers had dropped by roughly 60 since 2008, a 14 percent reduction. Consequently attorneys were handling nearly twice as many cases as recommended by the American Bar Association.

May 31, 2012

Caucus campaign teams gear up

It was supposed to be a show of electoral force, and it was: After filing for office en masse on Thursday morning, several dozen GOP lawmakers and candidates lined the back wall and spilled out the doors of a press room in the State Office Building.