The Last Day: Capitol Notepad: May 18, 2009

1:42 a.m. update. Way to go, Dan Feidt of PIM.
Tweeted his beak off, he did, the last few days, and we’ve gotten serious kudos
on the Tweetdeck (plus we ran out of Tweets…try running that phrase by
anyone a year ago…."he ran out of Tweets!").

Session? What all happened, today? We’ll play that out in the
weeks to come. But here’s what I know, now. The last-hour tax bill
was a move to allow Democrats to proclaim they balanced the budget in a a
balanced way: The always popular "tax the rich" plus booze taxes plus
shifts. That’s the message on the DFL fly-around, tomorrow: Democrats did
it the balanced way; Pawlenty did it, my way or the highway.

I
walked out tonight with seasoned DFL Senator veterans. They are
discouraged. I’ve never experienced a year like this one. Neither have
they. Over and out for me, tonight. (SJ)

1:25 a.m. update: The DFL wound down around 1:10 a.m., saying that they balanced 5/6th of the budget with cuts and one-time money. That’s going to be the line on the state tour. Where the chips fall with unallotment, as well as the Constitutionally dedicated funds, remains the big question. (DF)

1 a.m. update: Presser turns to how unallotment will be handled, including whether the K-12 shift and unallotment will be handled in a way for statutory-operating debt school districts to "survive," in Kelliher’s words. These have been difficult days on the House floor. Kelliher was surprised no GOP members wanted to override the GAMC vote.(DF)

12:50 a.m. update: Speaker Kelliher talked to a former governor and "friend" about unallotment and fiscal responsibility on the way in. The unallotment statute was put in for emergencies, she says, "probably an extreme stretch" of what was intended by the statute. If a DFL governor did this kind of unallotment, there would be a similar concern. "it will be the sixth time in history… and for him, the third time using the tool." It was his "backstop" or "walkaway point" which he was willing to use to walk away. Kelliher expects there may be people who use to try unallotment, she says. (DF)

12:40 a.m. update: Speaker Kelliher saying the onus was on the governor’s office to deal with them on Sunday, and it didn’t happen. The whole bill was in pieces in the conference committee that met for 14 days — "There was no part of it that was somehow pulled out of thin air." (DF)

12:30 a.m. update: Speaker Margaret Kelliher says the chasm was too wide to scale easily - "it was too difficult" for a "pay-as-you-go budget" to meeting Pawlenty’s "borrow and spend plan" for the state with a "stubbornness in his ideology." Sen. Larry Pogemiller is proud of the bipartisan, nearly unanimous support in both houses. In a major disappointment, the PIM Twitter hit maximum volume and got cut off just before the DFL presser. The GOP Senate members talked about deep frustration with the process. Sen. Dick Day derided DFL indecisiveness, and the GOP talked about how they ought to have had the tax bill out there weeks ago. More coming… See the momentarily silenced PIM twitter for earlier GOP remarks.(DF)

Midnight update: After a raucus half hour on both floors of the Legislature, the House and Senate passed the tax bill HF 2323. The $1 billion bill was similar to the bill that was vetoed and DFLers tried to override yesterday evening. Over shouts from Republicans objecting to the majority’s handling of the last minutes of the floor session, the Senate finally adjourned until Feb. 4, 2010. Republicans declined to vote on either the tax bill or the motion to adjourn.

No Responses to “The Last Day: Capitol Notepad: May 18, 2009”

1. Anonymous Says:
   May 18th, 2009 at 7:47 pm

   I was just informed by my State Senator’s office that no caucus was held on removing Sviggum and McElroy. Please elaborate.

2. Anonymous Says:
   May 19th, 2009 at 6:32 am

   I can not believe I watched such shameful behavior last night on TV as the DFL leaders ram-rodded another version of the Omnibus tax bill though the House and Senate over a span of 20 minutes. The DFL stomped all over the rights of minority Republicans, and by proxy — us taxpayers. Ignoring all parliamentary procedure and decorum, I found myself watching a banana republic taking over state government. I felt like calling 911 or the National Guard. All MN DFLers should be sorely ashamed of their party!

   Uncle Brian