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Dayton stumps for bonding plan
Gov. Mark Dayton got out ahead of the Capitol press corps this week when he issued a news release declaring his own bonding proposal "unusual." Dayton is calling for a big bonding bill in what is traditionally a nonbonding year, a gesture that stands in stark contrast to the approach of his Republican predecessor, Tim Pawlenty, who vetoed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bonding projects i[...]
Will legislators re-examine the vast sums given in tax breaks?
With a $6.2 billion budget deficit to solve, Senate lawmakers held a joint Finance/Taxes hearing on Thursday to start the process of combing through the roughly $11 billion in exemptions and deductions that have been written into state tax law over the decades.
House GOP shapes key committees for budget battle
There were few surprises when the Minnesota House GOP released committee rosters last week. Legislators, Republican and Democrat alike, landed in spots where they've sat before, or - in the case of new lawmakers - where they have accrued relevant experience in their professional and personal lives.
New conservative GOP chairs to run Capitol sausage factory
Last Wednesday, just a day after new Republican legislative majorities unveiled their downsized committee structure, it rained gavels at the Capitol. Incoming caucus leaders Amy Koch and Kurt Zellers handed down a total of 40 chair appointments as a substantial contingent of the anointed stood beaming at their side.
GOP downsizes committee rosters, names chairs
Making good on what they called part of their core campaign message, Republican leadership at the Legislature on Tuesday rolled out a drastically scaled back committee roster for the upcoming legislative session. The committee reconfiguration reduced the total number of legislative panels from 61 to 40, and GOP leaders predicted the move could save as much as $800,000. And they followed it up just[...]
House and Senate Republicans announce committee chairs
House and Senate Republicans announced a slate of legislators to chair committees before taking off for a fly around of the state.
Committee buzz: House GOP tries to juggle geography, seniority
When members of the new House Republican majority met last weekend to pick their top two leaders, they selected a slate dominated by the party's suburban strongholds: Speaker-designate Kurt Zellers of Maple Grove and soon-to-be Majority Leader Matt Dean of Dellwood.
Sales tax: Don’t ask, don’t tell
State House candidate Tom Heyd doesn't relish the idea of extending the state sales tax to clothing. And from what he's heard door-knocking in the conservative District 16B, voters aren't excited about it either.
Lege endorsements: Education Minnesota is backing seven Republicans
Business-backed MN Forward raised eyebrows last week when it announced support for three DFL legislators. But the reliably Republican PAC isn't the only big cash player at the Capitol that is backing candidates on the other side of the aisle. The Education Minnesota teachers union's PAC, which most frequently endorses DFLers, has endorsed a handful of Republican incumbents who are facing DFL chall[...]
House GOP looks to make up ground in districts they lost narrowly in ‘08
The power divide between DFLers and Republicans in the Minnesota House may look daunting on its face, but not so long ago the GOP held a similarly imposing majority.
IP sees chance at legislative inroads
As Minnesota’s Republican Party was giddily tweeting the news that the party had fielded candidates for all 201 seats in the state Legislature for the first time in 30 years, the Independence Party of Minnesota was quietly celebrating its own milestone: 16 candidates for the Legislature in 2010, seven in Senate districts and nine in House districts.
Legislators continue pursuing income tax reciprocity issue
A handful of Minnesota legislators are unwilling to give up on a defunct income tax reciprocity agreement between Minnesota and Wisconsin that allowed residents of one state who worked in the other to pay income taxes in only one state.
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