Senate announces Vikings stadium hearings

There may not be a special legislative session for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium, but there will be public hearings.

 

Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, who heads the influential Senate Taxes Committee, announced Wednesday she would hold two informational hearings on the Vikings stadium on Nov. 29 and Dec. 6.

 

“We are holding these hearings to invite the public and interested parties to come and testify and offer their views. It is an issue that people are very passionate about,” Ortman said.

 

“Based on information provided to these committees, we will determine if there is a consensus for further action,” she added in a statement.

 

Details related to the hearings, according to Ortman, would be released at a later time.

 

Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, the lead Senate author of stadium legislation, hailed the announcement.  "Senate Republican leadership has taken a bold and necessary step," she said.  But Rosen added that "it is obvious that this issue will not have a simple solution or an easy consensus."

 

Gov. Mark Dayton also said he welcomed the hearings, calling them a "very positive step forward."  Speaking to reporters after meeting with Arden Hills city officials Wednesday -- the Vikings want to build the stadium in Ramsey County's Arden Hills -- the governor said that "hopefully those hearings will present a clear picture, to at least the senators, as to what the options are and where to go from here."

 

House Republicans -- the party also holds a majority in the House -- have not announced any stadium hearings.

 

The Nov. 29 hearing would be a joint meeting of the Senate Taxes Committee and the Senate Local Government & Elections Committee. The Dec. 6 hearing would be a joint meeting of the Senate Taxes Committee and the Senate State Government Innovation & Veterans Committee.

 

The announcement comes as Dayton, who has pushed to resolve the Vikings stadium issue, acknowledged that a special legislative session to address the topic was now unlikely. The Legislature is scheduled to meet in regular session beginning Jan. 24.

 

The Vikings, who have played in the downtown Minneapolis Metrodome since 1982, want to build a $1.1 billion stadium in Arden Hills. The project would be funded by $407 million from the team, with the remainder coming from undetermined public subsidies.

MN Bonding showing its weakness, guys

 These guys are total clowns - they should be recalled.  We don't need another crisis Dec. 1 and we do NOT need a new football stadium.

Minn. burns future tobacco cash for budget fix now

Published: Tuesday, 8 Nov 2011 |

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota's government is about to give up $1.1 billion in future payments from tobacco companies so it can get about half as much money now for a temporary budget fix.

A new state authority expects to finalize a bond sale late next week that leverages a portion of Minnesota's 1998 tobacco lawsuit settlement. The sale will free up $640 million to patch a near-term budget hole, but the payouts to bondholders, with interest, will add to the budget woes the state is projected to have for years to come.

Minnesota isn't the first state to take such a step. Lawmakers could even go back to the remaining tobacco money if another budget deficit surfaces in a new economic forecast due Dec. 1.

"Once you've already done it, it's something I'm sure everyone will be looking at again," said House Taxes Committee Chairman Greg Davids, R-Preston.

In an interview last week, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton said he "would be very strongly opposed to it" but declined to take the option off the table.

The arrangement was a key link to a summer budget deal that ended a nearly three-week government shutdown. Both sides cast it as a default option because Republicans refused to raise income taxes and Dayton balked at deeper spending cuts.

But it comes at a high price.

Documents supplied to potential bond investors suggest that the state is actually selling $787 million worth of bonds. Almost $150 million of it is going toward a debt reserve fund, set-up costs and other expenses that limit the amount available for budget purposes.

Similar to a home mortgage, the state receives an infusion of money but will pay bondholders between $65 million and $80 million per year for the next 20 years. The highest annual debt costs come toward the beginning, when the state's budget is already anticipated to be in rough shape.

Under the so-called tobacco securitization bond, the state gives up rights to a big chunk of tobacco payments through 2031. Last year, the state received about $170 million.

The overall cost to the state won't be known until the sale is final because interest rates could still fluctuate. But officials are projecting $1.2 billion in total debt costs, all but about $100 million coming from the diverted tobacco payments. The rest is from the new reserve account.

The major tobacco companies reached settlements with all 50 states in 1998. The goal of states was to recover costs incurred from treating smoking-related illnesses. Minnesota, which was one of four states to negotiate its own deal, was counting on $6.1 billion over 25 years, with payments continuing into perpetuity. So far, state records indicate that Minnesota has collected $3.3 billion.

The National Conference of State Legislatures says about 20 states have borrowed against their settlement money, some more than once.

Democratic Rep. Ann Lenczewski, a former chairman of the House Taxes Committee, voted against Minnesota's tobacco bond sale. She criticized Republican lawmakers and Dayton for agreeing to the arrangement, equating it to a worker giving up future pay for money to pay household bills now.

"You sell your salary to pay for something short-term, two years. The problem is back and now you have no salary," she said. "It's an example of politicians in both parties not wanting to take their medicine. If we would have cut more it would be permanent. If we raise more (taxes) it would have been permanent."

Dayton said he went along to end the stalemate that idled thousands of workers and darkened critical parts of state government.

"We had 20 days of shutdown. It was clear to me they weren't going to agree to a tax increase," Dayton said.

Republicans said it was far from their favored approach. They spoke almost apologetically about it when the bill authorizing the bond sale was approved in July on party-line votes.

"There are 201 of us plus a governor who wouldn't say this is their very first choice about how to proceed," Senate Tax Committee Chairwoman Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, told colleagues at the time.

The bonds carry risks for investors because the future tobacco payments — not the state taxing authority — back up the debt.

According to documents associated with the sale, tobacco companies face more than 10,000 lawsuits. Adverse outcomes would affect the viability of some companies, and could possibly force some into bankruptcy. Public smoking restrictions, increased tobacco taxes and general declines in smoking rates could also drive down Minnesota's settlement proceeds, which are based partly on cigarette sales volumes.

As it stands, smoking rates are expected to drop by 3 percent per year, according to modeling done by an economic forecaster working for the state. It would take a smoking decline above 10 percent, year over year, for bond holders to dip below a break-even point.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

"ALEC" Draz and Winona area Republicans embrace change

Tired of blaming Dayton for tax hikes, Draz and Winona area Republicans embrace change

Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen 

In Minnesota tax hikes no surprise, the editorial board of the Fargo Forum writes:

Nobody should have been shocked this week to learn that elected officials representing Moorhead and Clay County gave preliminary approval to property tax increases. They did so grudgingly – Moorhead Mayor Mark Voxland cast the decisive vote on a divided City Council – and vowed that they’d keep scrutinizing the budgets to try to soften any tax hikes before final approval.

The city is forced to find ways to replace $827,000 in Local Government Aid and elimination of a homeowner tax credit paid to cities representing another $538,000 in lost revenue. The $1.3 million revenue gap is a direct consequence of the Minnesota Legislature’s refusal to raise statewide taxes – action that merely shifts the burden downstream to local governments. Cutting the city budget absorbs part of the gap, but the preliminary budget calls for an 8.3 percent increase in property tax, translating into $73 more in taxes on a $140,000 home.

Read the whole editorial which, like so many of Greater Minnesota's editorial judgments concerning the property tax shift, is as withering as an mid-September frost.  It leaves the legislative majority just as exposed as limp zucchini, defrosting in the garden:

So, while members of the Minnesota Legislature can crow about their achievement in holding the line on spending, local taxpayers repeatedly have been forced to pay higher property taxes – often cited by voters as the least popular tax. Ultimately, Minnesota voters will have to decide if they want that to continue.

The Mankato Free Press board observed that now Property tax boosts start with the state:

It will also be more difficult now for state legislators to say that property taxes are strictly a local decision and come from the local level. Clearly, the Legislature and the governor changed state law in a way that will likely cause local property taxes to rise, even if locals don’t increase their levies.

Looking to Minnesota's southeastern corner, it's not surprising to find ALEC model lawmaker Steve Drazkowski doing the sort of crowing that the Forum editors derided. For as the editors of the Winona Daily News recently pointed out with regard to local school levies, the corporate bill factory zombie has no shame.

Today's Winona Daily News reports in Lawmakers reconsider cutting property-tax creditthat Draz and his pals have broken with House GOP Tax Czar Greg Davids' gambit of blaming Dayton entirely for the elimination of the homestead credit. Now it's just tough love, perhaps the local government equivalent of torching a daughter's provocative panties.

Draz and other Southeastern Republicans aren't the ones doing the reconsideration mentioned in the headline. They're doing the sort of crowing scorned by the Forum and other editors:

"The credits make it difficult for our cities, counties, and townships to budget when they're not sure how much of a credit they'll receive from the state," said Jeremy Miller, R-Winona. "Everyone seems to agree that in the long run, the homestead exclusion will be better for the budget processes at the state and local level."

Miller must move in very small circles to think that "everyone seems to agree" that the homestead exclusion will be better. Perhaps he's merely riding the rhetoric of the world's smallest bandwagon. Howe has a slightly different cackle:

Sen. John Howe, R-Red Wing, and Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, agreed.

"By changing to an exclusion, the state's trying to be up front with counties and municipalities," said Howe. "When we make decisions on the local level, residents get better results."

But for Draz the Destroyer, it's pure anti-revenue template:

"We shouldn't make promises we can't keep with money we don't have, and that's just what reinstating the credits would do," said Drazkowski.

DFLers Ann Lenczewski and Paul Marquart proposed a bill this week to bring back the homestead value market credit.

Image: Chocolate Drazombie bunny, by Tild.

Related posts: "Breathtaking chutzpa": House Tax Czar Greg Davids haz it, DL Online sez

This is not what reform looks like: Faribault paper calls out legislators on end of Homestead Credit

Mr. Accountability: Greg Davids not ready to take hit on homestead credit property tax change

Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Sep 16, 2011 at 07:32 AM in Cities, Counties, Governor Mark Dayton,Minnesota legislature, Politics, Postmoronic Politics, State Legislature, Taxes |

The Grover Nordquist Hall of Shame - Minnesota Chapter

The Grover Nordquist Hall of Shame - Minnesota Chapter

These members of the legislature have signed a pledge to Grover Norquist to:

"solemnly bind themselves to oppose any and all tax increases"

MINNESOTA

12 Senators of 67

Chris Gerlach (S-37)

David Hann (S-42)

Mike Jungbauer (S-48)

Warren Limmer (S-32)

Geoff Michel (S-41)

Julianne Ortman (S-34)

Claire Robling (S-35)

Charles Wiger (S-55)

Dave Brown (S-16)

Roger C. Chamberlain (S-53)

Paul Gazelka (S-12)

Dan D. Hall (S-40)LR

 

25 House members of 134

Jim Abeler (H-48B)

Bruce Anderson (H-19A)

Mark Buesgens (H-35B)

Matt Dean (H-52B)

Bob Gunther (H-24A)

Tom Hackbarth (H-48A)

Mary Liz Holberg (H-36A)

Larry Howes (H-4B)

Mary Kiffmeyer (H-16B)

Ann Lenczewski (H-40B)

Mary Murphy (H-6B)

Paul Marquart (H-9B)

Bud Nornes (H-10A)

Gene Pelowski (H-31A)

Joyce Peppin (H-32A)

Steven Smith (H-33A)

Torrey Westrom (H-11A)

Kurt Zellers (H-32B)

King Banaian (H-15B)

Bob Dettmer (H-52A)

Sondra Erickson (H-16A)

Carolyn McElfatrick (H-3B)

Linda Runbeck (H-53A)

Chris Swedzinksi (H-21A)

Bruce Vogel (H-13B) 

 

http://sundisinfect.blogspot.com/2011/07/grover-nordquist-hall-of-shame.html

Poll: Majority of Minnesotans Not Happy with Budget Deal

Posted at 12:02 AM on August 18, 2011 by Tom Scheck (0 Comments)
Filed under: MN Legislature, Mark Dayton

 

A new poll, commissioned by the Bush Foundation, found that two thirds of those surveyed are not happy with the budget agreement that ended a 21 day state government shutdown. The poll also found that a majority of those polled think the state is headed in the wrong direction.

Governor Dayton and the GOP-controlled Legislature shut down state government for three weeks because they were at odds over the best way to balance the state's two year budget. The two sides agreed to cut spending, borrow against future tobacco payments and delay payments to K12 schools to erase the deficit. The poll found that a majority of Minnesotans weren't happy with that deal.

"The poll made it very clear that people were unhappy about any sort of shift or borrowing against the future," The Bush Foundation's C. Scott Cooper said. "People much preferred to deal with the problem now, face it head on and tackle it."

Cooper, with the Bush Foundation, says the polling is consistent with the results the group gathered from a number of focus groups conducted by the Bush Foundation on the state budget. He said they held town hall meetings in Grand Rapids, Rochester and Bloomington to gauge how the state's budget problems should be addressed.

The poll also found that 54 percent of those surveyed think a mix of spending cuts and revenue increases are needed if the state faces another deficit. At the same time, 80 percent of those polled think making government services more efficient should be "the most central piece" or "a major part" of the solution.

The findings are consistent with other polling that shows the public wants to see lawmakers rein in government spending but balk when the focus of those cuts turns to popular and expensive programs. Cooper said the results from the focus groups were more nuanced. For example, he said some were willing to make sacrifices in order to see things get better.

"People want the reform and they're willing to pay the price in the short-term if they think we can get the reforms in the long-term," Cooper said.

The most striking result from the poll is the dissatisfaction that the general public has about their quality of life. 40 percent of those polled said they believed the quality of their lives was getting worse. Nicole Martin Rogers, a researcher with polling group Wilder Research, said that was a 17 percentage point increase from a similar poll done in December.

Both Governor Dayton and GOP legislative leaders are working to show that they understand the frustration. Dayton is scheduled to launch a statewide jobs tour to discuss ways to improve the state's economy.

Republicans in the Minnesota House are scheduled to hold a news conference on Thursday morning to discuss what they have characterized as "the start of the "Reform 2.0" agenda for the 2012 legislative session."
The two sides disagree on the best way to tackle some of the key issues facing the state.

Dayton has been pushing for a mix of spending cuts and income tax increases on Minnesota's top earners to solve the state's budget problems over the long-term. Republicans have rejected tax hikes of any kind and say the focus needs to be on cutting government spending.

The poll was conducted between August 1 and August 4. It has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

Here's the poll.
Here's the report from The Bush Foundation.

2011 New Laws - Minnesota

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/newlaws2011-0.asp

Note: As they are prepared for publication, summaries of all new laws from the 2011 session, vetoes and some bills of interest are being uploaded to this site. All summaries should be available by the end of July.

From this Web page, you can access stories about all the laws enacted in 2011, bills that were vetoed and updates on bills that, while may be receiving a lot of attention, did not make it into law.

The stories are categorized under topics such as Agriculture, Banking and Business. Included is an index that will help you determine under which category you will find the story for which you may be searching.

When you find the story, you will see that the House file (HF), Senate file (SF) and Chapter (CH) numbers appear to the right of the story along with the name of the House and Senate authors. An asterisk indicates the version of the bill sent to the governor. Stories on major appropriations or omnibus policy laws include references to article and section numbers, wherever possible. Effective dates are also included in most stories.

---

List all story headlines or search for a story        All the words entered   Any of the words entered   The exact phrase entered    

Choose articles by the topics below

	Agriculture Arts and Entertainment Bonding Budget Business and Commerce Civil Law Consumers Economic Development Education Elections Employment Energy Environment and Natural Resources Ethics	Family Game and Fish Health and Human Services Higher Education Housing Local Government Military and Veterans Affairs Public Safety Recreation and Tourism Resolutions Science and Technology State Government Taxes Transportation	Vetoes Bills in Limbo

Copies of a law are available by calling the House Chief Clerk's Office 651-296-2314 or the Senate Information Office 651-296-0504. Ask for the bill by Chapter number or by the House or Senate file number. Chapters are also available through the House's Web site by clicking here. For further information, contact House Public Information Services at 651-296-2146 or 800-657-3550. The Senate Information Office can be reached at 651-296-0504 or 888-234-1112. 

New Laws is compiled by the Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services. Staff members collected, wrote, verified and coordinated the information with the help of the House Research Department, House Fiscal Analysis Department, Office of the Chief Clerk, House Index Department and the Office of the Revisor of Statutes.

These stories may not be reprinted without express written permission from House Public Information Services. 

Attorney: Constitutional challenge to shutdown spending will proceed

by Jake Grovum
Published: July 20,2011
Time posted: 10:09 am
Tags: Erick Kaardal, government shutdown, Lori Swanson, Mark Dayton, Warren Limmer

Erick Kaardal says government funding during a shutdown is unconstitutional; he filed a similar case in the 2005 shutdown that was dismissed. (Staff photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)

The constitutional challenge over state spending during this year’s historic government shutdown is expected to proceed before the state Supreme Court, the lead attorney bringing the lawsuit said Wednesday.

Despite language in the budget bills that retroactively approved the court-ordered spending during the shutdown and vacated the series of court orders that approved it all, attorney Erick Kaardal says the core separation of powers and constitutional questions remain and deserve a resolution.

“We think the issue is still open,” Kaardal told PIM. “One might say, ‘strange times, you get strange remedies.’ They can be strange, but they can’t be unconstitutional.”

The suit argues that any state spending without proper legislative approval is unconstitutional, even if that means a complete government shutdown. A similar case was brought before the Supreme Court in 2005 but was ultimately dismissed, leaving the underlying constitutional questions unresolved. That order, however, welcomed petitioners to bring the suit again if the situation arose.

In Kaardal’s telling, that’s exactly why it’s important to pursue a resolution this time.

“It’s about all the people who think we need a good process,” Kaardal said. “In my view, we clean up this process, we’ll never have a impasse go beyond June 30.”

A hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday, July 27, before the Supreme Court. Kaardal has until Friday to file his final paperwork in the case, while Gov. Mark Dayton and Attorney General Lori Swanson have already made their positions known in separate filings posted earlier this week. See Dayton’s here (pdf) and Swanson’s here (pdf). The League of Minnesota Cities, Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities and Association of Minnesota Counties are also involved in the suit.

Six Republican senators and two GOP representatives have joined Kaardal in bringing the challenge, including Senate Judiciary Chairman Warren Limmer.Despite a resolution to the shutdown and budget impasse at the Capitol, Kaardal says the lawmakers remain interested in the case and are “in it for the long run.”

Kaardal expects to gain even more backers from the Legislature now that the political implications of a complete government shutdown have been relieved, he said, and will be seeking additional clients in coming days.

“It’s about 2013, it’s about 2015,” Kaardal said. “Everyone would agree, if not now when?”

Police, Clergy, Hospitals Urge Gov Dayton To Veto Bills Kicking Poor Off Health Care

http://www.theuptake.org/2011/05/19/urging-dayton-to-veto-hhs-omnibus-bills/

On the heels of the passage of the HHS omnibus bills through the Minnesota House and Senate, stakeholders address the health care choice facing lawmakers and Governor Dayton in the final days of the 2011 legislative session. Speakers address the proposal within the HHS bill to cut 138,000 Minnesotans off health care, versus raising revenues in the state. Speaking:
Reverend Grant Stevensen, President, ISAIAH
Sara Crieger, CEO, St. Joseph’s Hospital
Dr. Philip Stoyke, Family Practice Physician, St. Paul
Greg Gentz, Officer, Minneapolis Police Department
Mike Proietti, Richfield resident

by Briana Bierschbach
Published: May 16,2011
Time posted: 10:20 am
Tags: 2012-2013 budget, Amy Koch, Kurt Zellers, Mark Dayton, Taxes

House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch (staff photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher

With just a week left before the Minnesota Legislature is constitutionally required to adjourn, Republican leaders are ramping up discussions with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, but say they aren’t backing down from their promise to not raise taxes to solve the state’s $5 billion budget deficit.
GOP House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch were in the governor’s office

Minnesota Republicans are not moving bills in Conference Committees.

Minnesota Republicans are not moving bills in Conference Committees.

by Don McDaniel on Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 10:41am

“Nobody’s doing anything,” said Rep. Ann Lenczewski, DFL-Bloomington, the ranking minority member on the Taxes Committee. “They don’t have a target, meaning Speaker [Kurt] Zellers and Senate Majority Leader [Amy] Koch have not given them a target. So that means the House and Senate don’t even agree. They can’t do anything with money until that happens.”

“We haven’t had a serious discussion about anything in our committee,” echoed Rep. Thomas Huntley, DFL-Duluth, the ranking minority member of the Health and Human Services Finance Committee. “There’s been no real effort to move this stuff along. I’m beginning to wonder if they just want to let it go right to the end before they even have a bill.”

State VA chief: Budget cuts by GOP would hurt veterans

• Article by: RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER , Star Tribune
• Updated: May 5, 2011 - 11:18 PM

Republican committee chairman in the House called Shellito's analysis "a complete overreaction."

Republican budget cuts could trigger the closure of at least one veterans' home, higher burial fees for veterans' families and elimination of the Bronze Star grave marker program, according to state Veterans Affairs Commissioner Larry Shellito.

Shellito, who led the state National Guard under former Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, said the budget as it stands would result in layoffs and other cuts, even though Republicans had pledged to protect veterans from spending reductions. "I'm very concerned," Shellito said.

Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, the House State Government Finance chair, said the administration's estimates are a "worse, worse, worse case scenario." He called Shellito's analysis "a complete overreaction."

Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca, Lanning's counterpart in the Senate, was not available for comment, despite repeated requests.

Although rhetoric at the Capitol has heated up as the budget process grinds toward a May 23 adjournment, Shellito said his projections are not part of that fight. "I don't play games," said Shellito, a major general in the Guard. "It's really serious."

In a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton on Thursday, Shellito said the budget proposals for his department would result in layoffs for more than 100 employees.

The Military Affairs Department, which is separate from Veterans Affairs, said legislative budgets could leave too little money to properly maintain state-owned National Guard armories and the House budget bill could "jeopardize the ability of the state to retain the Army and Air National Guard units currently assigned."

The dire projections came as lawmakers and Dayton remained locked in a battle over numbers. Republicans in the GOP-controlled House and Senate say they will approve no more than $34 billion in state spending for the next two years and their budgets are a reflection of that ceiling. Dayton, a DFLer, says the state needs $37 billion to maintain core services.

Although lawmakers went out of their way to shield military and veterans spending in many areas, they also ordered general cuts to state government and its employees. In their budget measures, legislators did not exempt veterans spending from those across-the-board cuts.

According to the administration, the House and Senate budget measures would slash spending by at least 9 percent. The House bill would go further, the Dayton officials said. It would add about 170 layoffs to their 10 percent cut, according to an analysis.

"This is just one example of the serious consequences of the cuts being proposed by the Legislature," said Andrea Mokros, Dayton's deputy chief of staff. "It is a real example of what Minnesotans should expect under the current budget proposal."

Lanning said that while his budget bill would require staff and spending reductions, the Dayton administration could control where those reductions are made. It could, he suggested, spare veterans affairs from deep cuts if it wished.

Rachel E. Stassen-Berger Twitter: @rachelsb