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Adjournment fever pandemic strikes Capitol
The conventional wisdom from the start was that Session 2012 would be a short one. A healthy budget surplus plus newly redrawn legislative districts meant less work to be done at the Capitol and more to be done back home, where some lawmakers will face intra-party endorsement challenges and others have to get to know a daunting amount of new territory.
Endorsement battles bring March madness to Capitol
Last Saturday GOP activists gathered in Burnsville to determine who would be the endorsed candidate in House District 56A. No incumbent is running for re-election in the district, which leans heavily Republican.
House passes Voter ID constitutional amendment
On a party-line, 72-62 vote, the House passed a constitutional amendment to require photo ID from all voters at the polls.
Voter ID amendment poised to pass both chambers
Hopes for a last-ditch legislative deal that would avert a GOP constitutional amendment to require photo identification at the polls all but expired last week when no Republican lawmakers showed up to stand with Gov. Mark Dayton at a news conference on the subject.
Sunset commission: Look, ma, no teeth
It was the inaugural hearing of the newly founded Minnesota Sunset Advisory Commission, and for those who worked hard to shepherd the group through the legislative process, William Eggers was saying all the wrong things.
DFLers join redistricting tussle
Democrats in Minnesota have been slow to rise to the redistricting fight this time around. During session, DFL caucuses in the Minnesota House and Senate passed on the chance to produce maps to counter a GOP majority proposal that pitted 26 incumbents against one another, the vast majority of them DFLers.
ALEC’s influence surges in Minnesota
During the early part of her two-plus decades in the state Legislature, retired Republican Sen. Pat Pariseau remembers being just one of a handful of Minnesota legislators who could call themselves members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
Legislators send photo ID bill to Dayton
The House passed a bill requiring voters to submit a photo ID at the polls on a vote of 74-58. The bill faces a likely veto from Governor Dayton.
Rank-and-file House Republicans press their case for limiting spending to $34B — no matter what
Republican Rep. Steve Drazkowski and others say they have accepted the $34 billion number. But in their eyes, this means that they have already “compromised” on the budget — even if it’s only with other Republicans.
Budget agreement could hinge on policy, bonding measures
With less than a month to go before the Legislature is constitutionally required to adjourn, the GOP-controlled House and Senate find themselves fundamentally at odds with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton on the role of new tax revenues in fixing the state's $5 billion deficit. Dayton is pushing for about $2.5 billion in tax increases to help close the budget deficit, while Republicans are continuing to espou[...]
Paper Trail: Photo ID fiscal notes
Comprehensive changes to the state's voting system - including a requirement to present photo identification at the polls on Election Day - could cost the state between $30 and $60 million in the first few years.
Senate approves ‘Phase One’ budget cuts, alt-licensure
Leadership in both chambers is striving to finish before Easter The conventional wisdom from the start was that Session 2012 would be a short one. A healthy budget surplus plus newly redrawn legislative districts meant less work to be done at the Capitol and more to be done back home, where some lawmakers will face ...
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