by Briana Bierschbach
Published: May 17, 2013
Tags: Mark Dayton, Paul Thissen, Taxes, Tom Bakk
Gov. Mark Dayton and DFL leaders who control the Legislature said Thursday evening they have reached a final deal on tax increases this session, calling it a “linchpin” in the final budget deal that must be completed by midnight on Monday.
by Paul Demko
Published: May 15, 2013
Tags: David Hann, Kurt Daudt, Mark Dayton, Paul Thissen, Taxes, Tom Bakk
The budget deal that Gov. Mark Dayton and DFL legislative leaders announced on Sunday includes well over $2 billion in tax increases to boost spending on education, repay hundreds of millions in deferred aid to the state’s schools, and eliminate the state’s $627 million deficit. But the parameters of the deal leave much to be resolved by House and Senate budget conferees, most notably with respect to the taxes bill.
by Briana Bierschbach
Published: May 8, 2013
Tags: Carly Melin, Doug Kern, Erin Murphy, gay marriage, Gene Pelowski, Minnesota House of Representatives, Paul Thissen
Early this week, half a dozen offered no comment on which way they will vote the bill, which is scheduled for a floor vote Thursday.
by Paul Demko
Published: May 8, 2013
Tags: AFSCME, child care, day care, Doug Seaton, Eliot Seide, Michael Nelson, Minnesota House of Representatives, Minnesota Senate, Paul Thissen, personal care assistants, Sandy Pappas, Sean Nienow, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, Tom Bakk, unions
No bill has faced a more tortuous path this legislative session than a proposal to allow child care workers and personal care assistants to unionize.
by Charley Shaw
Published: May 7, 2013
Tags: Paul Thissen, Tom Bakk
Gov. Mark Dayton and DFL legislative leaders on Tuesday held talks on the state budget for 2014-2015 that they need to pass before they adjourn the legislative session. The leaders said the roughly 90 minute meeting centered on the broad strokes of the budget without hashing out specifics.
by Briana Bierschbach
Published: May 7, 2013
Tags: Doug Kern, Erin Murphy, gay marriage, Gene Pelowski, Joe Radinovich, Paul Thissen, Tim Kelly
The vote in the House will come just six months after voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. House Speaker Paul Thissen has repeatedly said he will not bring the bill to the floor until he has the necessary 68 votes to pass the measure. The Senate is expected to take up the bill after the House, with Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk expressing confidence in its passage there.
by Briana Bierschbach
Published: May 6, 2013
Tags: fiscal note, gay marriage, House Ways and Means, Karen Clark, Paul Thissen, Senate Finance, Tom Bakk
The bill cleared the committee in on a voice vote after a short discussion of a new fiscal note attached to the bill. Budget officials now estimate a law allowing same-sex couples to wed will cost the state about $688,000 a year to provide health insurance benefits to the spouses of state employees. The proposal is also projected to generate about $10,000 in revenue annually through collections from marriage license fees.
by Briana Bierschbach
Published: May 3, 2013
Tags: Deb Hilstrom, gun control, Gun Violence Prevention Act, John Lesch, Michael Paymar, Minnesota House of Representatives, Paul Thissen, Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee, Twin Cities Public Television, U.S. Senate
DFL House Speaker Paul Thissen said Wednesday that the proposal lacked the necessary support to pass this session and would not be brought to the chamber floor.
by Briana Bierschbach
Published: May 2, 2013
Tags: gun show loophole, gun violence, Gun Violence Prevention Act, Michael Paymar, Paul Thissen, Ron Latz, shootings, universal background checks
Rep. Michael Paymar, a Democrat from St. Paul who authored the “Gun Violence Prevention Act,” said he was “very disappointed and very angry” that the proposal was no longer moving toward a vote on the House floor. “I think this is the kind of thing that really makes the public cynical about politicians and about the political process,” he said.
by Charley Shaw
Published: April 22, 2013
Tags: John Marty, Mark Dayton, Melissa Hortman, Paul Thissen
Renewable energy advocates on Monday afternoon rallied in the state Capitol rotunda in support of energy policy legislation that seeks to boost solar energy in Minnesota. Gov. Mark Dayton and House Speaker Paul Thissen were among the officials who rallied a couple hundred activists to support bills in the House and Senate that would call for utilities to generate 4 percent of their electricity from solar energy by 2030.
