2011 Session
« Previous Entries Next Entries »EVEN DEMOCRATS REALIZE GOP BUDGET IS NOT JUST CUTS
Saturday, May 21st, 2011Senator Richard Cohen (DFL) today made a statement in the Senate regarding the GOP budget targets in their ongoing battle with Gov. Dayton to reach a balanced agreement. Via Nancy L. at LTN: Sen. Dave Thompson released a statement & video today: “Gov. Mark Dayton & Democrats in the legislature continue to portray our budget [...]
BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS COME DOWN TO THE WIRE BUT DAYTON WANTS TO KEEP HIS GARDENER
Thursday, May 19th, 2011As lawmakers approach the May 23rd deadline to reach an agreement with Gov. Dayton on a balanced budget, this week has been jammed pack with activity on both the House and Senate sides. Gov. Dayton announced his intention to raise taxes by only a couple billion dollars instead of his original plan that called for [...]
DAYTON STANDS FIRM ON JOB-KILLING TAX INCREASES, LEADERS PROMISE DFL WILL FALL IN LINE
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011Yesterday marked a new chapter in Minnesota’s budget battle as the end of session quickly approaches at the end of this week. Gov. Mark Dayton announced he will ‘concede’ part of his tax plan and only raise $1.8 billion of the deficit in new taxes on Minnesota’s wealthiest individuals (also known as some of Minnesota’s [...]
DFL DECRY GOP NON-BUDGET PROPOSALS WHILE THEY QUIETLY PUSH BILL TO NAME A ‘STATE MAMMAL’
Wednesday, May 4th, 2011You may have heard the recent griping by DFL’ers over the GOP policy proposals that have been introduced this session in St. Paul. Photo ID and the Marriage Amendment, they say, aren’t part of the job of the legislature this year because they don’t help solve the budget crisis. Although they wouldn’t even consider this [...]
MN SENATE PASSES COMMON-SENSE VOTER ID BILL
Thursday, April 28th, 2011They’ve done it. At least on the Senate side. Today, by a vote of 37-36, the Minnesota Senate passed historical and long-overdue legislation to require a state-issued identification card to vote in Minnesota. Although DFL’ers have called the bill a distraction from the budget, they have yet to adequately refute the merits of the idea. [...]
DUCK ‘N COVER: REP ATKINS INTRODUCES BILL TO FORM STATE PIPE BAND THEN CANCELS TOWN HALL
Monday, April 25th, 2011Rep. Joe Atkins (DFL-Inver Grove Heights) has sponsored and voted for a lot in his 5 terms in the legislature, but not many like this. Atkins prides himself on communicating frequently with his constituents about what he’s up to in St. Paul, including a letter sent out a few weeks ago highlighting major pieces of [...]
SENATE DFL STAFFER PUBLICLY MOCKS CHRISTIANS AND THE EASTER HOLIDAY
Sunday, April 24th, 2011Dedicated readers of Minnesota Democrats Exposed pointed out a message sent via Twitter this weekend by DFL Senate Legislative Assistant, Nicole Kaplan. Kaplan is the LA for Sen. Richard Cohen of St. Paul. Kaplan tweeted on Saturday, “Ooh I wonder if Jesus will see his shadow tomorrow! That’s what this holiday is about, right?” Will Kaplan [...]
FLASHBACK: ‘SOMETIMES WE IGNORE FISCAL NOTES’
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011This video highlights legislative clips from the past when DFL lawmakers have questioned and announced their intentions to ignore in-house fiscal notes in decision making. All the more reason to look outside of the capitol for a legitimate view on the impact of budget bills.
QUESTIONABLE ‘JOB CREATION’ SPENDING BY SERTICH AND IRRRB CONTINUES
Monday, April 18th, 2011The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) has been a heated topic in this year’s budget battle, particularly because it appears to be more of an easy target for cuts with every passing day. The House and Senate passed budget bills that cut the IRRRB from $45-60 million in early April, but no action [...]
DEPT OF REVENUE: DAYTON PLAN WILL RAISE TAX BURDEN ON ALL INCOME GROUPS
Monday, April 11th, 2011Did you know electing Mark Dayton meant a 1/2% statewide tax increase? You do now. Gov. Mark Dayton’s proposed budget solution for Minnesota’s $5 billion deficit centers on one thing: raising taxes. For months during the campaign and now during session, Dayton and his allies have touted his plan as the “fair” way to go [...]
DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES: 4000 MN ABORTIONS FUNDED BY TAXPAYERS IN ONE YEAR ALONE
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011The MN Dept of Human Services today released a report to Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) with a full review of abortions funded with taxpayer dollars in 2009. The report shows multiple clinics where abortions were performed using Medicaid dollars and how many were performed each month of that year. While abortions in Minnesota [...]
EDUCATION MINNESOTA LOSING ITS INFLUENCE QUICKLY
Thursday, March 31st, 2011Education Minnesota, the union of 70,000 state education workers, has seen better days. After helping propel union favorite Mark Dayton into the governor’s mansion by a razor-thin margin, Ed Minnesota was riding high going into this year’s legislative session. When the GOP took the gavels in the state legislature, their long history of one-sided support [...]
LGA MYTHS DEBUNKED BY HOUSE GOP AS DAYTON DECLARES WAR OVER THE BUDGET
Monday, March 28th, 2011Halfway through the 2011 legislative session, the MN House of Representatives passed its first major budget bill today after seven hours of contentious debate. HF 42, the omnibus tax bill, was debated today to set the stage for the remaining financial bills moving through the pipeline towards passage before the end of session in May. [...]
LGA REFORM ADVANCES IN ST. PAUL TO BRING SANITY BACK TO SPENDING
Thursday, March 24th, 2011A lot has been happening in the MN Legislature in the last two weeks to advance unprecedented reform to Local Government Aid (LGA), a budget item created by the State in 1971 as part of the “Minnesota Miracle” legislation. House and Senate Republicans are proposing cuts to LGA that would wean major cities like Minneapolis, [...]
DID SD 66 DFL CANDIDATE VIOLATE FEDERAL MILITARY REGULATIONS TO CAMPAIGN?
Saturday, March 19th, 2011Rep. John Lesch (St. Paul) recently announced his candidacy for the open State Senate seat in district 66 as sitting Sen. Ellen Anderson leaves her position to become Chair of the MN Public Utilities Commission. We brought you coverage of this questionable appointment earlier this month. Dedicated readers of Minnesota Democrats Exposed pointed out Lesch’s [...]
HOUSE AND SENATE GOP ANNOUNCE BUDGET GOALS, DFL MIA
Friday, March 11th, 2011In a press conference yesterday morning, Senate Republican leaders announced their budget targets for the next biennium, just part of a process that has been moved up earlier in session than years past. Republicans are serious about addressing the budget crisis in Minnesota through real change that will force our state government to live within [...]
COMMON SENSE REPEAL OF DFL-IMPOSED BAN ON COAL COULD SOON BE REALITY
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011House and Senate committees are moving forward this week with a repeal of some parts of the large energy legislation passed and signed into law four years ago. Rep. Mike Beard and Sen. Julie Rosen are the chief sponsors of a bill that would remove the current guidelines for constructing a new coal plant in [...]
GRANDMA WON’T GET RUN OVER BY THIS DAYTON TAX REINDEER
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011A proposal by Gov. Dayton to change the tax rules for those “snowbirds” that live outside the state for several months a year is too hard to enforce or regulate, experts say. MPR’s Tom Scheck wrote today on the matter, which was part of Dayton’s budget proposal last month. The measure was only predicted to [...]
FRUSTRATED DFL SEN LEADER THINKS ONLY CAREER POLITICIANS SHOULD MAKE THE BIG DECISIONS, GOP RESPOND IN KIND
Monday, March 7th, 2011Staffers for the MN GOP Senate Caucus distributed buttons today jokingly referring to the newest Republican senators as the “Clean-up Crew” after insulting comments from DFL Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk last week. The comments came during week wrap-up press conferences held by leadership of both parties in the Senate. Bakk’s comments were posted online [...]
IN ATTEMPT TO SQUASH VOTER ID BILL, DFL ARTIFICIALLY BLOW OUT FISCAL ESTIMATES
Monday, February 28th, 2011Something about the fiscal notes for Rep. Benson’s Photo ID requirement bill (HF 89) smells very fishy. Sources confirm the House State Government Finance committee will hold a hearing on the bill (one of many similar bills currently flowing through the legislative process) today after the scheduled floor session (sometime after 5pm). The hearing will [...]
« Previous Entries Next Entries »