Friday, February 25, 2011

Who's right? Who's lying and Who's fibbing?

Two documents I came across today tell two very different stories of the state budget.

A letter from Senate Republicans to Gov. Mark Dayton outlying their "perfectly clear" opposition to taxes to helping balance the budget states his budget would be a 22 percent increase.

A Minnesota Taxpayers Association newsletter describes it as 4.5 percent increase: "The Governor’s budget for FY2012-13 proposes to spend $37.1 billion from the state’s General Fund: growing spending by about 4.5% from the last biennium if one adjusts for the effects of the K-12 education shift and the federal stimulus
dollars"

So who's right?

Well, the MTA says it is a "non-partisan, non-profit corporation founded in 1926 to advance economy and efficiency in government."

And the Senate Republicans, well, let's just say they're not non-partisan, or possibly not non-profit either.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Tea Party idea voted down: unruly Rules Committee

Conventional wisdom would suggest a Republican majority in the Minnesota House of Representatives would embrace some of the Tea Party-influenced Pledge to America.

One of those pledges called for posting proposed legislation on the Internet three days before it would be voted on so people could "read the bill."

But an interesting exchange in the House Rules Committee Jan. 24 had all Republicans of the committee voting against a proposal by a Democrat for posting bills online for three days, per the directive of the Pledge to America.

Rep. Debra Hilstrom, DFL, Brooklyn Center, proposed the amendment to the permanent rules of the House.

I supposed one could write this off to playing politics, but a vote is a vote. It's on the record. Why do I feel we haven't heard the last of this vote and this exchange. Seems ripe for campaign literature at some point.

It will be interesting to see how state Republicans would defend it, but a legitimate reason might be the Minnesota Republican Party has no real allegiance to the party in control of Congress.

Here's the exchange between Hilstrom and House Majority Leader Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, and the House Rules Committee chairman.

Said Hilstrom: "There will be no more hiding legislative language from the minority party from opponents and from the public. Given this is such a popular agenda. I believe that it’s proper to be in our rules as well. We do not want to hide it from the public or the minority, and so, Mr. Chair, I would ask for a roll call.” 

Dean asked for discussion. A deafening silence.

He asked for Discussion again. Nothing.

Dean, speaking against the amendement said: “I would echo representatives Hilstrom’s intent on this. I would say that is an excellent idea for our U.S. Congress, for 435 members, and for the predicament they find themselves in."

“However, we are at 134 members, we have a Minnesota way of doing things. We also have something we need to do in this state that they don’t have to do that I wish they had to do which is balance their budget.”

“And that requires us to do a  lot of heavy lifting in the last 48 hours of session in many instances, so I would speak against the Hilstrom amendment, and if there’s no further discussion I would ask the clerk take the roll.” 

The amendment was defeated 11-14 on a party line vote. Rod Hamilton, R-Mountain Lake, is the only Mankato area legislator on the Rules Committee.


Hilstrom's comments starts at 22 minutes, 30 seconds into the audio recording and the exchange goes for about two minutes.

Here are the meeting minutes. Scroll down to the vote on Amendment 20. All "Ayes" or yes votes favored putting bills online as in Pledge to America. Nays voted against putting bills online. All Democrats voted yes, and all Republicans voted no.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Tracking your interests: health, guns, floods

We're considering a kind of news glean and informer type column for our readers, summing up the days news and telling them what it means to them.

Here's a sample see what you think:

Feds approve Minnesota Medicaid early opt-in request.

Federal officials have approved Gov. Mark Dayton's request to access federal money to expand a health program for the poor beginning March 1.

Dayton signed the order his first week in office and the announcement of the approval came Thursday.

The program will likely cover 443 lower-income adults in Blue Earth County who lost their state health care last year in budget cutting moves. We reported that story Nov.22.

The Associated Press reported: "The move is expected to provide broader coverage for up to 95,000 people, most of whom are now part of two state-funded health care programs.

Notices to those affected have started going out and public workers are getting transition guides.

Republican leaders are critical of the change, saying it locks Minnesota into matching dollars it can't afford to put up. Dayton has said he would veto legislation reversing his executive order."

NYT: Guns getting to the mentally ill

There's a very compelling, well-researched story in The New York Times headlined "States struggle to disarm people who've lost the right to own guns" that details flaws in federal and state systems for background checks.

It's particularly relevant for people in Mankato and Minnesota because local Rep. Tony Cornish, Good Thudner, and other Reupblicans on the Public Safety Committee passed a bill to do away with Minnesota background checks even though police unions and police chiefs associations are dead set against the bill.

A Bloomington Police officer testified at Cornish's committee that the federal checks missed 37 people in Bloomington alone who were not legally qualified to carry guns because of mental health or other issues. State checks were needed, he said.

The vote was 10-7 along party lines. Here's the recorded vote and the meeting minutes. Audio available also to listen to the whole meeting.

The bill (HF161) was referred to the House Civil law committee.

Flood forecast has people on alert

There is about a 21 percent chance of major flooding on the Minnesota River at Mankato between Feb.22 and May 23, according to the latest forecast.

There's an 80 percent chance of moderate flooding (26 feet to 30 feet). The Mankato flood walls protect the city up to 32 feet. The chance of that same flooding was just 60 percent on Jan. 28.

Assocationed Press reported: "The new forecasts raised the odds for major flooding at some communities on the Minnesota, Mississippi and St. Croix rivers in Minnesota. On the upper Minnesota River, the risk at Montevideo has risen to 90 percent, up from between 60 and 70 percent earlier. On the Mississippi, the threat at St. Paul is now 95 to 98 percent, up from 90 percent. And on the St. Croix, the risk at Stillwater is now 75 percent, up from 60 to 70 percent."

"State emergency management director Kris Eide said two-thirds of Minnesotans may be affected to at least a small degree, such as by leaking roofs and basements. She urged Minnesotans to prepare now to protect their families, homes and communities, and stressed that people should consider buying flood insurance."


That's an unusual prediction, and locals in New Ulm and elsewhere are preparing ahead of time. The Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothan will be in St. Peter Friday as part of a flood awareness tour.


 River readings, levels, flooding potential can be found on this map on The Free Press website homepage every day under "Weather."

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Dayton budget and your property taxes

Gov. Mark Dayton unveiled a budget today that raises $3.5 billion in new taxes, mostly on the upper income and wealthy, cuts $775 million in health care -- nursing homes and assisted living payments take a hit -- and kind of surprisingly, doesn't call for more cuts in local government aid.

The folks from the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities I met with last week are probably happy about that.

Lobbyist Tim  Flaherty, Mankato Mayor Eric Anderson and Mankato City Manager Pat Hentges met with me arguing that local government aid is about 25 percent below where it used to be four or five years ago. Mankato used to get close to $9 million, now it will be getting near $6.3 million.

Dayton's budget message seemed to emphasize he was not going to put up with property tax increases. The Minnesota Department of Revenue has a study that shows for every $1 cut in local government aid, property taxes go up 67 cents.

There is now becoming a wide disparity in how much property tax a $2 million commercial building pays in Eagan versus Mankato.

Former Republican Rep. Dan Dorman of Albert Lea also was traveling with the group. He is now an economic developer in Albert Lea.

Dorman says the Pawlenty era cuts to LGA were the worst thing he ever voted for just because they hurt outstate Minnesota so badly. When he tried to remedy the situation a few years into Pawlenty's term with the famous "Dorman Amendment" taking equal amounts of property tax relief from suburban as well as outstate areas, he lost, with many of his fellow Republicans voting against him.

The Dorman Amendment wouldn't have saved outstate from cuts, it simply would have made all cities, rural and urban, pay their fair share.

Many of those who killed this fair bill were rural and outstate Republicans who were upbraided by this newspaper for their anti-constituent vote.

So far, it appears Dayton is wanting to curtail more cuts to LGA and help keep property taxes stable. It may not play out that way exactly, but outstate cities certainly have a friend in the governor's mansion where a few years ago they had only an enemy.

The LGA lobbying effort this year will be focused on rural legislators.As Flaherty pointed out, they only need a few to vote against the majority, a majority that no longer holds the power of the governor's office.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Local money, jobs at risk

As editor of a major daily newspaper in Minnesota, I am often asked to meet with interest groups on matters at the Legislature these groups feel will impact my local readers.

Last Thursday I met with the leaders of the two largest state employee unions, AFSCME and Minnesota Assocation of Professional Employees. On Friday, I met with representatives from Flaherty and Hood, the lobbying firm that represents outstate Minnesota cities in the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. Those folks were accompanied by Mankato Mayor Eric Anderson and Mankato city manager Pat Hentges.

There is some urgency with these groups in that they are under fire from Republican lawmakers in the Minnesota Legislature on two points. Proposals to freeze state employee wages made it as far as the House Senate Conference committee bill on the plan to cut $900 million from state spending.

Gov. Dayton vetoed that bill the day I spoke to the unions. There remains a plan to cut 15 percent of the state workforce. It's a bill authored by Edina Rep. Keith Downey, HF 4, (Here's a House Research summary), that is now in the State Government Finance Committee.

Some quick points about the case they made.

Eliot Seide, executive director of AFSCME, noted Blue Earth County had the highest number of state government workers per capita than any other county except Ramsey.

There are about 550 AFSCME members at MSU and South Central College and about 600 total in Blue Earth County. MAPE has 578 members locally.

The unions have taken zero wage increases in four out of the last eight years.

When the state employee retirement pension funds got into trouble a few years, ago, the unions supported higher contributions from their members.

AFSCME retirement benefits are not "gold plated" with the average being $13,000 a year.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

When lawmakers don't listen to police

Sgt. Mark Elliott of the Bloomington Police Department denied 37 dangerous individuals a permit to buy a gun in Minnesota last year.

He told members of the Minnesota House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Committee all were tracked through Minnesota's background check law, and did not show up in the federal database on crime that would deny them a permit.

Yet, the committee voted 10-7, with all Republicans voting to dismantle Minnesota's background check law and rely only on the federal system. The seven Democrats on the committee seemed shocked and in a state of disbelief that this committee would turn back Minnesota's law after this testimony.

The police and peace officers unions favored keeping it, so did the Minnesota chiefs of police.

Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R, Mazeppa, sponsored the repeal bill, ostensibly to remove an unfunded mandate, that he notes costs a sheriff's department 1/2 hour to 1 hour per week. City and county associations said the could not support it even though they oppose unfunded mandates because their local law enforcement officials would likely lose local control over the threat in their neighborhoods.

The thing that taxpayers and citizens should be most concerned about in this activity is not whether you agree we should do background checks or not, but politics (not sound information and facts) appear to be driving many of these very serious public safety decisions.

The bill, HF161, was referred to the House Civil Law committee, but I expect it will be rammed through that committee as well on a party line vote.

Here's a House Research summary of the bill, Public Safety Committee meeting minutes and the roll call vote of the committee. All "ayes" are Republicans, all "nays" are Democrats.

Sgt. Elliott's testimony begins at the 53 minutes 30 second mark of the audio. It gets better from there.

Here's a link to the audio tape of the meeting.

Monday, February 7, 2011

"Go ahead and sue"

I got my annual lesson on legal risks of publishing a newspaper at the Minnesota Newspaper Convention seminar about 10 days ago.

Our association's Legal Update is lead by longtime MNA attorney and media law expert Mark Anfinson. It's always kind of interesting to know what you can and cannot be sued for.

The Readers' Digest version.

Protection via "Decency"

Newspapers or other "internet hosters" cannot be sued for outrageous and libelous things internet posters and anonymous commenters put on a newspaper website. We provide the site and can edit and screen comments, but the liability still falls to the poster.

This protection comes to newspapers or any other corporate entity that hosts a website through Communications Decency Act of 1996, which protects us from the nasty things our posters and customers want to say about anybody.

Those posters can be sued but in reality they are usually not sued because they have no assets. There is apparently a case, however, that is going forward where a developer is suing a blogger by the name of "Johnny Northside" in Minneapolis.

Might be a test case to see if someone can put a little fear into unrelenting and irresponsible bloggers.

"You can't say that"

Libelous statements in the context of a public meeting are still protected.

In other words, if a citizen attends a public meeting and tells the City Council they should investigate their police chief because it is their belief he is dealing drugs (real case here), he is protected from a libel action as is the newspaper reporting this event.

There are various defenses against libel in a public meeting, the thought being public debate and discussion will be hampered if the public is fearful what they say at a public meeting can be used against them. It also protects politicians from things they say as well.

However, if the newspaper goes outside the meeting and does more reporting, getting other information, the risk for libel becomes greater. A court will likely view the entire store as a whole, and make a judgment on libel from the entire context.

In this case, it's more risky to do more reporting. Now, most good newspapers will do more reporting, and usually giving the accused a chance to say something is not true helps.

Coleman-Franken vote case to be argued March 1

In a case that may surprise you, an odd twist to the Coleman-Franken recount issue will be argued March 1 in front of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

KSTP-TV is arguing some 13,000 rejected, but unopened absentee ballots from the 2008 Franken-Coleman race should be treated as public data under the law and should be opened. They don't identify voters.

Presumably, KSTP would do a story on how the rejected ballots would have affected the outcome of the Senate race. If there were something in those envelopes that suggested election fraud or more of them should have been rejected etc., it's remotely possible the U.S. Senate, could, in a long shot, remove Franken, as the Senate, via the law, has the final say on seating a member.

Long shot, not likely, and maybe much ado about nothing. But stay tuned.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Minnesota's credit is excellent for bonding

It's nonsense for legislators opposed to a bonding bill this year to be suggesting our credit rating will somehow be damaged by approving bonding projects.

See this report on our credit. It shows that Minnesota not only continues to get the highest credit rating possible, but interests rates are historically low.

We'll already be saving $20 million in interest costs over the next 20 years on the bonds we recently issued.

The credit markets are also demanding municipal bonds because they are safe and secure. More demand, means even lower interest rates.

Wednesday's editorial details the rationale for doing a bonding bill this year and finally including the Mankato performing arts center project.

We've paid for more of our downtown projects out of our own money than any other city. In fact, even if we get our $14 million this year, we'll still be $66 million behind Rochester, St. Cloud, Crookston, Duluth, you name it.