Ask Rep. Gene Pelowski Jr. (DFL-Winona) (pictured) why he was the lone Democrat to vote against the tax bill that Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed last weekend and you’ll get a lengthy and harsh critique of what he terms game-playing by his own party and the governor’s office. What you won’t get is any sense of [...]
In our earlier post about the tax deal cut last night in conference committee, I indicated that the $500 million difference between the House DFL’s $1.5 billion target for new revenue and the $1 billion package conferees passed might be made up by a combination of additonal taxes and spending cuts. We’re now hearing from [...]
Well, that was fast.
After days spent languishing in conference over intractable differences between the House and Senate omnibus tax bills, legislative DFLers made a surprising and unconventional move Thursday. And before the day was done, they had formed a new taxes conference committee that proceeded in short order to pass a package of tax hikes [...]
When HF885, the surprise legislative tax package, came before the House yesterday for a vote on forming a conference committee, Rep. Pat Garofalo (R-Farmington) was one of the loudest GOP voices to cry foul. Garofalo sneered to his fellow House members that "you are voting to ride shotgun on the Pogiemobile," and his implication was [...]
As the conference committee on taxes unfolds, it becomes clearer by the day that the tortuously slow going really comes down to the continuing disagreement between chairs Rep. Ann Lenczewski (DFL-Bloomington) and Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) over tax breaks, loans and other kinds of special treatment for business granted in the name of spurring job [...]
If the House/Senate taxes conferees keep to the current pace, the widely anticipated veto of their final product may cease to be an issue: There could be a new governor by the time they finish their deliberations.
Following last night’s 1 a.m. adjournment, the conference committee has spent a total of 18 hours in session over [...]
According to the deadlines set by legislative leaders, the House/Senate conference committee on taxes has until gavel-down on Thursday to reconcile a pair of very different omnibus tax bills. And if what has transpired there so far is any indication, it’s going to be a rough ride to the finish line.
In dollars-and-cents terms, there’s a [...]
House and Senate conferees have been named for the taxes conference committee that will hold its first meeting tonight. Each chamber has included one Republican among its five appointees.
From the Senate: Taxes Committee chair Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) plus Democrats Scott Dibble (Minneapolis), Mee Moua (St. Paul), and Rod Skoe (Clearbrook), and Republican Debbie Johnson (Ham [...]
It’s an empty job, but somebody’s got to do it: This week House and Senate Taxes Committee conferees will begin meeting to reconcile their very different approaches [Senate] [House] to raising new tax revenues as part of the solution to the state’s $4.6 billion budget deficit. And when they’re finished, the package will head to [...]
Another stunning thing, that. The 68-65 vote on the House’s omnibus tax increase bill.
Here’s how the 18 Democrats who voted with the Republicans against the bill fared last election. In brackets is the percentage by which each representative beat his or her GOP opponent in the 2008 general election.
John Benson (DFL-Minnetonka) [11.2%]
Julie Bunn (Lake Elmo) [...]
Next Page »
