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71 REASONS WHY JANUARY, 2007 MAY HAVE BEEN THE WORST MONTH IN MINNESOTA LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
By Michael B. Brodkorb | February 5, 2007
I received this list from the House Republican Caucus on why January 2007 may be the worst month in legislative history.
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A. SHIFTING TO THE LEFT, DURING ONLY TWO DAYS OF WORK
1. Minneapolis is in Charge: WED, JAN 03 – - The Legislature elects twoMinneapolis extremists to head the House and Senate: House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller.
2. Government Committees grow by 33% in One Day: WED, JAN 03 – - The DFL votes to increase the number of House Committees by 33%. The nine new Committees with extra budgets and staff include: Minnesota Heritage; Mental Health; Game & Fish; the fourth and fifth new Education committees; Housing Finance; Energy Finance; Labor; and an extra Finance Committee to serve the Ways & Means Committee. Almost every DFLer is now the Chair or Vice-Chair of a House committee or panel.
3. Sneaking Bills around without Printed Amendments: WED, JAN 03 – - The DFL votes to allow most bills to move from panel to panel without printing copies of the bills which show what changes have been made. This "legislation by surprise" proposal makes it harder for legislators, citizens, and watchdogs to keep track of amendments that have been "added in the air."
4. No Income-Tax Relief for Taxpayers: THU, JAN 11 – - The DFL House rejected the amendment by Rep. Laura Brod (R-New Prague) to lower the bottom rate for income taxes, paid by all taxpayers.
5. No Relief for Businesses on Non-Tribal Lands: THU, JAN 11 – - The DFL House rejected the amendment by Rep. Kurt Zellers (R-Maple Grove) to give the same tax breaks to small businesses and family farms on non-tribal lands as are available to those on reservation lands.
6. No Depreciation Relief to Create Jobs: THU, JAN 11 – - The DFL House rejected the amendment by Rep. Paul Kohls (R-Victoria) to provide tax incentives for employers who modernized their operations.
7. No Second Year of Tax Relief for Employers: THU, JAN 11 – - The DFL House rejected the amendment by Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Eden Prairie) that would have provided a second year of tax relief for many working families and employers, which would have matched federal tax incentives.
8. No Tax Relief for Parents with School Expenses: THU, JAN 11 – - The DFL House rejected the amendment by Rep. Mark Buesgens (R-Jordan) to increase the education tax credit by the rate of inflation each year.
9. No Tax Relief For Small Ethanol Producers: THU, JAN 11 – - The DFL House rejected the amendment by Rep. Doug Magnus (R-Slayton) to extend tax relief to small employers in the bio-energy industry.
B. NO ACTIVITY BY DFL HOUSE ON EIGHT DAYS IN JANUARY
10. THU, JAN 04 – - The DFL House did not work, although the Senate met.
11. MON, JAN 08 – - The DFL House took a few minutes to shuffle papers.
12. TUE, JAN 16 – - The DFL House took a few minutes to shuffle papers.
13. WED, JAN 17 – - The DFL House shows up to hear Governor Tim Pawlenty’s
"State of the State" Address, then adjourns to criticize the speech.
14. THU, JAN 18 – - The DFL House took a few minutes to shuffle papers.
15. MON, JAN 22 – - The DFL House took a few minutes to shuffle papers.
16. THU, JAN 25 – - The DFL House took a few minutes to shuffle papers.
17. MON, JAN 29 – - The DFL House took a few minutes to shuffle papers.
C. THE TWENTY WORST DFL BILLS IN JANUARY
18. PAY FOR CRIMINAL APPEALS FROM PLEA BARGAINS: If a criminal pleads guilty to a crime, and his public defender can find no basis for an appeal, the taxpayers currently do not have to pay for an appeal of the guilty plea just because the criminal wants one. But the DFL wants us to pay for the appeal any way. HF 455 (Mary Murphy, DFL-Hermantown).
19. SHIELD LIGHTS AT EVERY SPORTS FIELD: Sports fields in every park and at every school will have to put up shields to block any direct sight of any lights and end "light pollution." HF 446 (Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis).
20. RAISE MINIMUM WAGE BY 50% AND PUT IT ON AUTO-PILOT: Raise the minimum wage by 50% and put annual increases on auto-pilot indexing based on urban pay scales, even if the unemployment rate suddenly skyrockets. HF 456 (Tom Rukavina).
21. ALLOW 16-YEAR-OLDS TO VOTE: Although society says they will not have enough judgment to decide on drinking or smoking for another five years, they should be allowed to vote in school board elections. HF 428 (Phyllis Kahn).
22. DRESS UP YOUR JUNKYARDS: Junkyards will have to install cameras to photograph customers, and they will have to pay customers by check for purchases of scrap metal. HF 457 (Paul Gardner).
23. BUSINESSES MUST BECOME "SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE: The DFL would change business law to create "socially responsible corporations," into which the Attorney General may intervene for failure to meet social goals. HF 404 (Bill Hilty).
24. STUDY THE SPONGES: The DFL wants you to pay for a state study of the regulation of contractors who use sponges and other anti-microbial devices to get rid of mildew. HF 402 (Rick Hansen).
25. HOW I SPENT YOUR MONEY ON MY SUMMER SESSION: The DFL wants to eliminate the cap for legislators’ expenses during special sessions. HF 227 (Phyllis Kahn).
26. SMARTER THAN THE AVERAGE BEAR: The DFL wants to allow metal containers to be used to capture bears, but only if the containers cannot trap other animals. HF 72 (Larry Hosch).
27. WELCOME TO AMERICA! PUT UP YOUR FEET: The DFL wants to waive the work requirements of welfare programs for refugees who are getting funds from various federal programs. HF 316 (Cy Thao).
28. BUT WE CANNOT DEPORT MURDERS AND RAPISTS: The DFL would allow Metro governments to require state taxpayers to fund removal of "undesirable" wild animals from the Metro area. HF 247 (Scott Kranz).
29. CAN YOUR TEEN GET THIS GOVERNMENT CONTRACT?: The DFL wants us to pay for a study to identify Minnesota firms that install geothermal heat pump systems, instead of typing that phrase into a Google search. HF 393 (Bev Scalze).
30. DON’T GET SICK IN MINNESOTA: Constitutional amendment to guarantee health as a right and to authorize rationing of health care resources. HF 159 (Phyllis Kahn).
31. BAMBI IS PLACING YOU UNDER "CREATURE ARREST": Create a Board to provide "environmental justice," which means the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and income in the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws and policies. HF 205 (Joe Mullery).
32. BE WELL! BE HAPPY! BE DFL!: The DFL wants to spend $2 million a year to help schools develop Wellness Policies. HF 420 (John Ward).
33. THE DFL WANTS TO TOUCH YOUR BAGS: Bags containing compost must be compostable. HF 347 (Paul Gardner).
34. BABY NEEDS NEW SHOES!: Spend $1 million for parking lots to serve a bus line between St. Paul and the Hinckley casino. HF 386 (Jeremy Kalin).
35. HERE IS A BONUS FOR HAVING YOUR CAR STOLEN: The DFL wants taxpayers to give you a $500 bonus if your insured car is stolen. HF 425 (Michael Paymar).
36. CELEBRATE ON US, FROM WHEREVER YOU COME: The DFL wants to write a blank check to create a Commission on Ethnic Heritage to celebrate immigration to Minnesota over the centuries. HF 318 (Mike Jaros).
37. JUST WHAT YOU WANT: The DFL would allow the Legislature to meet every day between January and May. HF 181 (Tony Sertich).
D. CONTROLLING THE CLIMATE
38. 30 DEGREES IN THREE DAYS: The DFL House cancelled all committee meetings on January 9 to hold a summit on global warming and other topics at the Humphrey Institute. Three days later, the daily high temperature had dropped 30 degrees in St. Paul.
39. 30 DEGREES BELOW: The DFL House sponsored a teach-in about global warming in the House Chamber on January 30. On the following weekend, the wind chill factor hit 30 degrees below zero in St. Paul.
E. WHEN ALL WAS SAID AND DONE, MORE WAS SAID THAN DONE
When the Legislature is running out of time in late April and May, you may wonder what the DFL was doing in January.
Over half of the committees did not hear a single bill in January. Was it necessary to increase the number of committees by 33% under the DFL leadership?
40. The Agriculture Finance panel chaired by Rep. Al Juhnke (DFL-Willmar) did not act on a single bill in January.
41. The Crime Victims panel chaired by Rep. John Lesch (DFL-St. Paul) did not act on a single bill in January.
42. The E-12 Education Policy Panel chaired by Rep. Carlos Mariani did not act on a single bill in January.
43. The Early Childhood Education panel chaired by Rep. Nora Slawik (DFL-Maplewood) did not act on a single bill in January.
44. The Education Finance panel chaired by Rep. Mary Murphy (DFL-Hermantown) did not act on a single bill in January.
45. The Housing and Public Health Panel chaired by Rep. Karen Clark (DFL-Minneapolis) did not act on a single bill in January.
46. The Mental Health panel chaired by Rep. Neva Walker (DFL-Minneapolis) did not act on a single bill in January.
47. The Minnesota Heritage panel chaired by Rep. Mike Jaros (DFL-Duluth) did not act on a single bill in January.
48. The Property Tax panel chaired by Rep. Paul Marquart (DFL-Dilworth) did not act on a single bill in January.
49. The Public Safety Finance panel; chaired by Rep. Michael Paymar (DFL-St. Paul) did not act on a single bill in January.
50. The Public Safety Policy panel chaired by Rep. Joe Mullery (DFL-Minneapolis) did not act on a single bill in January.
51. The Telecommunications panel chaired by Rep. Sheldon Johnson (DFL-St. Paul) did not act on a single bill in January.
52. The Transportation Finance panel chaired by Rep. Bernie Lieder (DFL-Crookston) did not act on a single bill in January.
53. The Veterans Affairs panel chaired by Rep. Lyle Koenen (DFL-Clara City) did not hear a single bill in January.
54. The Ethics Committee chaired by Rep. Mary Murphy did not even have an organizational meeting.
55. The Commerce Committee chaired by Rep. Joe Atkins IDFL-Inver Grove Heights) only acted on one bill.
56. The Labor panel chaired by Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis) only acted on one bill.
57. The Bonding (Capital Investment) panel chaired by Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL-St. Paul) only acted on one bill.
58. The Energy Finance panel chaired by Rep. Bill Hilty (DFL-Finlayson) only acted on one bill.
59. The Environment Finance panel chaired by Rep. Jean Wagenius (DFL-Minneapolis) only acted on one bill.
60. The Health and Human Services Finance panel chaired by Rep. Thomas Huntley (DFL-Duluth) only acted on one bill.
61. The State Government Finance panel chaired by Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Minneapolis) only acted on one bill.
62. The Government Operations panel chaired by Rep. Gene Pelowski (DFL-Winona) only acted on one bill.
63. The Biosciences panel chaired by Rep. Tim Mahoney (DFL-St. Paul) only acted on two bills.
64. The Game, Fish, and Forestry panel chaired by Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake) only acted on two bills.
65. The Higher Education and Workforce Development panel chaired by Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) only acted on two bills.
66. The Health and Human Services Policy Committee chaired by Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis) only acted on two bills.
67. The Tax Committee chaired by Rep. Ann Lenczewski (DFL-Bloomington) only acted on two bills.
68. The Agriculture Policy panel chaired by Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba (DFL-Long Prairie) only acted on three bills.
69. The Local Government panel chaired by Rep. Debra Hilstrom (DFL-Brooklyn Center) only acted on three bills.
70. The Transit Policy panel chaired by Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis) only acted on four bills.
71. Out of 193 time slots reserved for the DFL House’s bloated committee structure in January, only 39 bills were heard.
Topics: Uncategorized | 22 Comments »
22 Responses to “71 REASONS WHY JANUARY, 2007 MAY HAVE BEEN THE WORST MONTH IN MINNESOTA LEGISLATIVE HISTORY”
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February 5th, 2007 at 11:43 am
23. BUSINESSES MUST BECOME “SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE: The DFL would change business law to create “socially responsible corporations,” into which the Attorney General may intervene for failure to meet social goals. HF 404 (Bill Hilty).
Great, so what does that mean? Is it up to the AG to decide? An activist judge? I say that to be socially responsible would be to work to end abortion.
February 5th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
*snaps* to Marty Seifert – this is a great recap.
February 5th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
So Id say many of those bills that the DFL rejected that sound good probably had many things wrong with them. I am a firm believer that the crap we hear from political pundits and political ads to discredit someone based off of a vote is a total farse because hearing, michelle bachmann voted against child safety laws, doesnt say nearly enough. So most of the things you said I think are unreliable little blips of information
Furthermore, the global warming things are absolutely ridiculously. Global warming is a CLIMATE problem. Climate deals with the weather over decades and centuries, that is what climate change is. Saying the weather changed 30 degrees lower therefore there is no such thing as global warming is very untrue. Typical Republican bs about global warming
February 5th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Are we even a little surprised?? I think not the DFL will try to do the same great things for the state as they did for Minneapolis and ST. Paul.
Show me any city run dominatly by democRats and I will show you a city with high crime, high unemployment, high taxes and a failing public school system.
One day America will come to realize just how bad these jokers really are. They have had a free pass on their failings for far too long!!
February 5th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Kahuna – it’ll never happen. These clowns think Minneapolis is doing well. Just let them have their neighborhood meeting and swat down a condo tower proposal every now and then. That’s what they consider a thriving city. Crime only an unemployment only happen to lesser people and the schools are doing great as long as they pass along the misdeeds of the white European invaders.
February 5th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Rep Kahn only gets 5 mentions from a Republican smear piece.
Phyllis! Get working! You aren’t sending them into apoplectic fits fast enough! You know you’re doing right when they start hyperventillating.
Sean
February 5th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Wow, I’m truly impressed they got that much legislation passed in 2 days. Since there couldn’t be an actual ’shift to the left’ if nothing was actually enacted. It’s on paper only. Like my millions.
February 5th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
And by the way, it’s really sad that you don’t understand the phenomenon of global warming. Everytime I hear someone say there’s no global warning because it was cold out today it just shows their enormous ignorance of the subject.
February 5th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Show me any big city run dominatly by republicans and I will show you a city with high crime, high unemployment, high taxes and a failing public school system. Big cities with poor people have problems – period.
February 5th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
It’s amazing, the GOP was in control and did such a great job, many of them got early retirement.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:10 am
I guess committee hearings and constituent services don’t count as work for Micheal Brodkorb. Anything done in session this early is not very important.
February 6th, 2007 at 6:39 am
21. ALLOW 16-YEAR-OLDS TO VOTE: Although society says they will not have enough judgment to decide on drinking or smoking for another five years, they should be allowed to vote in school board elections. HF 428 (Phyllis Kahn).
So Michael, you like to point out every factual error in DFL documents. What’s wrong in this one?
February 6th, 2007 at 9:04 am
exactly, there can’t be activity on the floor until the bills go through their committees. i’m sure you know this, so quit being misleading. i always thought you were a step above Fox news, but latley i’m not so sure.
February 6th, 2007 at 9:19 am
Attila the Anti-Smoking Hun…
Do you actually believe the crap you write?
I would guess with your background in global warming you can then tell me how the earth has had warming and cooling periods before we were even here? Global warming is the Left’s grand plan to deny rights to the citizens of the United States. Without this crisis they would never get anyone to give up driving their cars and stop people from moving out to the suburbs. Funny thing is the thermometer is about 150 years old, we have been recording weather for about the same time and the fact that the weather professionals cannot accurately tell me what the weather will be in 3 days but somehow I am supposed to believe that they KNOW what will happen in ten years??!!
Give me a break!
February 6th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Wow….imagine a ‘anti-big government conservative’ ticked off because no bills are being processed. Seems a bit odd, eh? Phil Krinkie must be really proud of this post.
February 6th, 2007 at 9:54 am
This great stuff. The fact is St Paul is trying to do much more than it should. This is a great example of it.
This was to be expected. The Dems think we’re all dummies who need protection and care from the nanny state. Most of the legislation states that.
February 6th, 2007 at 9:57 am
If Seifert spent more time legislating versus ranting, perhaps the GOP would be better represented. Didn’t Seifert say he has 140 or so of these “gems”.
Work Marty, stop writing.
February 6th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Having been on the floor these past few weeks the best part of the session was Mark Olson.
That man can sure talk…
May 29th, 2007 at 9:04 am
[...] Let’s call a shovel a shovel; the DFL got drunk with power before they even got the cork out of the bottle. It should have been clear that even if the DFLers could sneak a tax increase past the governor, it wouldn’t be big enough for a spending surge in both education and property tax relief. Further, to most Minnesotans and the governor, gas taxes are taxes too, even if they don’t flow into the general fund. [...]
November 9th, 2007 at 3:43 am
[...] Rep. Sertich knows that his cheapshot isn’t warranted. He knows that Republicans are perfectly willing to work hard. In fact, it’s the ultimate in chutzpah for Rep. Sertich to say that the GOP won’t work hard. Sertich & the DFL refused to do any serious legislative work in January: Government Committees grow by 33% in One Day: WED, JAN 03 – - The DFL votes to increase the number of House Committees by 33%. The nine new Committees with extra budgets and staff include: Minnesota Heritage; Mental Health; Game & Fish; the fourth and fifth new Education committees; Housing Finance; Energy Finance; Labor; and an extra Finance Committee to serve the Ways & Means Committee. Almost every DFLer is now the Chair or Vice-Chair of a House committee or panel. [...]
April 27th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
What else do you expect from the DumbF’ingLiberals?
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:51 am
[...] the first two months of session then, too. Michael outlined the DFL’s inaction perfectly in this post: NO ACTIVITY BY DFL HOUSE ON EIGHT DAYS IN JANUARY THU, JAN 04 – - The DFL House did not work, [...]