Minnesota legislators who won't accept their salary during a shutdown
Categories: Countdown to Shutdown
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They and Dayton could be responsible for laying off tens of thousands of other state employees, after all.
Surely they wouldn't accept a paycheck for that? (The governor's annual pay is $120,000; senators and representatives are paid $31,000.)
So we asked House and Senate members via their official e-mail. Most did not answer; we got a lot of automated thank-you-for-contacting-me messages.
Even fewer lawmakers backed up their positions by blaming each other for the mess.
Here's GOP Sen Carla Nelson: "When Gov. Dayton rejected two compromises without offering any counter proposals, it became clear to me that a shutdown was imminent. I immediately told my family that I would not be getting paid in July and we need to plan accordingly."
DFL Rep. Linda Slocum: "I will not be taking my salary when/if we have a shut down," writes . "I do it in solidarity with the competent and wonderful state workers who may be without a paycheck because of the rigid ideologues who are unwilling to balance the budget."
Then we contacted the co-controller at the House, who said members have a salary refusal form with a non-binding deadline attached to it, simply for the convenience of the paper pushers. But no names or numbers are being published yet because House members can refuse their salary -- or rescind their refusal -- up until June 30.
In the Senate, an official with fiscal services said she was fairly certain there was never an official form for refusing salary. Members make their preferences know individually. And she wasn't divulging any names, either.
So here are the legislators -- so far -- who have told us they won't draw salary if there's a shut down.
Republican House members include Roger Crawford (08B), Sondra Erickson (16A), Andrea Kieffer (56B), Kathy Lohmer (56A) and Jenifer Loon (42B).
DFL House members include: Kathy Brynaert (23B), Andrew Falk (20A), Alice Hausman (66B), Melissa Hortmann (47B), Kate Knuth (50B), Carlos Mariani (65B), Terry Morrow (23A), Erin Murphy (64A), Kim Norton (29B), Michael Paymer (64B), Steve Simon (44A), Nora Slawik (55B), Linda Slocum (63B), and Ryan Winkler (44B).
GOP Senate members include Majority Leader Amy Koch (19), Michelle Benson (49), John Carlson (4), Roger Chamberlain (53), Gary Dahms (21), Ted Daley (38), Bill Ingebrigtsen, (11), Carla Nelson (30), Julie Rosen (24), and David Senjem (29).
DFL Senate members include Tony Lourey (8) and James Metzen (39).
We'll keep an eye out for more replies to survey request -- if we get them -- and update the story. In the meantime, it looks like Ramsey County Chief District Judge Kathleen Gearin may be making the ultimate decisions next week defining which essential government services stay open in case of a shut down.
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